Lauten Audio at NAMM Hall-A, booth# 6953

It’s The NAMM Show time of year!

Come see Lauten Audio microphones at The 2009 NAMM show. We are in Hall-A, booth# 6953 listed under Summit Audio Inc. in the exhibitor directory. We moved a few doors down from where we were last year and we are in high spirits. The last two quarters of 2008 were very good to Lauten Audio and we look forward to an excellent 2009.

As usual we are sharing a booth with Summit Audio and Bricasti Design.

THREE-TIME GRAMMY WINNING ENGINEER MARK CAPPS PAIRS UP WITH LAUTEN AUDIO

Nashville, TN (January 12, 2009) – Three-time Grammy winning engineer Mark Capps added two pair of Lauten Audio microphones to his arsenal.

Capps grew up hanging around Nashville recording studios and backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. He comes from a now rare breed of engineers that got their start in a tape room making dupes. Capps played in Rock-N-Roll bands in his early years, but quickly realized that his true passion was on the other side of the glass. Capps has now spent more than twenty years as a freelance recording engineer in Nashville and has worked with more top talents than many see in a lifetime.

"I was first introduced to the Horizon tube mic through friends of mine in Nashville," says Capps, who now owns a pair of Horizons as well as a pair of the new Torch ST-221s. "On my session last week I used the Horizons on a Hammond B-3 Leslie Cabinet. I was totally blown away. They took the level great with the 20dB pad and they took the 'chirp' out and made it sound so smooth."

On most days you will find Capps at the Soundshop Studios where he uses his Lauten Audio microphones. After a recent cello session at the Soundshop Studios, Capps observed: "On the cello, I used both a Horizon and a Torch, with the Horizon in front of the F-hole eight to ten inches back and the Torch on the bridge, same distance but with the omni-directional capsule. The cello had detail for days. The producer and the cellist both commented on how great the mics sounded."

Capps has won Grammys for Engineering in 2005, 2006 and 2007, a Marlin award in 2006 and engineered numerous multi-platinum records.


Lauten Audio
http://www.lautenaudio.com

Mark Capps
http://www.mark-capps.com

Voice Acting Demos Starring Greg Phelps - Round-1

Lauten Audio is pleased to announce Round-1 of our Voice Acting demos featuring the incredible voice of Greg Phelps (www.TheVoiceActor.com).

On these demos you can hear the Oceanus, Clarion and Horizon microphones through the Summit Audio ECS-410 Everest and 2BA-221 as well as the Great River ME-1NV. Coming soon the Benchmark - MPA1 and others...

All of these recordings are free of compression and processing. You are hearing Greg’s voice through the microphone and the preamp only, no eq, compression or processing.

The Voice Acting demos as well as many other demos are available under the "Lauten Sessions" section of the LautenAudio.com website.

Go check them out now!

Coming soon, It's That Voice!

You’ve asked and we’ve been working on it. "Voice-actor" demos of Lauten Audio microphones.

Voice acting as described on Wikipedia.org; is "the art of providing voices for animated characters (including those in feature films, television series, animated shorts, and video games) and radio and audio dramas and comedy, doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides. Performers are called voice actors, voice actresses or voice artists."

I recently met one such voice-actor, Greg Phelps. Greg was in the market for a new microphone and after testing several of our models, he picked up one of our Clarion FC-357's. After hearing Greg's voice, I knew we had to record it through our microphones. Greg's voice is well, "It's that voice". You will hear what I mean soon enough. To make a long story short, Greg is doing voice-over demos for Lauten Audio microphones.

For the Greg Phelps sessions we contacted several preamplifier manufacturers. Those that are participating have been extremely accommodating and we certainly appreciate it. You can look forward to hearing the Lauten Audio Horizon, Clarion and Oceanus microphones through the Summit Audio 2BA-221, ECS-410 Everest, Great River ME-1NV, the new Benchmark MPA1 with more to follow.

Below you can download two demo recordings as a sample of what's to come.

