Top 5: John Feldmann

This is probably the most important piece of gear that I have at the studio. The first thing I do in the morning is fire that thing up. It automatically grinds the beans (Stumptown’s Hair Bender blend) and pours a double shot. I shoot it back and my brain starts firing up with ideas. Typically, I’ll start a session like this, and then I can begin pitching a song idea (or whatever) to an artist. My coffee machine is definitely what matters most.

The Manley is such an imperative mic for my productions. Again, I use it on everything, including the new Avril Lavigne album. It has this great top end which captures her bright, angsty voice so well. I could hear all of the midrange and sibilance that I needed, which was important when making this record with her.

I love microphones, and I feel that each has its own personality — especially when it comes to recording female vocals. I recently recorded Leah Kate using the same mic, and again the way the mic handled this sibilance was fantastic. I’ll pretty much always use the Manley when working with any female artist as it’s not too bright, and is best suited to most of their vocal tones. My guess is that Manley probably modelled it after the C12, but I could be wrong. It’s got that familiar shape and the capsule looks kind of similar, especially the VR reissue that AKG produced.

As a pitchy vocalist myself, I turn to EFX+ and get great results. I can record live with little to no latency and because I can hear it in my headphones, I’ll focus on the performance more than I will on the pitch. When I’m in the studio recording my own vocals, I love Auto-Tune. It makes me a more confident singer because I’m not worried about the shit that I can fix later, so I can go for it with attitude. There are singers I’ve worked with who don’t need autotune at all, but just having the option there means that I don’t have to focus on every little inflection — it’s just one thing that I can let go of.

When you’re writing intense lyrics in the studio and they have you feeling raw in the vocal booth, you want these emotions to translate to tape. EFX+ takes the performance worry away, leaving you to concentrate on capturing the essence of the lyrics, the melody, and the song.