Brooklyn-based band Rubblebucket has completed its new album “Survival Sounds,” utilizing two large diaphragm tube mics from Telefunken: the AK-47 MkII and the CU-29 Copperhead.
Lead singer and saxophonist Kalmia Traver says, “We used the CU-29 and AK-47 for horns and vocals all over our new record. When I first tried the Copperhead I instantly fell in love with how my voice sounded with that hot Telefunken tube—sometimes I just practice and do vocal exercises with it just for the ego boost.”
Musical couple Alex Toth (trumpet, band leader) and Kalmia Traver (vocals, saxophone) first met at the University of Vermont where they were enrolled as music majors. They joined up with guitarist Ian Hersey, trombonist Adam Dotson and drummer David Cole to create Rubblebucket.
The band is currently touring the U.S. on a 45-date headline tour in support of the new album. Mathew Scheiner, Rubblebucket’s FOH engineer and tour manager, notes, “Kal was cycling through a bunch of different vocal mics until I suggested Telefunken’s M81 dynamic. It’s the first mic we’ve come across that allows her voice to cut through the rest of the 7-piece band without being too harsh up top, and still preserve a really healthy amount of body. It balances her voice out beautifully.”
Traver adds, “I’ve tried many different mics over the years, and the M81 has risen to the top for its clarity and balance, and ability to handle the crazy overtones in my voice.”