Greg Phelps

Clarion FC-357 through Summit Audio 2BA-221

Horizon LT-231 through Summit Audio 2BA-221

Front of House Engineer David Powles, uses Lauten at Fiddlers Green Festival

David Powles has over 30 years experience as an engineer with acts including Pink Floyd, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Frank Sinatra, Dionne Warwick, Genesis, Procol Harum, Bad Company, Rory Gallagher, George Benson, Alice Cooper and others. And now David has decided to commit much of his time to acoustic based live work, which has lead him to work with many acts. It is this expertise that was also the reason for David to be selected as front of house for “The Fiddlers Green festival” in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland.

David used a range of Lauten mics on the Festival in August which was also recorded by the BBC (N. Ireland) for broadcast. “I enjoyed using the mics at the Festival” said David “They provided a very warm, precise and musical sound, requiring very little EQing apart from Hi-Pass filters, I didn't want to colour the natural sound of the mics by EQing for monitoring purposes”. David went on to single out one mic in particular “I thought the Horizon mics were excellent”

Even artistes commented to Dave that the mics in certain cases provided the best acoustic guitar sound that they had ever heard.

Pictured: (Top Right) Marcia & Damian Howard, Australia (Left) Tao Rodiguez-Seeger, USA (Bottom) Heather Campbell & Vince Peets, Canada

Capsule Simulation Software by Lauten Audio - A brief overview

Dr. Charles Chen PhD of Lauten Audio has written a software simulation program for microphone transducer capsule simulation. The results in this article are for pressure capsules only. A pressure capsule is the easiest to simulate and there have been simulation results in published papers. However, Dr Chen’s simulation software goes beyond any published results and provides a method for simulating pressure gradient capsules along with configurations of the back plate, such as the pore distribution affects on capsule behavior. These results will not be published due to trade secrets.

The capsules used for this article are all made by Western Electric. As to not reveal any information regarding our proprietary designs, we have used the capsule parameters for this simulation from a research paper (PhD thesis) published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society.

These capsules share the same back plate configuration (diameter, thickness, pore size and distributions), the only difference being the diaphragm (surface density and tension) and spacing between the diaphragm and the back plate. The 111070 with polyethylene membrane has the lowest tension, and the 11670 with metal membrane has the highest one. The capsule simulation results below are of these capsules.

In Figures 1 & 2 the top result is the output voltage of the capsule expressed as sensitivity. (click images to enlarge)


Fig. 1 (Western Electric 111070)

Notes: 0 dBV is defined as 1V output at 94dB SPL. All capsules can only output several millivolts so the sensitivity is always a negative number.

Fig. 2 (Western Electric 11670)

The second result shows the diaphragm displacement from its balanced position (determined by the bias voltage) in nanometer averaged over 15 rings of the diaphragm. The third and forth results show the sound pressure on the back of the diaphragm, amplitude and phase, respectively. You can see how the tension and the spacing affect their behavior.

Notes: Pressure capsules only receive sound in the front of the diaphragm because the chamber behind the diaphragm is sealed and no outside sound can reach the back side of the diaphragm. But as the diaphragm is driven by the front sound pressure, it suppresses the air in the chamber and produces the reacting pressure to the back side of the diaphragm. The net driving force for the diaphragm is the difference of the front sound pressure and the back pressure. For pressure gradient capsules, the back pressure is very important.

To see more details of the simulation, we have provided (Figures 3,4,5,6,7 and 8) six diaphragm movement results for these capsules at three frequencies, 100Hz, 1000Hz, and 10000Hz, showing the shape of the diaphragm and its movement in half a vibration period. You might expect all parts of the diaphragm (rings in the simulation) should move in the same direction, and for higher frequency, the only difference is all parts move faster, but still coherently. But it is not the case. At higher frequencies, the vibration of the diaphragm became more complicated. The neighboring rings can move in the opposite directions. This becomes more obvious when the tension goes down.

All these results are consistent with and even better than the published research papers and well supported by the real measurement data presented in various papers. Although the results are the same, Dr Chen developed a totally different mathematical method, which allows us to not only be able to simulate the pressure capsule, but also the pressure gradient capsule and dual diaphragm capsule, which no one to our knowledge has ever published.

Not shown are how the change in the configuration of the back plate, such as how the pore distribution affects the capsule behavior. These results have never been published in research papers and we can not publicly reveal these at this time.



