Pictured at Kung Fu Gardens is producer Linda Perry and studio manager Seth von Paulus. Photo by David Goggin.
Los Angeles, CA, October, 2007 – Acclaimed producer and singer/songwriter Linda Perry has taken delivery of the Telefunken | USA Ela M 270, a new reproduction of one of the world’s rarest microphones. Perry has the mic in use at her Kung Fu Gardens studios, where she also engineers her projects with such artists as Alicia Keys, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, and Courtney Love.
“Alicia Keys had an Ela M 270 and I thought, what the heck is that microphone?” Perry recalls. “I tried it out on piano and it was just beautiful. I’m working on a track now for Celine Dion and I used it for overheads on the drums and it’s really crispy, very nice. It’s a very versatile microphone and you get a nice stereo spread from it.”
Perry has founded two record labels and has become a major songwriter and producer responsible for hits by a number of artists, mainly women. In 2005, she purchased Royaltone Studios and, after heavy remodeling, dubbed it Kung Fu Gardens.
“So far I have used it for piano, drums, and vocals, but I just tried it out on acoustic guitar and it’s very ballsy and in your face,” Perry continues. “Oh, I did also use it as a room mic for a string date and it’s great for getting the stereo imagery. The 270 has a sound that is both warm and even, yet with just the right amount of crispness. I really enjoy the microphone.”
The original 1961 Telefunken Ela M 270 was discovered in Austria in 1983 by Dan Alexander, who was working with Ocean Way Recording’s owner Allen Sides. Alexander presented old catalog photos of the rare stereo microphone to the Austrian Sound Hunters, an amateur recordist club, which resulted in the subsequent discovery of the microphone, serial #101. The Ela M 270 was ultimately retained by Ocean Way as the crown jewel of their famous collection. Telefunken | USA was loaned this unique audio benchmark, and through meticulous reverse engineering accurately recreated this extraordinary microphone.
The limited edition Ela M 270 comes equipped with two new CK12 capsules, a GE JAN 6072a tube, and two Haufe T14/1 output transformers. Also included is a power supply, wooden microphone box, swivel base connector with Gotham Audio GAC7 cable, a locking leather bound flight case, and a fully transferable lifetime warranty.