Hey UKF family.
I have my noise cancellers on right now (Bose Quiet Comfort Ultras will change your life). Headed to Bournemouth to trial a set with Ama today – hopefully the first of many!
Writing this is inadvertently sending me down memory lane. Through the years, the train has been a constant source of inspiration, travelling from Nottingham to Bath for uni, Peterborough to London for sessions, caught between hen do’s, football hooligans, gossiping grannies and the rest. I’ve had to be ‘mobile’ for so long that my setup has taken on some specific characteristics. Light, compact, functional… and a gem of a representation of this is my trusty microphone.
The Neumann TLM 102. My baby. First used this mic at Pola & Bryson HQ and never looked back. There’s something in the warmth and balance of the 102 that brings out the best qualities of a raw vocal, both belty and soft – not overly sharp, but completely studio refined, light enough to hold for that ‘demo tracking’ approach. You can forget it’s even there and lie on the floor and focus on honing in on an emotion when writing. For me, it screams ‘comfortability’, feeling natural enough to sing into without it seeming like your setup is going to eat you alive (love a U87 but it’s chunky ish & sometimes scares me). Second hand they’re reasonably priced as mics go and definitely a worthwhile investment. You can also carefully travel with them.
So to conclude, I love the TLM 102. Almost all of my releases I’ve used this for (normally in my room). I will always have one in my artillery. It’s normally with me abroad also, which is not an advertisement for robbers.
P.s. special acknowledgment for the Focusrite Scarlett which I know a lot of you probably hate on but I still rock with it to this day
