Grammy-nominated engineer and producer Michael Angelo on choosing the Lauten Audio Atlantis FC-387
Michael Angelo is a UK-based recording engineer and producer, whose reputation for making hit records has seen him work alongside some of the biggest names in urban and pop music. His credits include Hillary Duff’s #1 album ‘Breathe in Breathe Out’, and Sam Smith’s ‘In The Lonely Hour’, an album which earned Michael two Grammy nominations (Album of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Album).
Other artists he’s worked with include Tinie Tempah, Ella Eyre, and Swedish singer Sabina Ddumba (winner of the Best New Artist at the Swedish Grammy Awards), whose Platinum-selling single ‘Effortless’ was co-written and produced by Michael. He currently works out of his studio in London at the Tileyard Studio Complex, which is where Synthax Audio UK introduced him to the range of professional studio microphones designed and manufactured by Lauten Audio.
Michael had been on the look out for a new microphone for some time, one that lends itself to producing that huge vocal sound that's synonymous with modern pop tracks. With this in mind, we suggested he try out the Lauten Audio Atlantis, a large-diaphragm FET-condenser that's designed primarily for vocals, and features 3 independent voice settings for shaping the sound.
Having spent some time with the Atlantis, Michael was kind enough to give us his verdict. "I’ve tried a lot of mics in my studio" he told us, "including ones that everyone’s been raving about, and I never had much success with a lot of them. The Atlantis has really impressed me though. It’s honestly the best sounding, most versatile mic I’ve ever used, a real hidden gem!”
"It’s honestly the best sounding, most versatile mic I’ve ever used, a real hidden gem!”
Lauten Audio Signature Series – Premium Studio Microphones
The Atlantis is part of Lauten’s Signature Series, and was developed in co-operation with Canadian producer Fab Dupont. Rather than simply creating clones of other classic mics, Lauten's philosophy has always been to create original sounding microphones for the studio, each with their own unique character.
The Atlantis is particularly versatile thanks to the Multi-Voicing feature, with three selectable voices, each with its own independent circuit. This feature gives the Atlantis three distinct flavours, allowing you to tailor the mic to suit different sources, without the need for EQ.
For vocals in particular, the Atlantis' Multi-Voicing provides a way of adjusting the sound to suit different singers, or for bringing different types of effect, from up-front and present sounding, to more pushed back in a mix. ‘Forward’ gives a very detailed and brighter sound – perfect for modern pop vocals – whereas the Neutral setting reduces the mids and highs for a more classic sound. Finally there’s the Gentle setting, which reduces harsh frequencies even further, resulitng in a more vintage flavour.
We've also previously spoken to producer Kevin Porée, who told us that despite being initially sceptical, has found the three options really do add something different to each recording. "Far from being a useless gimmick, the multi-voicing is fantastic" Kev told us in his user review. "All of these voices are phenomenal, and you really do have three world-class mics in one with the Atlantis."
Read Kev's full user review of the Lauten Eden, Atlantis and Oceanus here.
Lauten Audio Series Black – Original, Inspiring Microphones
Along with the premium Signature Series, Lauten also developed a more affordable option with the Series Black microphone range. Despite the lower price, the LA-120, LA-220 and LA-320 are highly regarded as reliable work-horse microphones, with engineer Darrell Thorp using them all over the latest Foo Fighters album ‘Concrete and Gold’. The LA-220 also scored an 8.8 out of 10 from Future Music in their review – check out the video below to see it being used on a wide range of instruments.
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Our thanks to Michael Angelo. You can find out more about his work as a producer and engineer by visiting his website here, or by following him on Instagram.
Find out more about Lauten Audio Signature Series Microphones
Find out more about Lauten Audio Series Black Microphones
If you'd like to know more about any of the microphones produced by Lauten Audio, give us a call on 01727 821 870 to speak to one of our team or to arrange a demo.
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