New Album Employs Ela M 251 Classic Mic Recreations
Pictured at Rocket Carousel Studios are (L-R) producer Greg Wells and recording artist Jamie Cullum. Photo by David Goggin.
The new album by British artist Jamie Cullum, produced by Greg Wells, utilizes a pair of Telefunken | USA Ela M 250E mics, faithful reproductions of the classic microphone originally marketed in 1959.
“This new microphone has all the warmth, the body, and the depth of the original,” remarks Greg Wells. “But the detail and the resolution of the high end has some extra quality that is especially appealing. They figured out a way to have it all, but it isn’t toppy; it doesn’t feel hyped at all. It’s a huge sounding microphone.”
Grammy-nominated Greg Wells has produced, written and/or recorded with Mika, OneRepublic, Katy Perry, Deftones, Pink, Rufus Wainwright, Otep, The Pussycat Dolls, Jewel, Michelle Branch, Hillary Duff, Celine Dion, The Veronicas, Ozzy Osbourne, and legendary music figures Aerosmith, Elton John, and Ahmet Ertegun. He produced “‘Apologize” by Timbaland featuring OneRepublic, which recently became the most played Top 40 hit of the past 20 years within a one week period.
“I was on the hunt for a vintage microphone, an original, and I was ready to throw down and buy,” recalls Wells. “But Darren Findley at Vintage King Audio strongly suggested that I check out Telefunken | USA, that I should really hear what they are doing.”
Originally sold in 1959 by Telefunken of Germany, the new Ela M 250E is a two-pattern (cardioid and omni) version of the famous Ela M251, and shares the same sonic performance and circuitry as one of the most sought after of vintage tube microphones.
“Alan Veniscofsky sent me out the mic for a test,” Wells continues. “I rented my favorite 250 and I had my own vintage Neumann U-47 up as well. We tried Jamie on all three and this new mic was the clear winner. Jamie loved it so much that he got one too.”
Rising star Jamie Cullum released his debut album in 1999, followed by Pointless Notstalgic in 2001. His third album, 2003’s Twentysomething, went Platinum and became the #1 selling studio album by a jazz artist in the United Kingdom. Primarily a jazz artist, Cullum performs in a wide range of styles and is generally regarded as a “crossover” artist with his musical roots firmly based in jazz. Cullum is well known not only for his abilities on the piano, but also for his striking musical presence. His third album, Catching Tales, was released in late 2006.
“We had a lot of fun messing around with different mics,” says Cullum. “We put them all up and we messed around with some old ones, some new ones, some classics, some non classics and this 251 just sounded really great. We did a lot of A-B ing and it really suited what we were doing, had a great vibe about it, and it just sounded really good.”
The Ela M 250E comes complete with a European made ECC81 tube, a new CK12 dual membrane capsule, custom wound Haufe transformer, vintage style Ela M 950 power supply, 10 meter Gotham Audio cable, locking leather bound flight case, wooden microphone box, owner manual, and a fully transferable lifetime warranty.
For information about Telefunken | USA visit www.telefunkenusa.com
or call 860.882.5919
Burbank, CA… Royer Labs, recognized globally as a leading manufacturer of high quality ribbon microphones, is pleased to announce it has selected Audio Agent to represent the company’s sales efforts in key territories of the United States. Well known for its sales representation and strategic consulting capabilities within the professional audio and MI (musical instrument) communities, Audio Agent will be tasked with increasing Royer Labs’ presence in the critical territories of the metropolitan New York/Tri-State region and the entire Northeast. more
