JJ Audio Microphones Visits Studio E

[phillysoulman]

This past weekend I had the esteem pleasure of hosting Jim Jacobsen and our own "Illacov" of JJ Audio in an awesome three day session in which we recorded exclusively using JJ Audio microphones and I must say that it was an awe inspiring experience!

Our own "Storyville" recorded drums,bass,guitar,tenor and alto sax and rap vocals and I recorded some r&b vocals all using a pallette of their beautifully crafted,handmade microphones which all more than surpass ANY mike ever mentioned here on Gear Slutz.
You MUST hear them to believe them...total sonic nirvana!!

Some examples will be posted in short order, so stay tuned.

[gorillainthemix]

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

ANY mike

even #23?

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by The Dutch Master

even #23?

Yes,any mike.

[IBE]

PSM,
How was the V67G/U87 mod? I just received my V67G and will send it to them within the next week.

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by IBE

PSM,
How was the V67G/U87 mod? I just received my V67G and will send it to them within the next week.

its AWESOME..you will love it,I promise!

[IBE]

thumbsup I own a SM7b with a great river and distressor already. I was looking at ordering a Beez Nees James until I saw this option, but I still will probably order it later after I receive the V67 back.

[illacov]

Pictures in 3....

[gorillainthemix]

lol@pic
is that Uncle Phil?



btw psm

your new avatar looks like one of our frequent posters here, without the shades...

[IBE]

your new avatar looks like one of our frequent posters here, without the shades...

lol, I WEAR MY SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT !!!

[illacov]

Full Photo Album on Photo Bucket!


Sorry for the Big Pics!!

Peace
Illumination

[illacov]

More Pics!!











Thanks
Peace
Illumination

[AMIEL]

Would be great to put some Audio files of the different instruments?

I am pretty confused about those mics:

Do they have their own capsules?

Because i see they use also some Peluso and others....
Can you explain better the Philosophy and products of JJ Audio?

I just that the website is a bit confusing.

Thanks!

[illacov]

Originally Posted by AMIEL

Would be great to put some Audio files of the different instruments?

I am pretty confused about those mics:

Do they have their own capsules?

Because i see they use also some Peluso and others....
Can you explain better the Philosophy and products of JJ Audio?

I just that the website is a bit confusing.

Thanks!

Hello Amiel!

Studio E is currently the owner of the audio clips in question, so they will be posting them shortly.

Regarding our philosophy at JJ Audio Mics, we use what the customer requests to give them the mic they need. As far as capsules, we use MANY different capsule sources. The only mic currently that has a Peluso capsule in it is the JJ Audio Mics Mutt (my personal 1 off mic!), which has the Peluso PK67 capsule in it. The microphone is based around a custom EF86 circuit, with a NOS Amperex Bugle Boy EF86 tube and a Cinemag NiCo transformer. The mic was tested a few times this weekend on mono room into an ART Tubepac compressor (very midsy focused/retro sounding result) and as the only mic on a vintage Fender Vibrolux for recording electric guitar (rhythm and lead).

We ascribe to believing that microphones are one of the most important parts of any studio and therefore we have gone about designing microphones that are far from overpriced OEM overseas products and instead are hand assembling microphones here in the USA. We source capsules from all over the planet, including Europe (reskinned Neumann, Thiersch and Tim Campbell), China (the V67G mod uses the stock Chinese capsule), North America (JJ Audio Capsules) and beyond.

My secondary and most important role in the company is to collaborate with Jim in the design stages, to provide our customers with expensive sounding platforms that are financially within reach of the everyman. One of the ways we have accomplished this is by hiring entities to fabricate custom parts for us (including transformers, shock mounts and capsules).

For example, a mic we have prototyped (literally this past week!) and brought to Studio E was the JJ Audio Mics American Husky. It is based around a 6AK5W tube, 80% Nickel Core transformer and an M7/K47 capsule. We have begun to source PIO capacitors for use in microphones at the coupling cap position and this is to great results!

The Husky's design is rather enlightening considering that it uses a 6AK5W tube, when usually the M7/K47 capsules were coupled with the VF14 or the AC701K tubes. Interestingly (and pleasingly!) it delivers a good amount of low end and low mid authority (with an easy to source and cheap tube) as well as a nice amount of chocolate high mids and sweet yet subtle top end.

