Advanced Audio CM251 does the rounds in Portugal!
Our CM251 made it`s way over the Atlantic ocean to the sunny shores of Portugal to see how it could stand up to an original ELA M251. A big thank you to Rui Guerreiro - "Studio Manager" at Atlantico Blue for making this possible. The original ELA M251 is hard to find and very costly, most who own them are quite protective, but Rui offered it up for the shootout freely.
As with all AA microphones, our CM251 is not a clone. It's a 251 inspired retake on the mic. It has a hotter output when compared to our flagship CM12se and the top end has been smoothed out. Keep in mind no two vintage ELA-M251's are the same. Our aim was for the most vintage sounding ELA M251's.
There was an opportunity to quickly put the mics up on the beautiful grand piano. Mic placement was very quick and you can certainly hear that the locations of the microphones is playing a part. Still, it gives you an idea of both mics on the same source.
The second session gave us the opportunity to work out of Rodrigo Serrao's studio (Kbranca Music) Portugese artist Romana provided her beautiful voice, and here is a short example of what Rodrigo and her have been working on recently. This of course is a rough cut and the piano is a guide track.You can also hear how the 251 sounds with some reverb.
Architects win big at Kerrang! Awards - June 2014
Fredrik Nordstrom (of Studio Fredman) used the CM47 for all the vocals on the Architects latest album, Lost Forever//Lost together which has won best album at Kerrang! Everyone at AA sends their congrats!> "Fredman", in preparation for his next project, just added another 3 CM47fets to his AA mic locker for use on the drum sound. He "loves that mic!" A true workhorse in the studio.CM47 on MTV!
Advanced Audio CM47 makes an appearance on MTV, Portugal, May 2014 The beautiful Maria Ana Bobone and Mikkel Solnado perform a very moving duet, featuring the CM47, of "If the Stars were to Waltz.", written by Maria and producer Rodrigo Serrao. The video, recorded at Kbranca Music in Portugal, is being featured on MTV - Portugal. "the two Portuguese MTV Artists reach the perfect balance between Fado and Pop Music, in a duet that touches the heart."Advanced Audio Mics in South Africa!
Universal Music South Africa recently chose AA mics as the "go to" mics for their newly opened recording studio complex in Johannesburg. Two CM67SE and a CM47fet will be blessing the audio waves in SA.
Lady Antebellum wowed by CM67se
2014.03.19
Charles Kelly of Lady Antebellum recently found himself in front of the Advanced Audio CM67se and the mic he was accustomed to. " When Charles sang into the AA 67, the rest of the band freaked out and said it was the best he ever sounded."
Hilary Scott started on her usual mic but the engineer ( Chuck Ainlay) could tell she was impressed with the way Charles sounded so he switched to the CM67se and finished off with it.
Another potential Nashville hit done with the CM67se!!
Mix Magazine chooses CM47 for "$50k old school studio build":
2014.03.19
Wes Maebe's $50k studio setup "boasts brave analogue in a new digital world." Have a look to see the other gear and AA's CM 47 as the go to LDC.
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Famed Fader Mountain Studio visit
2014.02.27
Advanced Audio Microphones found ourselves reveling in the famous loading bay at Fader Mountain Sound in Vancouver, BC recently. Formerly, Little Mountain Sound Studios, the studio's loading bay is famous for (or infamous) the shotgun snare sound. It can be found on a huge number of hit albums. Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock recorded Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation, Pump and Get a Grip , Metallica's Black Album, Bon Jovi´s Slippery When Wet and New Jersey and Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood to name but a few of the greats who have been recorded within those walls.
Behind the Scenes: a "vintage" orchestral recording session.
2014.01.31
London - Advanced Audio Microphones had a chance to shine in a way they have never before; on a large ensemble in a world class studio, with award winning pro's at the helm!
Typography is the art and technique
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point size, line length, line-spacing (leading), letter-spacing (tracking), and adjusting the space within letters pairs (kerning).
"A Decca tree of CM67se's in omni pattern, with a pair of CM12se's as outriggers in wide cardioid. Augmented by spot mics on harp (CM48), Piano (CM47ve pair), woodwinds and french horn ( CM28's ambient pair) and finally a CM67se on our soloist. I was keen to compare the CM47fetCE with an original 47fet on the cello front desk. Also the CM87se up against a non ai U87 on the basses."
