Three-time Grammy Award-winner, Gustavo Celis and Latin superstar, Ricky Martin, both purchased Brauner KHE microphones after a demo provided by Brad Lunde, Transamerica Audio Group. RICKY RAVES ABOUT BRAUNER KLAUS-HEYNE EDITION MIC MIAMI, FLORIDA: As a three-time Grammy winner, who also shared in this year's Academy Award for Best Sound, it's no surprise that Gustavo Celis' talents as an engineer, mixer, producer and songwriter are much in demand. Currently ensconced at his own The Beat Entertainment facility in Miami, Celis is busy working on the English language follow-up to Ricky Martin's recent Spanish hit album, "Almas del Silencio," both of which heavily feature the Brauner VM1-KHE microphone. Celis was first introduced to the VM1 Klaus Heyne Edition microphone at the beginning of the two-album project during tests to determine the most suitable vocal mic for Martin's voice. Having used it throughout the Spanish language album, the microphone has since become his first choice for nearly anything, he says. "I used that mic on all his vocals, most backing vocals, and some acoustic guitars." Now working to complete the English album, Celis says, "I'm pretty much trying it on everything, because it sounds so good. First of all, it doesn't distort - EVER. The dynamic range is unbelievable. It's very predictable, quiet and easy to use. The sound is fantastic. It doesn't compare to anything. Whenever I have a choice, that's my microphone. It is my weapon of choice." "For Martin's "Almas del Silencio" project," he continues, "I tried it on Spanish guitar and it sounded unbelievable, almost like a 3-D sound. There's so much depth you almost feel you can touch it. The bottom-end is very precise and defined, and the high-end is perfect, too, and very smooth. On the mixes that I've done featuring that mic there's hardly any additive EQ. Vocals seem to hover effortlessly over dense tracks." For a recent remix Celis produced and mixed, he once again used the Brauner, adding a hip-hop flavor to the #1 hit "Jaleo," the opening track on Martin's current album. "This is no ordinary remix. It was more like a new version of the song meant to be played in hip-hop stations and clubs. It's a hip-hop hybrid with a gypsy flavor. I brought in Jamaican rapper, Dru Lord, and used the Brauner. The sound was amazing." Celis recalls the initial mic tests that introduced him to the VM1-KHE. Production of the Spanish version had begun at Martin's home studio. "We were cutting demos and recording tracks, but Ricky hadn't sung final vocals yet. Only reference tracks were made using his old mic. While this mic is one of top brands, I knew Ricky would sound better on something else. The sound had an almost static character to it - a little too warm in a bright and brittle kind of way. So I proposed testing different microphones." After extensive research Celis had Brad Lunde, president of Transamerica Audio Group, send him a half-dozen contenders. "I recorded six mics simultaneously in a circular fashion around Ricky. The mics were almost touching each other so he could sing into a central pop screen. This allowed me to objectively reference to a single take. The mic pres were all identical." He continues, "Ricky has a rich, strong and very powerful voice so I realized there could be distortion problems. We started discarding mics in a blind test and the Brauner won. All the mics performed well - the Brauner KHE just sounded better." The test was convincing enough for Martin and Celis to both purchase a microphone from Mike Harris, Harris Audio, in Miami. "At the end of the test Ricky wouldn't let the mic go back. I talked to Klaus [Heyne] and he started building my mic. I wanted it to match my Neve mic pre and be special." "Classic, 60-year-old microphones offer exceptional sound quality," observes Celis, "but their age frequently brings reliability issues, which means downtime while they are repaired or replaced. "When you're dealing with top artists, their time is so important that you have to get the job done as fast as you possibly can without compromising excellence. So I'm not looking back. If anything, I'll buy another KHE to do stereo." "The fact that this is a brand new mic with a warranty is also comforting," he notes. "You know you'll be taken care of. There's always Klaus and his people who can work on it. I'm very happy with the mic. It has been an invaluable addition to my gear arsenal." Celis has two American Grammy Awards, for his work with Gloria Estefan in 2000 and salsa artist, Roberto Blades in 2001. Plus he has been awarded a Latin Grammy for Best Engineering on Latin superstar, Thalia's, "Arrasando." He shared in the Best Sound Oscar for his work recording and editing the orchestra and vocals for "Chicago." He has also worked with Mandy Moore, Jewel, Shakira, Marc Anthony and Cher, to name a few. For an up to the minute discography go to: www.gustavocelis.com. |
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