Normally a mic embodying a design like this would street for a few thousand dollars and no one would blink.

We wish to change the culture of how mics are purchased and therefore would sell a mic like the Husky for under $1000. (street price)

I will reserve my personal feelings as a recording engineer and mic designer about the Husky (which has been my personal crusade since I met Jim btw) until the host Studio E staff chime in.

As you can also tell the paintjobs, grilles and pcbs are far from stock OEM parts. Instead we etch pcbs or recycle the pcb from the donor mic, transposing the new circuit in the old ones place.

Many of our mics have been showcased in various threads here on Gearslutz, however the breadth of product that we have to offer, is I feel rather compelling considering we have (at the moment) over 14 different models of microphones that we have constructed and produced, in addition to our ever increasing lists of mods, crossgrades, upgrades and rebuilds. I hope to keep JJ Audio Mics as transparent as possible, while I represent what we do. I also wish to keep JJ Audio Mics, hip, savvy and ahead of the curve when it comes to client relations. As you can see, we have done alot of grassroots interfacing with hip hop/urban music. This of course has alot to do with my personal background in Hip Hop and R and B music.

I don't wish to exclude any one particular set of people with my companies' efforts or marketing, however I personally feel the Hip Hop/R and B/Urban demographic has been a slight touch alienated by the equipment industry, often microphone companies in particular, exhibit demos of male/female rock vocals, electric guitar and drum overheads. This kind of leaves the Hip Hop community in the dark as to what equipment to purchase and why. Individuals like Tony Belmont have done the community a great service by showcasing microphones, preamps and compressors in use within the context of Hip Hop music. I highly respect this fact about him and Gearslutz and this aspect has kept me coming back time and again.

This is also why, I personally reached out to Bobby Eli aka Philly Soul Man, a regular here on the Hip Hop forum, to be a part of the JJ Audio family. I had read many a time about his use of budget mics to get a great sound and I had the same aesthetic in mind when I began to discuss pricing with Jim. However, we decided to begin this journey by making these mics obtainable for even the poor musician.

I will not cease to emphasize the sub $1000 market is wide open.

I continue to see items that cost nearly $1000 but need help here and there to simply do what everyone thinks they should in the first place.

When I release a microphone I want it to be absolutely resilient. That means, you shouldn't need to buy another tube to make the mic behave in your recording environment, the internal components are actually a decent part of the price involved in construction (no mods needed!) and it has a killer sound quality.

I hope this thread stays right where its at in the Hip Hop forum (as of this writing) and that people continue to dialogue about the fact that an ambitious rapper/technofile geek from Syracuse, New York and a brilliant EE from Glenwood, Maryland: formed a microphone company. The first people they reached out to were the hip hop community.

I continue to say this as well, I hope one day we can do business with Tony Belmont's company High Profile Audio.

I truly believe in the concept of giving back and it would be perfectly within reason that Tony sells our microphones with that same Gearslutz discount he offers. I would also have no problem hopping in my car and bringing along a few dogs to your studio Tony Belmont! I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy your company and learn some cool things too!

Again on behalf of JJ Audio Mics, I'd like to give a huge thanks to the staff at Studio E (Bob, Matt and Joe), the wonderful session musicians that came (Philadelphia Slick (rap vocals, bass, keys and drums) and one bad ass drummer, Jeff) and the two rappers that came by Sunday morning, Dame and Wendell, they sounded absolutely PHENOMENAL on the Chocolate Lab (MXL 2001 U87 mod) on Dame and the Akita (6AU6A) on Wendell. If I heard correctly they were tracking to music done by the infamous 9th Wonder!!

As well a big thanks to the city of Philadelphia, it was an absolute blast, including the wild bout of snow. I got to eat some great food, spend time with some great people and hear some great recordings in a great studio!

Thanks
Langston Masingale, Sales and Customer Support @ JJ Audio Mics

[AMIEL]

Langston. thanks for your Reply!

Sounds interesting!

and good luck with JJ Audio.

Please send me a PM , want to give you a call.

Thanks!