The session had double mics on everything, a sign of the initial worry many have with AA microphones in comparison to the, " usual suspects, mainly Neumann, with Royer and AKG making an appearance." The CM67se's were up against a triplet of M150 valves, " to give an expansive (and expensive) main sound to the orchestra."
"The AA mics added a fullness, a thickness to the overall sound that wasn't apparent in the main set up. It certainly didn't get any thinner! I was impressed with the 67's as a Decca tree - well defined, classy sound, good sensitivity at a distance from the source, controlled low end and no perceptible noise level.
All the spot mics worked a treat, with the CM47ve being pressed into solo on one cello piece and the CM87se for viola ( viola solo!?) The CM47's were predictably delicious on piano."
The surprise of the day: The CM48 on harp!
"Excellent presence and transient response, and brought out the notes beautifully. The CM28's also sounded very nice. They filled out the woods and horn sound and gave some distance to the close mics - a great section sound"
"CM28's in the woodwind booth"
A big risk for any engineer on a session of this size is choosing a microphone that is reliable. The big names are tried and true, they know what they will get. If an AA mic had failed or if the sonic value had not been up to par, well, who ever made that call would likely not work again.
"All the mics that AA provided worked perfectly throughout the 12 hours - no technical failures, no popped valves, no noisy cables, no drooping mounts. They pay attention to detail at Advanced Audio." - Niall John Acott - Engineer.
The final verdicts all rang with the same glow of approval:
" It sounds like a 300 piece philharmonic orchestra, you are onto something special here." - Sony Classics rep.
"All in all, the Advanced Audio Microphones proved to be up to the challenge. None of us could be any happier with the result" - Niall John Acott ( Freelance Recording Engineer)
"The AA setup sounded fabulous, particularly a 'decca tree' of three CM67se's." - James McMillan ( Producer)
"All I can say is that it sounded really great." - Chris Walden ( Arranger and composer)
The CM67se wins the heart of Nashville´s elite!
2014.01.18
We are happy to have Chuck Ainlay using the CM67se on Lee Ann Womack´s vocals recently, and he had this to say:
Chuck; "I've got to say, the AA CM67se is killing me. We did vocals on Lee Ann Womack the last few days. In my opinion she's one of the greatest female country singers ever. We did a blindfold shoot out of the AA CM67se against an AKG C12, and Neumann U67, M269, U47 as well as some other favorites of mine. Not knowing which was which, my co-producer, Lee Ann and I all chose your mic."
AA Mic Shootout - Ten21 Studios, Maidstone, UK!
Award winning UK engineer/producer Niall Acott and Ten21 Studio owner Sean Kenny put Advanced Audio Microphones CM48 and our latest microphone CM47fetCE up against an AKG 414B-ULS and a Neumann U87ai at Ten21 Recording Studios in Maidstone, Kent. The resulting acoustic guitar tracks show that AA mics are holding their own AND competing with microphones 5 times their price! Niall: "I angled the mics as close together as possible, whilst listening on headphones. This allowed me to get the most focused signal for each mic, despite the difference of a couple inches between each capsule. I placed overall about 12 inches from the guitar body/neck join." The preamps are those of the studio's Audient ASP8036, completely flat and unaltered signals for all 4 mics. "In terms of gain, the Neumann U87ai presented a good level to the IZ ADA convertors of -18 average, -12 peak, with the preamp set to -30dB"
" The U87ai put in the expected credible, workman like result. Good solid sound, a bit zingy perhaps, but acceptable."
"The CM48 required about 3dB more gain to reach the target level."
"The CM48 came closest to the sound of the U87ai. Solid, with an extended top. Captured the transients well. Mid range detail seems to be facet of the AA mic range."
"The AKG C414 B-ULS needed and extra 10dB of gain."
" The 414 was more scooped sounding, again a nice sound that would fit well in a mix. I did let it down slightly, by not using a suspension mount. Sean's foot tapping can be heard clearly, but is absent from the other signals. Proof that suspension mounts work!"
"The Advanced Audio CM47fetCE had the quietest output but in a similar area to the 414, I needed 13dB to match the signal level to disk."
"The CM47fetCE sounded incredibly "right" to me. It had a dry, tight pick up. Focused sound with really un-hyped top end. My first impression was that this was the perfect country style acoustic guitar sound. Again, it's the mid range tone that impressed me."