Well here we are in 2009. Just back from the NAMM show in Anaheim. Here is my Favorite and Best of Show for me:

The New Telefunken Hand Held Super Charged DYNAMIC Microphone.

Telefunken USA M-80

TELEFUNKEN | USA proudly introduces the Ela M 80 dynamic microphone for live performance and stage use. This newly designed microphone features a low-mass capsule with a super thin mylar membrane and a custom wound step up transformer from AMI/TAB-Funkenwerk^®. The M 80 delivers condenser-like performance and a rugged dynamic design, producing a microphone equally suitable for voice, instruments or drums in a live stage environment.

The M 80 goes beyond older, industry standard microphones. Its wide frequency response and high SPL capabilities offer a new level of microphone performance for the stage environment. It is also widely applicable for studio work, when an outstanding dynamic microphone response is desirable.

Visit the M 80 website for full description, audio samples, photo gallery and much more.

"Built to a standard, not to a price."

The manufacturing process for Telefunken products is complex. Our R&D efforts have led us to the conclusions that we should do things the old fashioned way. We avoid cutting corners, in favor of recreating each piece of the classic design. Telefunken USA utilizes original manufacturing processes in order to match original manufacturer specifications.

At the end of the day, I am completely sold on the newest offering from Telefunken USA, the M-80. If you’re a front of house engineer, a producer, or a musician looking for a no-bull, best bang for your buck (no pun intended), the Telefunken USA M-80 is an incredibly worthy contender, if not your only choice. For this writer, I have fallen in love with it specifically on live guitars, live and recorded snare drum, hand percussion and horns, although I’m confident the M-80 will surely perform in almost any application. It is truly an ideal tool—a weapon I can be confident in taking to battle day in and day out… Simply put, I am sincerely looking forward to making Telefunken USA M-80 a working staple in both my touring and recording microphone arsenal.  

The Shelley Barratt Band used these in our rehersals tonight, What a great sound. First off the bat we were excited to have such rich full tones on Shelley's vocals.

The Neumann KMS-105 was our standard for a long time. In live shows we had a bit of feedback problems. The M-80 has fixed that for us. M-80's for everybody!

Shelley was excited that the feel and look was way over the top. This mic is my very favorite. Good Bye SM-58's and SM-57's. There is a new sherriff in town!

Bob Reynolds

Guitarist for the Shelley Barratt Band

www.shelleybarratt.com

Cheers and Blessings!
 
Bob Reynolds
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L2P Road Test: Telefunken M-80

By Marty Abezetian

So, an affordable cardioid dynamic microphone, with a step-up transformer, that will give me all the benefits of a dynamic handheld, while delivering the detail and frequency range benefits of a condenser? We’ll see. A rugged offering from a well-respected name in professional audio, tough enough to withstand the rigors of the road, while equally adept and worthy in the best of studios? And priced under $240?! Let’s just say I had my doubts.

When we first received the new M-80 from Telefunken USA, I had no realistic expectations, good or bad. I was cautious, as it was the first time I had walked into a microphone trial without having any idea of what to expect, and no guiding words from a staff of people who already knew the mic.What I experienced was surprising, to say the least, and has left me extremely excited to work with a truly ideal tool in the future.

Let’s start with the look.

The look and feel of the M-80 is impressive, and well up to par with the professional reputation that comes along with the Telefunken name. The microphone is understandably heavy, with a sturdy, rock-solid construction.  As a vocalist, it handles unlike any other mic I’m used to, like the slimmer Shure KSM9’s, Beta87’s, or Audix OM7’s. The most blaring difference comes in the form of a tight, rubberized finish that covers the entire body. This has its ups and downs; for instance, I first used this mic onstage at a summer festival outside Chicago, and I could say conservatively that temperatures rose to around 360 degrees that afternoon… Needless to say, it would have been incredibly easy to lose my grip on a mic while running the length of the stage and sweating like I was. Not with the M-80. The mic stayed put in my hands with a steadfast reliability that was very much appreciated, especially for that particular gig. The only problem I ran into with the mic staying put was that it did so almost too well for my purposes while mounted in the clip. If you’re the type of singer who likes to constantly pop the microphone in and out of the clip during your stage show, you’re going to run into some resistance with this finish. However overall, the rubber grip proved to be far more functional than a hindrance, especially in the studio environment. This rubberized grip/clip combination is a Godsend in the studio, allowing you to mic small, precise movements during placement without worrying about the mic “pushing back” into the clip and affecting its distance from your source.

On to the Sound.

The sonic performance is where I was most pleasantly surprised. While the M-80 certainly has the look and build of a high-performance live mic, I had heard mention of even Green Day utilizing them in the studio, so that is where I began. I’ll admit I spent very little time analyzing the M-80 for vocals in the studio, because frankly why would I pitch my normal setup of a U87, C-12, or U47 fet? However in just speaking into the microphone, it became instantly clear that this could be a prime candidate for spoken broadcast applications, podcasting, etc…  The M-80 soundly out-performed many of my standard “go-tos” in the studio on both guitar and surprisingly, hand percussion and horns. The velvety midrange, along with the extremely low-mass diaphragm deliver a more focused “pop” in the transients, and actually fully eliminated the need for compression on congas, bongos, and djembe.

