Michael Ashby & Lauten Audio - Sonic Secrets Behind Hip-Hop Sensation Cardi B’s ‘Bodak Yellow’

Engineer Michael Ashby chooses Lauten Audio’s “Eden” LT-386 Multi-voicing™ vacuum tube microphone for the smash #1 Billboard Hot 100 ‘Bodak Yellow’ by Cardi B

Michael Ashby with his Eden LT-386 microphone

San Jose, CA — September 25, 2017 — Engineer Michael Ashby recorded vocals for Hip Hop sensation Cardi B’s hit single “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” at Krematorium Studio in New York. The song, featuring beats by J-White DID IT (Anthony G. White), was released the summer of 2017 and is the highest charting single by a female rapper in nearly 20 years. Engineer Ashby chose his ‘go-to female vocal mic’ — the Lauten Audio Eden LT-386 — to record vocals for the song. Shortly after the release of ‘Bodak Yellow’ the song became a multi-week #1 R&B/Hip-Hop charting song and today hit #1 on the Hot 100 Billboard chart. The song is nominated for 3 BET Hip Hop Awards: Biggest Single of the Year, Best Impact Track, and Best Hip Hop Video — the Youtube video has over 170-Million views: https://youtu.be/PEGccV-NOm8

When it came to choosing a mic for the Cardi B session, Ashby recalls, “We wanted a microphone that would sit on top of the mix, not just the high-frequencies, but the low-end too. We found during the mixing process we wanted more dominance from her in the low-end. She doesn’t want to sound like Niki Minaj. So, when she came into the studio that day I asked if they wanted to switch to the 251 or just leave the Eden up. We decided to leave the Eden up, knowing I could just carve away what I didn’t want. That’s what I love about the Eden, everything’s there if you need it. In terms of comparing the best of the best, the Eden definitely takes it.”

Ashby first purchased his Eden in early 2016 and it has become a staple in the Krematorium Studio vocal booth. In an unsolicited review on Sweetwater’s website, Ashby wrote, “I call it my secret Sony C-800G killer because it delivers almost the same vibe as a C-800G recording, but so much smoother, from the mids all the way up!!! Paired with my Chandler Little Devil Pre with the ‘bright’ switch on, and you have a simply AMAZING MONSTER!!!” Having spent nearly 2 years with the mic, now Ashby says, “When tracking vocals all I have to do on the Neve 551 EQ is take 220hz and attenuate that down a bit, like 0.5 to 1dB, and the top-end and mid-range sits hella clean for my vocal applications. The Eden has this robust and crispy top-end, very modern, but still a smooth type of sound. It’s literally been the only mic that’s been up for months in a row.”

A post shared by ASHBY THE MIX ENGINEER (@ashbymix) on Dec 25, 2016 at 7:37am PST

Adding further details about Cardi’s “Money Moves” session, Ashby says, “It was about a 2-to-3 hour session and I could tell they were on a mission that day. Immediately, she started rehearsing the song, and then went into the vocal booth and said ‘I’m gonna work the Money Moves.’ According to Asbhy, the signal chain for Cardi B’s vocals were an Eden, using the ‘Forward’ Multi-voicing™ setting, Chandler Little Devil preamp, a touch of 80Hz roll-off on a Neve 551EQ, and an API 527 for compression. 

Michael Ashby is a drummer who fell in love with audio recording after graduating high school. He is the owner of Krematorium Studio in Elmont, NY. He’s a graduate of the SAE Institute in NYC, and today is a respected next generation audio engineer who's engineered for multiple Grammy® nominated artists and producers. In addition to Cardi B, his credits include Melissa B, B Howard, BK Brasco, Josh X, Latoya Jackson, Anthony Xi, Fetty Wap, Exit 21 and many other top artists. For more about Michael Ashby visit: https://www.ashbymix.com and https://www.thekrematorium.com 

About Lauten Audio 

Lauten Audio microphones continue to carve out a unique niche for recordists seeking microphones with an original sound. In addition to the Series Black, their product line includes their flagship “Eden” LT-386, the award-winning “Oceanus” LT-381 transformer-less tube condenser microphone, and the FC-387 “Atlantis” solid-state Multi-voicing™ large diaphragm condenser microphone. Lauten Audio microphones have received rave reviews from both experienced recording engineers and leading Pro Audio magazines around the world. Lauten Audio is located in San Jose California, for more information visit http://www.lautenaudio.com or call 1-877-721-7018.

