Norah Jones – Feels Like Home

Used for vocals on Come Away With Me, as stated by producer Jay Newland in this September 2003 Universal Audio WebZine interview.

The single from the Norah Jones record “Come Away With Me” was actually a demo track that was cut in a small live room at Sorcerer Sound, with the entire band live. It was recorded with a Neumann M49 Mic thru a Manley pre amp and Vari-Mu compressor limiter. Newland used LA-2A compression very subtly on the vocal in the mix. “The LA-2A for me is sort of a default that I always go to. It always works great. I’m just getting into using the 1176 more for more of that in your face vocals. For the jazz stuff, the transparency of the LA-2A is sometimes nicer.”

The M 49 is also mentioned by Newland in this transcribed March 2005 interview.

"The first time I heard Norah Jones sing at a rehearsal before our initial sessions, I knew she had a truly great voice," says Jay. "I only mention this because it's the crucial first link in the chain. The recording chain for 'Don't Know Why,' as well as most of the rest of the record, was a Neumann M 49 microphone into a Manley tube mic pre. We tried other mics, a [Neumann] U 47 and a [AKG] C12vr, but the M 49 had the right amount of 'air' while maintaining a real fullness and warmth. The tube pre was also warm but a little less colored than, say, a vintage Neve pre, which I love in many cases. This went into one side of a Manley Vari-mu compressor with a fast attack and release setting. The threshold was high so it was barely hitting the compressor. The Vari-mu can also be very transparent, which is why I liked it for this application. This went to BASF (Emtec) 900 analog tape at 15 ips on a STUDER A820 with Dolby SR. Although I like Pro Tools HD, we did not use Pro Tools on this session. No Auto-Tuning. The console is custom built by Al Fierstein, owner of Sorcerer Sound, and is called Acoustilog."

Jones revealed in this February 1, 2010 Electronic Musician interview that she bought the M 49 personally for Come Away With Me and also used it on Feels Like Home and Not Too Late.

I bought the Neumann M 49 from Sorcerer Sound where I made my first record. It has a quality with the way I sing that just works. I realized on my second record [2004’s Feels Like Home] that it was pretty special. I couldn’t get that same quality as easily with another mic. I love the M 49 and I also used a Telefunken ELA M 250 on my third record [2007’s Not Too Late]. It depends on the type of song and the way I am singing for which one sounds better. I love the 49 ’cause it gets all the grit and warmth, but sometimes it can sound a little too muffled if I am singing a certain way. Then the 250 gives some nice high end and a lot of air. And I like to be close to the mic to catch all the nuances.

An M 49 can also be seen in the promotional video for Seth MacFarlane's Music Is Better Than Words at 2:09, revealing that it was used for Jones' vocal feature on "Two Sleepy People".

Used extensively on Feels Like Home, as mentioned by producer Jay Newland in this May 3, 2004 Mix Online article.

“The 2-1176 was used on every song on Norah's new record. Recording and mixing, I would have to call it the perfect everyday, ‘go to’ piece of gear. From subtle to slamming, it sounds great on everything: overheads, room mics, acoustic guitars, vocals—really fantastic,” commented Newland.

“On Norah’s record, there are a lot of songs with two guitars: left and right. The 2-1176 pulls them out but somehow connects them together in a very cool way. At my home studio, it is the path for all the vocals: lead and background.”