Reading into Telefunken USA’s specs and descriptions of the M-80, they boast a 30Hz-18kHz range, which is audibly noticeable, and “condenser-like performance” delivered largely in part to the American-made AMI/TAB-Funkenwerk output transformer. As for the condenser claim, I would argue both yes and no, but neither in a bad way. I’ll explain…

The M-80 absolutely delivers when it comes to a wider frequency spectrum than your everyday cardioid dynamic, and its sensitivity to small details and nuances offer the performance characteristics of a condenser, yes. The mic really shines with the musicality of its output—the low mid’s are smooth, detailed, and in no way swampy, and the highs are crisp and detailed, without being overly coarse and bright.  As I alluded to, there are namely two characteristics that prove that the M-80 does not behave like you’d expect a handheld condenser to onstage, and I welcome them both: It does not become a nightmare “cymbal amplifier” for a vocalist on a small stage, and it doesn’t exhibit uncontrollable bleed, making it ideal for a drum kit.

Honestly, percussion is the last place I expected to use the Telefunken M-80 onstage, but it quickly became one of my favorites on snare drum. The off-axis pickup and rejection qualities of the mic gave me excellent isolation from even the loudest hi-hat source.  Adding to that, the focused transient response and slight boost in the 7-10k range delivered a crisp, extremely detailed result, giving me the best of both worlds with a loud, controlled “crack” in the pocket, all while accentuating each grace note and delicate stick play. At front of house, I simply laid the mic flat while mic-ing snare, gave a slight boost around 200Hz (I just love the chest-thumping snare!) and rolled off under 100Hz. Simple—the best sounding snare response yet!

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And Yes, that is who you think it is singing through the M-80 at the Yamaha Press conference.

We were lucky enough to attend this closed event.

Man, Alicia you Rock Girl!

Hi All

The M80 Studio Set Is available $ 285.00  (List: $319.00)

The M 80 is available in two versions: the "Standard Version" which includes a mic clip and bag;

and the "Studio Set" which includes a mic clip, wooden box, and an additional black head grille"

Just contact me  sonsetbeach@comcast.net

Pictured onstage with Telefunken M 80 mics are, from left:

The Dead's Jeff Chimenti, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Warren Haynes and Mickey Hart

The Dead, comprised of founding members of the Grateful Dead, have been touring extensively this year with the new M 80 dynamic microphones from Telefunken Elektroakustik.

President Barack Obama is credited with inspiring the band to officially reunite after meeting with them following a February 2008 concert in San Francisco called "Deadheads for Obama." In October 2008, Grateful Dead founding members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, joined by Warren Haynes and Jeff Chimenti, played a second show for the Obama campaign, called "Change Rocks," at Penn State University. On January 1, 2009, the Dead announced their touring schedule, and after extensive rehearsals testing the Telefunken M 80 dynamic microphones, the band's audio engineers decided to use Telefunken microphones during this year's grueling tour, which culminated on July 2 with a performance at Michigan's Rothbury Festival.

"Over the course of time The Dead have tried just about every brand and make of vocal microphones," explains Derek Featherstone, front-of-house engineer for The Dead. "When it came time to do the Dead 2009 tour, I was trying out different simple dynamic mics with the intention of keeping the stage wash down and the tone of all vocal mics the same. My goal was to use the same microphone model on all of the 6 vocal positions so when the band was not singing the front line wash would at least sound consistent."

The Telefunken M 80 microphone features a low-mass capsule with an extremely thin Mylar membrane and a custom wound step-up transformer from AMI/TAB-Funkenwerk. The M 80 delivers condenser-like performance and a rugged dynamic design, producing a microphone suitable for voice and instruments in a live stage environment.

"The vocals in this band vary greatly in tonality and strength," Featherstone continues. "Finding a microphone that could handle and reproduce all voices well was not a simple task. Bob Weir had previously used the Telefunken M 80 and suggested I check it out. The M 80 microphone has an incredible balance of fidelity and rejection. These microphones worked flawlessly in the Dead's somewhat hazardous live sound environment."

Telefunken USA M80

Dynamic microphone

          The Studio Set

                    Awesome Guys!

Pictured (foreground) in concert with
Telefunken M80s are Green Day's Billie
Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt.
Photo by Chris Dugan.

 (September 9, 2009)--Green Day's been on the road for a few months now, backing its latest album, 21st Century Breakdown, using Telefunken Elektroakustic M80 dynamic mics for all vocals and various instruments.

"The M80s are awesome," comments Green Day engineer Chris Dugan, who works with the band on the road and in the studio. "We put the M80 on a snare drum and that is where I fell in love with it. It was exactly what we wanted on Tre's snare. When it came time to tour, I suggested it to Kevin Lemoine, our FOH (Front of House) mixer, and when we tried it on vocals is when I saw the light. We've been mixing some live shows from Japan before we got the M80s and compared with later shows with the Telefunkens, it is like night and day."