[Storyville]

Hey I'm going to post up some audio here. This is a rough mix of a song tracked on JJ Audio mics. I can't seem to get wav files to upload, so I'll have individual stuff later - but here's something to wet your taste buds (in your ears).

[Chris Lago]

I am dying to hear the Akita on male singing vox!

[Storyville]

How about rap vocals? I don't know if the akita sung vocals were recorded or not.

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by Storyville

How about rap vocals? I don't know if the akita sung vocals were recorded or not.

Oh no are you serious?!? Noooooooo!

[5StarProject]

Originally Posted by Storyville

Hey I'm going to post up some audio here. This is a rough mix of a song tracked on JJ Audio mics. I can't seem to get wav files to upload, so I'll have individual stuff later - but here's something to wet your taste buds (in your ears).

Sounds good. What was the mic for the vocals ? Thanks for all the pics and hard work (especially in the snow!).

[Reggmail]

Originally Posted by Storyville

Hey I'm going to post up some audio here. This is a rough mix of a song tracked on JJ Audio mics. I can't seem to get wav files to upload, so I'll have individual stuff later - but here's something to wet your taste buds (in your ears).

Bobby, it sounds like you had lots of fun last weekend inspite of the snow here in Philly.
I can't wait to hear the recordings.

Nice sound, mid's highs are very clean although the bottom I can't feel the bass & bass drum.

Overall it's a nice clean sound, are you going through any mike pre's or are we listening to a direct input of the mic to board recording?
What mic is being used on what?
Thanks for posting storyville.

& blessings.

[Storyville]

Originally Posted by 5StarProject

Sounds good. What was the mic for the vocals ? Thanks for all the pics and hard work (especially in the snow!).

That was a u67 variant called "Taho." Also, please note that you are listening to pretty much raw tracks. I put altiverb on the vocals. I don't believe I did anything else besides pan and levels. And I did those really half assed.

Just to give an idea of how it sounded going in. Don't ask why the reverb ended up on there for this. I haven't seen sunlight in four days.

PS - your location says Philly. Stop through some time.

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by chrislago

Oh no are you serious?!? Noooooooo!

We recorded some r&b vocals and Ill check to see if the Akita was one of them....

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

We recorded some r&b vocals and Ill check to see if the Akita was one of them....

Ok thank god

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by Reggmail

Bobby, it sounds like you had lots of fun last weekend inspite of the snow here in Philly.
I can't wait to hear the recordings.

Nice sound, mid's highs are very clean although the bottom I can't feel the bass & bass drum.

Overall it's a nice clean sound, are you going through any mike pre's or are we listening to a direct input of the mic to board recording?
What mic is being used on what?
Thanks for posting storyville.

& blessings.

Focasrite 828s on the drums.
Story can fill in the rest.

regg,the kick and bass are thumpin,man.
It was a live session....no vsts...alllive.

[Audio Hombre]

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

more than surpass ANY mike ever mentioned here on Gear Slutz.

that quote right there did anything but pique my interest.i wish people could actually hear what they're typing in their heads sometimes before they type. this hyperbole non-sense is getting way out of hand

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by illacov

Hello Amiel!

Studio E is currently the owner of the audio clips in question, so they will be posting them shortly.

Regarding our philosophy at JJ Audio Mics, we use what the customer requests to give them the mic they need. As far as capsules, we use MANY different capsule sources. The only mic currently that has a Peluso capsule in it is the JJ Audio Mics Mutt (my personal 1 off mic!), which has the Peluso PK67 capsule in it. The microphone is based around a custom EF86 circuit, with a NOS Amperex Bugle Boy EF86 tube and a Cinemag NiCo transformer. The mic was tested a few times this weekend on mono room into an ART Tubepac compressor (very midsy focused/retro sounding result) and as the only mic on a vintage Fender Vibrolux for recording electric guitar (rhythm and lead).

We ascribe to believing that microphones are one of the most important parts of any studio and therefore we have gone about designing microphones that are far from overpriced OEM overseas products and instead are hand assembling microphones here in the USA. We source capsules from all over the planet, including Europe (reskinned Neumann, Thiersch and Tim Campbell), China (the V67G mod uses the stock Chinese capsule), North America (JJ Audio Capsules) and beyond.

