Recording and touring engineer Danny Bernini has spent the last year traveling the world mixing FOH for Ben Harper, who had previously used the same microphone for many years before trying a TELEFUNKEN M80 dynamic mic. “It’s a whole new ball game for me at FOH,” says Bernini. “Now I have a really easy time getting Ben’s vocal to sit right in the middle of the mix and sound full and clear without having to hardly work at it at all. People continually comment on the quality of the vocal sound.”
Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ben Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock. He is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances, and social activism. Harper has released twelve studio albums and is a three-time Grammy Award-winner.
“The M80 has a clarity, warmth and richness of tone, while minimizing leakage from other instruments on stage,” says Harper. “The microphone is so good that I retired my in ear monitors and went back to using regular onstage monitors/wedges. The Telefunken M80 is a game changer.”
“We used the M80 on his main vocal all through the Europe tour,” Bernini continues, “but when we got to LA, Ben asked if we could make the switch to M80 on the piano vocal as well, so now it’s M80’s all around for vocals. My personal philosophy is that if the singer is connecting with the person furthest back in the room, then we have the chance of capturing the whole audience and that’s when the magic happens. I want every person in the room to feel like the singer is singing to them. The M80 allows me to make that happen without having the vocal sitting way above the mix. I can sit the vocal right in the middle of the stereo field and have it sound big and full and clear without too much effort.”
The challenge for a FOH engineer is getting a consistent sound while working in a different acoustic environment at every venue. Bernini explains, “I like the M80 because it has the clarity I need in the top end and it’s also tight in the monitors, so I’m not getting a ton of low-mids back from the wedges on stage when I need to push the vocal and I’m also not getting a ton of cymbals when the singer gets off the mic. I don’t need much compression with the M80’s — I have a gentle multi-band compressor and a little de-esser inserted, but that’s about it. Wherever we tour, it usually takes me about one line to get Ben’s vocal sitting in the right place in the mix. Then it sits like a rock for the rest of the show.”
In addition to vocals, Bernini also employs TELEFUNKEN mics for the bass and drums. “I’ve been using the M82 on kick, floor tom and bass cab, M80 on top snare and M81 on bottom snare, which is smooth and flat. And I like a pair of M60 FET condenser mics on hi hats and ride. ”
Watch Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite with Conan O’Brien:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67ZcLD9lpCM
As well as touring the world with Ben Harper, Danny Bernini is also the head engineer and producer at SpiritHouse Recording Studios in Northampton, MA, where he’s produced records for artist’s like Martin Sexton, Ryan Montbleau, Chris Collingwood, Stryper and NRBQ, among others. SpiritHouse is a full residential studio focused on capturing records with an old school analog approach. The studio has a number of RCA ribbon and TELEFUNKEN large diaphragm mics, a 1974 MCI console, several multi-track tape machines, with Apogee convertors to capture it all and transfer to ProTools.
http://www.spirithousemusic.com/
ABOUT TELEFUNKEN
TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik strives for absolute perfection. By offering historic recreations of classic microphones alongside their own proprietary designs based around the distinctive tube mic sound, TELEFUNKEN has established a product line that expertly combines vintage style and sound with the reliability of a modern-day microphone design. TELEFUNKEN’s commitment to both the sonic excellence and quality of all of their products is rivaled only by their dedication to provide the best possible service to their customers. http://www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com
