Musician/Producer Joshua Homme Using Range of Violet Design Ultra-Precision Microphones on Sessions for Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures.12 May, 2010

"In studio gear, there are only 3 things that matter: Quality, Consistency & Quality. Violet is the best aspects of the vintage era merged with today's leading-edge electronics and mechanical design." Joshua Homme is the consummate studio performer. Whether working on his own productions, or in cooperation with the several bands of which he is a continuing member - including Queens of the Stone Age, The Desert Sessions, Eagles of Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures - he chooses his creative tools very carefully. That he relies heavily on a basic array of Violet Design microphones is testament to this talented guitarist/producer's appreciation of craftsmanship.

"It seems a common idea to utilize a range of mics and gear, both old and new. Why any piece becomes "classic" in the vintage gear world is because it's time tested. In the case of new gear, I really appreciate equipment that has its roots in something classic, yet modernizes with a reverence. Respect for what was, mixed with a pride in your work today, makes for excellent sound. " he states. "The Flamingo Stereo, Flamingo Magic Ear, Flamingo Vintage and Black Knight, I use regularly here at Pink Duck Studios" - the producers' personal-use facility in Burbank, CA - "are my go-to transducers. Ever since they've been in my possession, they've been on my sessions. When I have a session anywhere other than my own place and I'm bringing those 10 mics. I know if I do, I have no worries ...  My Violets are in there because I know they will work across a wide range of instruments and vocals."

While Homme likes both the Flamingo Magic Ear and Flamingo Vintage for vocals, acoustic/electric guitar, bass and piano, they provide different 'colors' for his productions. "The Magic Ear has a more 'modern' top-end and pristine high-frequency response," he offers. "It produces more air and a more 'elegant' high-end sound that is very useful on a track. The Vintage, on the other hand, is a little darker and a little more 'colored', which I like for a number of instruments."

The Flamingo Stereo sounds great on guitar backline, Homme says. "I use one capsule close in to the speaker cone and the other pointed anywhere in the room to pick up a bigger, more 'developed' sound. But the Flamingo Stereo is totally versatile & that design versatility has been a catalyst for experimentation. Trying to record instruments you know in ways you wouldn't have tried; I've yet to find a recording situation to not use it on! And the Black Knight, with its swiveling head and excellent rejection, has replaced my old faithful 421 on the toms and sounds great as drum overheads too. That swivel-mount head allows you make minor moves at the mic, without adjusting the stand. That's just recording experience applied to design and a respectful tip of the hat to any engineer. Smart move." Homme has used his Violets on the majority of recent sessions recorded at his spacious SSL/Pro Tools-equipped studio, including Them Crooked Vultures, the hugely successful CD offering from his new project withDave Grohl and John Paul Jones, as well as offerings from Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal; he continues to produce and release a musical improvisational series with other musicians, mostly from the Palm Desert scene, known as The Desert Sessions. He also produced the recent Arctic Monkeys album at Pink Duck studios and Rancho De La Luna Studios in Joshua Tree.

"My Violet microphones offer a number of advantages for me," the producer considers, "including remarkable versatility and pristine sound quality. In reality, they represent the very best of the Old School and the New School. Their design offers the very best of the vintage era, but with leading-edge electronics and mechanical design - these Violets are beautifully built. I like a vintage tone, but don't want to buy somebody else's 50-year old headache. I sometimes wonder what other microphone manufacturers are thinking. In studio gear, there are only 3 things that matter: Quality, Consistency & Quality. There is no need to re-invent the wheel - just make a great wheel!"

The Flamingo Series are top-of-the-line vacuum-tube studio microphones designed for high-end quality audio recording. The Flamingo Standard uses a side-address, dual-diaphragm electrostatic transducer tuned to provide a classical wide-spectrum vintage tube-microphone sound with extended top end. The Flamingo Vintage is tuned to provide a sweet, warm vocal sound with high-frequency roll-off associated with vintage tube microphones. The Flamingo Magic Ear uses an extra large ear-shaped transducer that provides a unique, resonance-free, warm and full vocal sound. The capsule's irregular shape eliminates circular resonances and reflections; the result is a warm, clean, more dense and natural tone without the typical round-capsule resonance effects. The Flamingo Stereo features an FET-based pre-amp with two large-diaphragm cardioid condenser capsules. The Black Knight uses a large dual-diaphragm, side-terminated, condenser capsule that offers a natural musical sound with transparent highs, smooth midrange, flat LF response and a unidirectional cardioid polar pattern. The mic's phantom-powered Class-A pre-amplifier provides very high output, flat audio-response and ultra-low distortion and noise.