My secondary and most important role in the company is to collaborate with Jim in the design stages, to provide our customers with expensive sounding platforms that are financially within reach of the everyman. One of the ways we have accomplished this is by hiring entities to fabricate custom parts for us (including transformers, shock mounts and capsules).

For example, a mic we have prototyped (literally this past week!) and brought to Studio E was the JJ Audio Mics American Husky. It is based around a 6AK5W tube, 80% Nickel Core transformer and an M7/K47 capsule. We have begun to source PIO capacitors for use in microphones at the coupling cap position and this is to great results!

The Husky's design is rather enlightening considering that it uses a 6AK5W tube, when usually the M7/K47 capsules were coupled with the VF14 or the AC701K tubes. Interestingly (and pleasingly!) it delivers a good amount of low end and low mid authority (with an easy to source and cheap tube) as well as a nice amount of chocolate high mids and sweet yet subtle top end.

Normally a mic embodying a design like this would street for a few thousand dollars and no one would blink.

We wish to change the culture of how mics are purchased and therefore would sell a mic like the Husky for under $1000. (street price)

I will reserve my personal feelings as a recording engineer and mic designer about the Husky (which has been my personal crusade since I met Jim btw) until the host Studio E staff chime in.

As you can also tell the paintjobs, grilles and pcbs are far from stock OEM parts. Instead we etch pcbs or recycle the pcb from the donor mic, transposing the new circuit in the old ones place.

Many of our mics have been showcased in various threads here on Gearslutz, however the breadth of product that we have to offer, is I feel rather compelling considering we have (at the moment) over 14 different models of microphones that we have constructed and produced, in addition to our ever increasing lists of mods, crossgrades, upgrades and rebuilds. I hope to keep JJ Audio Mics as transparent as possible, while I represent what we do. I also wish to keep JJ Audio Mics, hip, savvy and ahead of the curve when it comes to client relations. As you can see, we have done alot of grassroots interfacing with hip hop/urban music. This of course has alot to do with my personal background in Hip Hop and R and B music.

I don't wish to exclude any one particular set of people with my companies' efforts or marketing, however I personally feel the Hip Hop/R and B/Urban demographic has been a slight touch alienated by the equipment industry, often microphone companies in particular, exhibit demos of male/female rock vocals, electric guitar and drum overheads. This kind of leaves the Hip Hop community in the dark as to what equipment to purchase and why. Individuals like Tony Belmont have done the community a great service by showcasing microphones, preamps and compressors in use within the context of Hip Hop music. I highly respect this fact about him and Gearslutz and this aspect has kept me coming back time and again.

This is also why, I personally reached out to Bobby Eli aka Philly Soul Man, a regular here on the Hip Hop forum, to be a part of the JJ Audio family. I had read many a time about his use of budget mics to get a great sound and I had the same aesthetic in mind when I began to discuss pricing with Jim. However, we decided to begin this journey by making these mics obtainable for even the poor musician.

I will not cease to emphasize the sub $1000 market is wide open.

I continue to see items that cost nearly $1000 but need help here and there to simply do what everyone thinks they should in the first place.

When I release a microphone I want it to be absolutely resilient. That means, you shouldn't need to buy another tube to make the mic behave in your recording environment, the internal components are actually a decent part of the price involved in construction (no mods needed!) and it has a killer sound quality.

I hope this thread stays right where its at in the Hip Hop forum (as of this writing) and that people continue to dialogue about the fact that an ambitious rapper/technofile geek from Syracuse, New York and a brilliant EE from Glenwood, Maryland: formed a microphone company. The first people they reached out to were the hip hop community.

I continue to say this as well, I hope one day we can do business with Tony Belmont's company High Profile Audio.

I truly believe in the concept of giving back and it would be perfectly within reason that Tony sells our microphones with that same Gearslutz discount he offers. I would also have no problem hopping in my car and bringing along a few dogs to your studio Tony Belmont! I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy your company and learn some cool things too!

