As chief engineer of Stations West Studios in Nashville, Kyle Manner stays pretty busy. When you’re servicing clients like Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley, there is never a dull moment, “…life has been crazy,” says Manner.
Lately, Manner been focusing on artist development projects for publishing, major labels and artist management. Demo projects are a great opportunity for engineers to experiment with gear in ways they might not when working with established artists.
Such was the case a few months ago when Manner received a pair of Vanguard Audio Labs’ V1S + LOLLI microphone systems. The V1 is a FET pencil condenser microphone that comes with four interchangeable 22mm capsules (cardioid, wide-cardioid, hyper-cardioid and omni). Also available as an option for the V1 is the LOLLI multi-pattern large-diaphragm capsule head.
“I love my V1S+LOLLI pair. I needed a pair of utility LDCs (large-diaphragm condenser) and when I tried these out I found that they’re not your typical ‘utility mics’ that sound good on most sound sources, but they sounded great on everything I mic’d, which included male and female vocals, piano, drums, percussion, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, violin, even as room mics.”
The LOLLI houses an extra-large 34mm edge-terminated, gold-sputtered 3µm Mylar dual-capsule assembly which is custom-voiced with a proprietary hand-tuning process. Open-weave mesh, a carefully radiused interior, and precision-machined venting prevent standing reflections and allow for an open-air voicing, an attribute not lost on Manner.
“Lots of detail with nice smooth mid-range and top, not harsh, and good lows and lower mids without getting muddy or boomy. As a bonus, they’re also a really great pair of SDCs (small-diaphragm condenser), two mics in one.”
