Pictured (L-R) at Harvest Sound Studios are Ringside drummer Norm Block with a rare vintage Telefunken Ela M250E and singer/songwriter Scott Thomas with the newly manufactured Telefunken | USA Ela M 251. Photo by David Goggin.
Los Angeles, CA, November, 2006 – Ringside, whose self-titled debut on Geffen Records yielded the hit single “Tired of Being Sorry,” and the track “Struggle,” which has become a widely heard jingle for Pontiac, is now in the studio working on their sophomore effort. The band is using two Telefunken microphones, one a rare 1950s vintage 250E two-pattern version, and the other a new Telefunken | USA 251E three-pattern model manufactured to original specs.
“There are no new microphones out there that compare with the ones from Telefunken | USA,” says lead singer Scott Thomas, whose distinctive gritty singing style is well-suited to the newly manufactured tube microphone. “It’s perfect for my voice and I’m using it for my guitar, too. It’s my main mic in the studio now and I really don’t need much more.”
Ringside drummer Norm Block recently discovered a vintage Telefunken 250E on eBay, and has contracted Telefunken | USA to refurbish the mic and fabricate a vintage style power supply and cabling. “We did a preliminary test and the old mic has a darker sound which is very cool,” says Block. “It’s been kicked around for a few decades, so we’re looking forward to getting it properly powered up and experimenting with it.”
During the recent 2006 AES convention in San Francisco, the 1959 Telefunken Ela M251 was inducted into the TECnology Hall of Fame. Nearly a half-century after its introduction, hundreds of vintage Telefunken Ela M251/250’s are in use worldwide and are still prized by engineers for their smooth vocal reproduction and sparkling high-end response. Telefunken | USA is the current manufacturer of the prized microphones and is also handling all service and parts for the vintage units.