Press Release
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Arturo Sandoval, recognized as one of the world's most acknowledged guardians of jazz trumpet and flugelhorn, has placed his signature sound on yet another Hollywood project—the forthcoming film My Life in Idlewild, directed by Bryan Barber and co-written with Doug Stern. A musical set in the Prohibition-era American South, where a speakeasy performer (Big Boi) and his piano player (André 3000) contend with gangsters who have their eyes on the club, My Life in Idlewild is, in the words of scoring engineer Robert Fernandez, “a perfect venue for Arturo, whose deeply rooted jazz style lends an incredible authenticity to the entire nature of this project.” And the microphone used for capturing Sandoval’s trademark sound? Fernandez looks to select models from Royer Labs.
The music for Idlewild was written by John Debney, whose film credits include the recent hit animated feature Chicken Little as well as 2004’s Passion of the Christ. In addition to the film’s score of approximately 60 minutes, there is also a significant amount of audio loops and assorted tidbits provided by rap artists André 3000 and Big Boi. According to Fernandez, “Arturo plays on a good 15 minutes worth of the score and his contributions are interspersed throughout the course of the film. Arturo performs both open horn and with a number of mutes, so there’s a considerable variety of trumpet timbres in this soundtrack.”
To capture Sandoval’s performances, Fernandez employed two microphones from the Royer Labs arsenal—the R-122 “Active Series” phantom powered ribbon microphone and the company’s SF-24 phantom powered stereo ribbon microphone. By placing the R-122 about six feet from the bell of Sandoval’s horn and the SF-24 another three feet behind the R-122, Fernandez reports that he captures the ideal blend of hard center and stereo spread.
“By including the SF-24,” says Fernandez, “I was able to bring it into the mix as an ambient mic, or I could make the trumpet a bit more present by just pulling the SF-24 back a bit and allowing the R-122 to come forward. This combination gave me exactly what I needed to blend Arturo’s performances into the overall ambience of the film.”
“Trumpet is known as a difficult instrument to record because of its characteristically high sound pressure levels,” continued Fernandez. “For me, the R-122 is the perfect microphone for recording Arturo because it can withstand the trumpet’s level without distorting, and that’s what I love about the microphone. With the R-122, I get a very musical recording.”
Fernandez also reports using his SF-24 on both drums and piano. “The SF-24 is one of my favorite microphones for use on the piano,” states Fernandez. “and I’ve also had great success using it on the drums for overheads. The Royer mics make everything sound warm and natural. I really haven’t found anything that doesn’t sound good on a Royer mic. My experience with their products has been fantastic.”
The R-122
The Royer R-122 is the world’s first phantom powered, active ribbon microphone. The R-122 is a thoroughly modern ribbon microphone designed for today's studio and live environments. It exhibits a flat frequency response and a well-balanced, panoramic soundfield with the ability to withstand 135 dB SPL—making it an ideal tool for drum and guitar amp miking, as well as vocals and a variety of quieter instruments.
The SF-24
Designed as a premium instrument for stereo and distance miking applications, the SF-24 represents a significant improvement for many ambient and critical applications due to the inclusion of Royer’s exclusive active electronics system for ribbon microphones. The SF-24 consists of two matched ribbon microphones placed one above the other, each aimed 45 degrees from center in the classic Blumlein configuration.
Located in Burbank, California, Royer Labs’ microphones are a staple of leading recording and broadcast facilities. Additional information on the new R-122, SF-24, and all Royer microphones can be found at www.royerlabs.com
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