Fig. 3 (Western Electric 111070 100Hz)





Fig. 4 (Western Electric 111070 1000Hz)




Fig. 5 (Western Electric 111070 10000Hz)





Fig. 6 (Western Electric 11670 100Hz)




Fig. 7 (Western Electric 11670 1000Hz)




Fig. 8 (Western Electric 11670 10000Hz)

AES DEMOS! Summit Audio, Lauten Audio, Bricasti Design

Come Hear These!

Summit Audio, Lauten Audio and Bricasti Design invite you to hear our products during AES San Francisco at 1340 Mission Street/Broken Radio one of the most historic recording studios in the Bay Area.

Where: 1340 Mission/Broken Radio Studio
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Sunday by appointment only)
Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (other times available by appointment)
Address: Broken Radio 1340 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone (Studio): 415-520-9566
Web: www.brokenradio.com

A FREE shuttle is provided from the Moscone convention center to Broken Radio Studios.
Look for “1340 Mission/Broken Radio” sign on shuttle. Runs approximately every 30 minutes.

Coffee, pastries, bagels and fruit provided in the studio lounge

For more information contact
Summit Audio/Bricasti Design: 775-782-8838
Lauten Audio: 877-721-7018 Ext 704#

Some of what you can hear during the demo
Everest ECS-410 Channel strip and other famous Summit Audio products
Oceanus, Torch, Clarion and Horizon microphones from Lauten Audio
M7 Reverb from Bricasti Design

DOUGLAS GREAN SELECTS THE EXCEPTIONAL SOUND OF LAUTEN AUDIO FOR SCOTT WEILAND’S SOLO ALBUM

The Lauten Audio Oceanus can be heard on all lead vocals in new song "Paralysis"

Los Angeles, CA (September 23, 2008) - Producer Douglas Grean recently completed sessions at Lavish Studios for artist Scott Weiland’s upcoming solo album, on which he used the new Oceanus LT-381 and Clarion FC-357 microphones from Lauten Audio.

"The Oceanus now occupies a top spot on my short list of favorite vocal mics," says Grean. "In an otherwise crowded field of clones, this mic is a new voice: big, open, and beautiful." The upcoming album, entitled Happy in Galoshes, is scheduled for release in November. "As soon as I tried the Oceanus I had to have it," Grean added. The new song "Paralysis," which is on the internet, is one of the songs where Grean used the Oceanus mic on all the lead vocals.

Grean’s first introduction to Lauten Audio microphones was a pair of Clarion FC-357s loaned from Damon Gramont of Summit Audio Inc., which is Lauten Audio’s U.S. sale representative. “I first tried the FC-357s as stereo room mics on the drum kit to great effect and then on electric guitar. I couldn’t find a situation where these mics didn’t sound brilliant. They are very open and life-like without sounding brittle or harsh. I called Damon and said I was using them on the album and had to purchase the pair. They are now my electric guitar mics of choice and serve double duty on acoustic instruments. There is not a session that goes by these days where I don't use my Lauten mics.”

Prior to finishing the album, Grean and Weiland had written and produced songs on Happy in Galoshes for nine years. “I’m glad I got introduced to the Lauten mics when I did,” says Grean. “They are a big part of the sound on those last six songs we recorded; wish I’d had them earlier!”

Grean is Weiland’s business partner and co-owner of Lavish Studios. He is also guitarist, keyboardist and musical director for Weiland’s live solo band.

LAUTEN AUDIO BEGINS SHIPPING THREE EXCITING NEW MICROPHONES

Lauten Audio, a professional microphone maker, has begun shipping three new studio microphones: the Oceanus LT-381, the Clarion FC-357 and the Torch ST-221. Each new model compliments each other as well as the company's first product, the Horizon tube microphone, and enriches its professional studio microphone line.

“We are very excited to begin shipping and filling our pre-orders,” says Brian Loudenslager, Founder of Lauten Audio. “I am really proud of everyone involved that made these new mics come to life.”

Lauten Audio’s new studio microphones include:

Oceanus LT-381
List: $1599.00

The highly anticipated Oceanus LT-381 features a newly designed large dual-diaphragm capsule, NOS military grade pentode input, transformer-less triode output, and variable omni, cardioid and figure-8 polar patterns. Visually stunning, the Oceanus is a fantastic vocal mic. It is an original high-performance tube condenser microphone that produces full and detailed recordings.