Lauten Audio

www.lautenaudio.com

Lauten Audio Press contact:

Paul J. de Benedictis

pauljdb@gmail.com (650)-303-2565

All trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

Engineer Darrell Thorp Chooses Loads of Lauten for Foo Fighters Concrete & Gold Album

Darrell Thorp in his private studio with his Series Black Microphones. Photo Credit: Derek McCoy

Seven-time Grammy winning engineer and mixer, Darrell Thorp, used Lauten Audio mics, including its flagship tube mic, Eden, on new Foo Fighters album “Concrete and Gold”

San Jose, CA — Sept 19, 2017 — Engineer Darrell Thorp recently recorded the Foo Fighters new album at EastWest Studios in Los Angeles and chose to use loads of Lauten Audio microphones, including the Atlantis, Eden, Clarion, and the new Series Black LA-120, LA-220, and LA-320. The new Foo Fighters album “Concrete and Gold” (Roswell Records/RCA Records) was released on September 15, its first single, “Run,” hit the top 10 on the Rock Airplay Billboard charts in June. “We had a massive setup for recording the band,” says Thorp, “part of the challenge was we had 4 drum kits set up at once, a bass station, vocals, keys with 2 keyboards and pianos, and over 20 guitar amps, some in the live room and some in Iso-booths — I was using a lot of Lauten Audio mics.”

Discussing how and where some of the different mics were used, he explains, “For a sonic clarity difference I was having all the background vocals recorded on the Lauten Audio Eden mic, it’s a bit of a sweeter sounding mic, and I was using the ‘Forward’ switch so they would always sound breathy, and open and airy, around the lead vocal.” 

“On the song ‘Happy Ever After’ which is the quietest, most acoustic track on the record, Dave Grohl was playing this Harmony solid body acoustic guitar, which is super quiet, but it has a ‘sound’ — so I grabbed a Lauten Audio Atlantis mic and switched on the +10 dB gain switch — which is "expletive" genius!” exclaims Thorp. “I was barely rocking my mic pre, so I had plenty of level to Pro Tools and I was able to get a really good guitar sound. I was also using the Atlantis and LA-320 on guitar amps a lot, sometimes the LA-320 was on room guitar amps as well at about 15 to 20 feet from where the amps would sit in Studio One at EastWest — the room is huge and sounds amazing.”

The Series Black LA-220 mics were used for some of the main tom mics says Thorp, “They were amazing, they worked so well. I used the LA-220s on the Gretsch ‘George Lake’ kit with a 13-inch rack tom and a 16-inch floor tom.” 

  

Thorp concludes, “I really do stand behind the Lauten Audio mics, I use the products a lot! I’m not just a face on an ad and a face on the website. We just did a Foo Fighters BBC Live session and I took an Eden for a mono overhead on the drums, which sounded great. I use the mics all the time when recording!”

Darrell Thorp is a seven-time Grammy® Award winning producer, mixer, and engineer (Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Switchfoot, Molotov, Beck), with over 20 years experience and many multi-platinum records on his discography. Thorp moved to Los Angles in 1997 after a 4-year service in the U.S. Navy and started interning at smaller studios, and eventually worked his way up to an Assistant Engineer at some of L.A.’s prestigious studios such as Track Record, Conway, and finally Ocean Way Recording. He recently had the pleasure of recording and mixing the new Foo Fighters album "Concrete and Gold," and also engineering the new Beck record "Colors". 

About Lauten Audio 

Lauten Audio microphones continue to carve out a unique niche for recordists seeking microphones with an original sound. In addition to the Series Black, their product line includes their flagship “Eden” LT-386, the award-winning “Oceanus” LT-381 transformer-less tube condenser microphone, and the FC-387 “Atlantis” solid-state Multi-voicing™ large diaphragm condenser microphone. Lauten Audio microphones have received rave reviews from both experienced recording engineers and leading Pro Audio magazines around the world. Lauten Audio is located in San Jose California, for more information visit http://www.lautenaudio.com or call 1-877-721-7018.

Lauten Audio

www.lautenaudio.com

Lauten Audio Press contact:

Paul J. de Benedictis

pauljdb@gmail.com (650)-303-2565

All trademarks are the property of their respective holders.