New M82 and M81-SH Dynamic Mics Boost Drum Power
Pictured (L-R) on tour are drummer Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction holding the TELEFUNKEN M82 dynamic microphone and FOH engineer Jamie Rephann holding the TELEFUNKEN M81-SH.
South Windsor, CT, October, 2013 — Jane’s Addiction FOH engineer Jamie Rephann picked two new TELEFUNKEN microphones for the triumphant national tour of the band that launched the perennial alternative Lollapalooza rock festival. He chose the new M82 and the M81-SH mics for drummer Stephen Perkins’ drum kit.
Rephann, who has worked as FOH engineer with ZZ Top, The Mars Volta, Tower of Power, and Papa Roach, among many others, spoke about the new TELEFUNKEN mics on tour with Jane’s Addiction: “The best thing I can say about the TELEFUNKEN M82 is that hands down it outperforms any kick drum mic I have used to date. Its like TELEFUNKEN just pressed the ‘ease your life button’ with the response of the M82.”
The new M82 dynamic cardioid microphone follows the same design approach as TELEFUNKEN’s other popular Dynamic Series microphones, and was created to provide a superior alternative to familiar large diaphragm dynamic microphones designed for kick drum.
Rephann continues, “The M80 has been my vocal mic for about 5 years now, and with the addition of the M80-SH & 81-SH low profile mics for drums I couldn’t be a happier sound dude. I will never again do a show without my M82 and M81’s as well as M80 for vocals. It’s a pleasure to mix with these every night.”
TELEFUNKEN’s new M81-SH is a more compact version of the M81, which builds off many of the strengths of the popular M80, retaining the same minimal proximity effect, superior feedback rejection, and an articulate mid-range. However, with the M81 (and subsequently the M81-SH), the top end is pulled back a bit, yielding a flatter overall frequency response. This combination results in a microphone with a wealth of body and clarity, making it a great tool for taming brighter vocals and guitar tones, and for fattening up toms, percussion, horns and thinner sounding sources. The M81-SH also works well for singing drummers where isolation from cymbals is desired.
In addition to the microphones, Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney has been using TELEFUNKEN’s Graphite enriched Delrin guitar picks on stage and in the studio. “Chris is a very popular session guy and he absolutely loves the picks,” added Rephann.
Jane’s Addiction was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band’s line-up features lead singer Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Chris Chaney, and drummer / percussionist Stephen Perkins. The band was one of the first to emerge from the early 1990’s alternative rock movement, and gain both mainstream media attention and commercial success. Their initial farewell tour launched the first Lollapalooza, which has since become a perennial alternative rock festival. As a result, Jane’s Addiction became icons of what founder Perry Farrell dubbed the “Alternative Nation.” The band was ranked 35th on VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock” list.