LOS ANGELES — Green Day is touring with new Telefunken Elektroakustic M80 dynamic microphones for all vocals and various instruments. The stage and studio mics are new models from the company known for its classic re-creations of vintage microphones. “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.
“Without any EQ added,” Dugan continued, “the M80 has a crisp top end, there’s more rejection of unwanted stage sounds, and it has a nice tight pattern, which is very important for us. It almost sounds like it has been EQ’d, with a ton of clarity, a lot of top end without being sizzly, and a nice warm body to it. Before the M80s, we had a lot of guitar and cymbal bleed in Billie’s mic, but not any more.”
Green Day is currently touring the U.S. and will begin the European leg of the tour in Lisbon, Portugal, on September 28. The band will perform live at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 13.
For more information, please visit www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com
