For The Beach Boys’ 50th Anniversary world tour and continuing engagements, the band has chosen the M80 dynamic microphone from TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik in the new “Woody” faux oak finish.
The first 15 mics off the handmade assembly line went out on the 50th Anniversary world tour and were signed by the band to raise funds for their favorite charity, The Surfrider Foundation. Additional “Woody” mics are still on the road for continuing Beach Boys engagements.
TELEFUNKEN’s artist liaison Jason Scheuner explains, “Shortly before the tour began, I got a call from their mixer Mark Newman. He was familiar with our M80 dynamic and needed 15 right away. As luck would have it, we had just come up with the new oak finish and it just clicked as reminiscent of the surfer’s favorite old Woody stationwagons of the ‘40s. We said if the band would sign them, we would donate and auction them off for their favorite charity.”
Newman has been mixing the Beach Boys live for the past six years and for the first full reunion, he was called on to take care of the 50th Anniversary tour as well.
“It was a joy to work with all of them and have those voices in the mix,” he remarks. “I love the clarity of those mics, because I want the lyrics to be intelligible and I want the audience to be able to connect with the band and the message they are conveying. The M80s do it for me easily. And I love the proximity effect that requires the artist to stay on mic, giving me minimal stage bleed.”
Beach Boys fans can now get the full experience from the reunion tour in the upcoming double album from the trek. The new album, “Live – The 50th Anniversary Tour,” features 41 tracks from the tour and will be released digitally and as a 2 CD set on May 21.
The recordings were captured during the band’s worldwide reunion tour and feature Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, David Marks, and music director Jeffrey Foskett. It was Wilson’s first tour with the band in over two decades.
Newman adds, “I’d also like to give a shout out to the team at TELEFUNKEN. Their quick response for this special request was much appreciated and their customer service is unparalleled—give a call or email and they really make things happen.”