"In a world full of clones and wannabees the LT-381 Oceanus is a new voice in an otherwise crowded field of mediocre pretenders. Try this microphone on your favorite singer and I guarantee you will not be disappointed. The Oceanus LT-381 now occupies a top spot on my short list of favorite vocal mics."
Douglas Grean, Producer/Engineer Stone Temple Pilots, Scott Weiland


Torch ST-221 pair
List: $1499.00

The Torch ST-221 is a small diaphragm tube microphone that is packaged in pairs. These microphones feature interchangeable cardioid and omnidirectional capsules, NOS military grade vacuum tubes and premium high-resolution electronics. The Torch combines the characteristics of the small diaphragm and the tube, making it an ideal choice for recording instruments. The package includes 21 components and accessories.

"I was very impressed by your new Torch mics. The first time I put one up to record my acoustic guitar I forgot that I was wearing headphones. It sounded like my guitar, and not a mic'd version of it. The Torch is dead-quiet, and has a beautifully natural response. I love the full, but controlled bottom end"
Michael Nielsen, Composer/Producer


Clarion FC-357
List: $799.00

The Clarion FC-357 is a solid-state multi-pattern large diaphragm condenser microphone. The microphone is a blend of classic and modern FET sound. It has class-A electronics and a dual-diaphragm capsule capable of omnidirectional, cardioid and figure-8 polar patterns. It also features a unique three-position attenuation and gain switch, which offers powerful recording options.

“I have a pair of FC-357's and I love them. I've been using them as stereo room mic's on drum kit to great effect as well as electric guitar and acoustic instruments. I have not yet found a situation in which these mic's don't sound brilliant. They are very open and life like without sounding brittle or harsh. I highly recommend them.”
Douglas Grean, Producer/Engineer Stone Temple Pilots, Scott Weiland


"Each of these models offers a unique sound to recordists, and all of the Lauten Audio studio microphones are designed to compliment each other," says Mr. Loudenslager. "The feedback we received from our pre-release evaluations beat our expectations and really validated what we wanted to accomplish. I am very confident we have raised the bar for original sound and innovation as a boutique brand.”

“We are proud to offer a truly different microphone brand in the US," says Erik Papp of Summit Audio Inc., which is Lauten Audio’s sale representative in the US. "From the beginning of working with Lauten Audio I have been excited about being involved with a microphone manufacturer that is creating unique products. I have a lot of respect for their ability to successfully create original designs. After years in development with the new products, we have really great products to offer."

Mr. Loudenslager adds, “We have taken steps to differentiate ourselves in a crowded microphone market. Whether it is unique circuits, new capsule designs, or including more relevant accessories, we make products that empower recordists at all levels.”

The new Lauten Audio microphones are available at dealers around the world. Visit the company's website at www.lautenaudio.com for more information.


About Lauten Audio:
Lauten Audio is a high-end microphone manufacturer formed by professionals with diverse backgrounds ranging from microphone design, physics, recording engineering, and manufacturing. The company’s philosophy is to create original, high-quality microphones that empower recordists at all levels.

Lauten Audio is located in Santa Clara, CA, the phone is 1-877-721-7018 and the web address is: http://www.lautenaudio.com/

Come visit Lauten Audio Microphones at AES it's FREE!

It’s AES tradeshow time again and Lauten Audio invites you to come see our exciting new microphones in booth#1226. Click the AES banner below to get your FREE exhibitor badges courtesy of Lauten Audio.

We look forward to showing our appreciation to current Lauten Audio owners and dealers as well as telling potential owners what our microphones can do to help enhance their sound.

We are also very excited to have Mike Terry, Producer and Engineer on hand at the show. Mike is a big part of the Lauten sound and it's great to be able pull him away from the studio for the show.

AES will be at the Moscone convention center in the heart of San Francisco. Exhibition dates are October 3rd, 4th and 5th and doors open at 10:00 AM each day.

Click the banner below to get your FREE VIP AES Guest Pass

See you there!