Again on behalf of JJ Audio Mics, I'd like to give a huge thanks to the staff at Studio E (Bob, Matt and Joe), the wonderful session musicians that came (Philadelphia Slick (rap vocals, bass, keys and drums) and one bad ass drummer, Jeff) and the two rappers that came by Sunday morning, Dame and Wendell, they sounded absolutely PHENOMENAL on the Chocolate Lab (MXL 2001 U87 mod) on Dame and the Akita (6AU6A) on Wendell. If I heard correctly they were tracking to music done by the infamous 9th Wonder!!

As well a big thanks to the city of Philadelphia, it was an absolute blast, including the wild bout of snow. I got to eat some great food, spend time with some great people and hear some great recordings in a great studio!

Thanks
Langston Masingale, Sales and Customer Support @ JJ Audio Mics

Hey Bro,
It was such a pleasure hosting you and Jim et al.
I am totally t whether pro or semi pro..from bedroom to boardroom!convinced that JJ Audio will be a force to be reckoned with in the very near future and are a welcome addition to your mic closet whether pro or semi pro..from the bedroom to the boardroom and on!

[Storyville]

Originally Posted by Audio Hombre

that quote right there did anything but pique my interest.i wish people could actually hear what they're typing in their heads sometimes before they type. this hyperbole non-sense is getting way out of hand

Apparently enough to post though? Bob tends to speak in superlatives.

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by Storyville

Apparently enough to post though? Bob tends to speak in superlatives.

thumbsupthumbsupthumbsupthumbsupthumbsup

[illacov]

The entire weekend saw some cool moments go down. I have alot of respect for Storyville and Bob. I felt that respect back in spades as well!

I'll be the first guy to admit it was eye opening as far as certain things that Storyville does for tracking drums vs what I do for tracking drums. I'm a mono all day guy and Matt is much better versed at stereo drum miking than I am. Because of what Matt taught me I definitely will be trying stereo drums more often.

I also appreciated the openness that Story showed me when I would make some of my oddball suggestions for tracking Philadelphia Slick's stuff. One situation in particular involved when I recommended running the band's keyboardist through a vintage Fender Vibrolux. This amp (like the actual physical unit we had) was used on Chubby Checker's "Twist." It had that vintage Jensen speaker in there and sounded FABULOUS on keys, from grand piano to Rhodes. We miked it up with our Taho mic (U67 inspired) on the front of the amp and put our tube pencil condenser the Daschund on overhead. Absolutely gorgeous and lush, when blended with the DI it was absolutely mind blowing how good the keyboard sounded. Taking the keyboard mics out was an instant letdown, so in they stayed!

Now in this particular situation I was well out of bounds, I was a visitor, a sales rep at that and despite my engineering experience, it wasn't my place to call shots on another person's work. But Matt (Story) and I became instant friends and besides wanting to make a good impression on the Studio E staff, I wanted Philly Slick (a band I have a ton of love for!) to have great sounding recordings. So this 3 day session turned into a collaborative effort as much as it was a mic demo

I remember coming back from dinner my last day in Philly (Tony Lukes!!) and seeing the lowly ART Tubepac patched into one of the kick mic channels. Story and I had a friendly running debate during my stay about compression during tracking. I love it, do it all the time, advocate for it. I would put a sign on my front yard if it wasn't for city zoning rules lol.

Well long story short, here was yet again another one of my intrusions at work. Previously I patched the Tubepac on room mic (Mutt) while Story was on dinner break (very sneaky indeed) and that little compressor became an instant stun gun toy that we were completely in love with. It gets pretty effin warm too!LOL.

Story is actually a pretty humble dude and unlike some younger guys who like to flatly shoot down outside suggestions, it was cool to see him putting something to use that obviously worked to the client's benefit, regardless of how it reads on paper. Philly Slick benefited because of Story's vision and willingness to try things to obtain the perfect tone. AMEN!

Again my undying thanks to Bob, Matt and Joe for helping us to make this happen.

Story I miss you already dude. You're definitely not a weekend friend. Call me whenever. Tell my boy Rick the bartender I said much love!

Peace
Illumination

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by Audio Hombre

that quote right there did anything but pique my interest.i wish people could actually hear what they're typing in their heads sometimes before they type. this hyperbole non-sense is getting way out of hand

Then why dont you go on and order a few and find out for yourself!