Los Angeles, CA (February 16, 2023)—Music producer and mix engineer Zack “Ekzakt” Perry has been working on a variety of projects at rapper Too $hort’s L.A. facility, including serving as a music director for Mount Westmore—the West Coast supergroup comprising rappers Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40 and Too $hort—on the group’s debut, Snoop Cube 40 $hort, AKA Bad MF’s, which dropped in December, 2022 to strong reviews.
Throughout his time working with Too $hort, Perry has often turned to Lauten Audio mics, having first used them while studying at Expressions College in the Bay Area. After graduation, he acquired a Lauten Clarion FC-357 microphone and soon kicked off his engineering career is his bedroom studio, recording local rapper Mistah F.A.B. “Some mics can get boomy or boxy in the low-end, but I have never had a problem using the Clarion,” he says. “Immediately, I had a leg up because this microphone competed with recording facilities that had more expensive microphones. Better gear gave me a better starting point.”
After he and Mistah F.A.B worked alongside rapper Too $hort, Perry moved to L.A. to become Too $hort’s studio manager and help build out a 14,000-square-foot warehouse studio space, now dubbed Boombox. There, the team chose a pair of Lauten LS-208s for a radio show setup, along with an Eden LT-386 and Atlantis FC-387.
On The Road With Wu-Tang Clan, Nas & Busta Rhymes
When Mount Westmore formed during the pandemic, Too $hort and Perry served as music directors for the album. For Too $hort’s vocals, the pair made use of an Eden, said Perry: “We pretty much always use Eden for his vocals; it’s our go-to. Its mid-range is incredible, and it gives great detail in the high end without being harsh or brittle.” The project resulted in dozens of tracks, many of which remain unreleased for now, but all of which kept Perry busy: “Everyone sent their recordings to me; me and $hort arranged every song, we put all the verses in order. I mixed the vocals on half of the album, too.”
