Mojave Audio’s MA-300 Captures Moaning’s Raw Energy

LA-based producer, mixer, and engineer Alex Newport is spearheading the recording efforts for punk band Moaning and, among the various tools used to capture the band’s performances is the MA-300 multi-pattern large diaphragm, vacuum tube condenser microphone from Mojave Audio.

“I had a pair of Mojave Audio’s MA-200s for the last year or so and absolutely loved them,” Newport says. “After discovering that the MA-300 is essentially the same microphone but with a multipattern capsule, I acquired a pair. Since I can use them as a mid-side pair, or switch between the cardioid pattern for close sources or omni pattern for room mics, the MA-300 is proving to be tremendously valuable for me. Having the extra patterns is very useful.”

“I’ve been producing Moaning’s second album at my studio in LA,” he continued. “They are an amazing band with a dark, driving noisy guitar/synth sound, with huge pop melodies and great vocals, so there’s a great juxtaposition of sound between melodic and noisy that I am really drawn to. They sort of sound like catchy pop songs, all put through a massive distortion pedal. We just finished the tracking and are about to start mixing. The album is scheduled for release on the Sub Pop record label in early 2020.”

“The MA-300s sound excellent on drum overheads,” he reports. “They can handle a huge amount of SPL and really capture a natural and realistic image of the drum kit without the harshness I experience with many other condenser mics. I’m a huge fan of tube mics and the MA-300s are very well designed, with quite a touch of thickness on the bottom end and a clear, smooth top. Those attributes make them well suited to many applications and I especially love them on drums, guitar cabinets, plus vocals and strings.”