Norah Jones

Norah Jones, Chasing Pirates – Telefunken ELA M 250 (vintage) paired with a Placid Audio Copperphone

Mentioned by production manager and FOH engineer Lee Moro in this August 1, 2007 Electronic Musician interview about the Not Too Late Tour. It can be seen in Jones' Live in Amsterdam concert movie from that tour starting at 0:23.

“Neumann makes a lot of sense for an artist like this,” acknowledges Moro. One key model is the Neumann KMS 104 vocal microphone. “I love the 104. Neumann has hit the spot with that one. The way they’ve changed the pattern from the 105 is working quite well for us. It sounds like a million bucks up there.”

Jones sings from three different locations onstage — from behind an acoustic piano, a Wurlitzer electric piano, and front-and-center with an electric guitar. “I have the 104 on two positions and one with a Neumann KMS 140,” Moro shares. “The 104s sound great, so we might switch that third mic to keep things consistent. Plus, it’s easy if we have a problem with any of them out on the road. It’s easier to find a 104 or 105 than a 140.”

Jones continued using the KMS 104 during the 2010 The Fall Tour, as stated by FOH engineer Brett Dicus in this January 26, 2010 Music Gear Review interview.

To convey that indescribable quality, FOH engineer Brett Dicus continues to rely on a Neumann KMS 104 cardioid or 105 super cardioid microphone, with a backline of Sennheiser Evolution wired microphones and wireless personal monitors for her band.

Brett Dicus uses the microphones to deliver a sound that is as close to studio quality as possible. With Jones' natural airy and sibilant voice, he needs the microphone to have the most life-like and natural high-end possible. "Bother microphones deliver the signature Neumann studio sound with the robust handling required for a live performance" Dicus said of the KMS 104 and 105. "Above all else, the most critical sound reinforcement tool that we bring with us to every date is Norah's Neumann vocal microphone."

Norah has been using a Neumann microphone or capsule with Sennheiser Wireless RF transmitters for almost her entire touring career, a career that spans four albums and most of the globe. Dicus returned to KS 105's from a brief stint using Shure SM 58's "because that was all that was available for a little while." Norah used KMS 105's all the way back on her "Come Away with Me" tour for their high-gain and clean sound to amplify Jones' quiet vocals. Now they're making use of that gain with Jones' new, grittier sound. Gritty, here, is a loose term, as the record itself sounds perfectly clean, but there's that hint of dirt that makes me feel like I'm listening to an old 45 with a just slightly overdriven old Neve board. It's really a great new sound with the same equipment that shows some creativity on her team's part.

Another The Fall Tour mention by Dicus of the KMS 104 can be found in this February 2, 2010 Front of House Magazine interview.

Depending on the acoustical circumstances, Jones sings into a Neumann KMS 104 cardioid or a KMS 105 super-cardioid. Both microphones deliver the Neumann studio sound with the handling required for a live performance. "Above all else, the most critical sound reinforcement tool that we bring with us to every date is Norah's Neumann vocal microphone," said Dicus. "She's been using some variant of a Neumann microphone or a Neumann capsule with a Sennheiser RF transmitter for almost all of her touring career. On those rare occasions where we're asked to use something else, we miss the studio-quality high-end and lifelike sibilance that we get ‘out of the box' with the KMS 104/105."

Yet another The Fall Tour mention can be found in this July 9, 2010 Mix Online article.

Vocal mic is a Neumann KMS104.

Used for vocals on The Fall (in tandem with a Telefunken Ela 250), as stated in this February 1, 2010 Electronic Musician interview with Jones, producer Jacquire King and assistant engineer Brad Bivens and as featured in this January 5, 2015 video by Placid Audio.

Demos for The Fall began at Jones’ Manhattan home studio in May 2008, with engineer Tom Schick manning her custom Neve console (with 1073 modules), Otari 2-inch 24-track MTR- 90, and a sumptuous collection of vintage tube mics (Neumann M 49, U 47, and Telefunken ELA M 250).

(...) [Jones:] 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.

(...) [King:] And Norah has an ELA M 250 mic and a U 47; then we chose the 250 paired with a Placid Audio Copperphone. It’s basically an old pay phone telephone voice element in a custom copper enclosure. I put that right next to the 250. It has a very frequency limited, old time gritty, edgy sound and gave the vocal a little more texture. Sometimes I leaned heavier on background vocals to give them a different texture and separate it from the lead vocal.

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 for Jones' Wurlitzer organ on "Feelin' the Same Way" and the background vocals on Come Away With Me, as stated by producer Jacquire King in this Universal Audio interview.

The 2-610 I used pretty extensively once we got back to her place for bass and Wurlitzer. I did some background vocals with it.

The 2-160 was later used for the "Wurlitzer, guitars, and bass" on The Fall, as stated by King in this February 1, 2010 Electronic Musician interview with Jones, King and his assistant engineer Brad Bivens.

The only thing I brought along was the Universal Audio 2-610. [“And the Massenburg MDW Hi-Res Parametric EQ to add extra fluidity to every channel,” Brad Bivens adds.] The Magic Shop and Sunset Sound have wonderful Neve desks and lots of outboard gear, and Norah has wonderful microphones. So instead of carting things around, I just brought guitar pedals undefined, speakers, and the 2-610, which is a tube mic pre with EQ. It was used for Wurlitzer, guitars, and bass. The vocals were recorded through a Neve 1073 module.

Owned by Jones and used for vocals on The Fall, as stated in this December 1, 2009 Mix Online interview with producer Jacquire King and his assistant Brad Bivens.

Among the mics King and Bivens used on the sessions in both studios were a Neumann 47 on the bass amp, Telefunken Ela M 251 and Placid Audio Copperphone (Jones' personal microphones) on vocals, and Sennheiser 409 and Neumann 67 on the guitar amps; drum mics included a Coles 438, Sennheiser 421 on the kick, Royer SF-7, Neumann 67s and Altec 633-A.

Used for live vocals since the Come Away With Me Tour. It is mentioned by production manager and FOH engineer Lee Moro in this October 1, 2002 Mix Online interview.

Norah Jones' two vocal mics — she sings a few songs at a Wurlitzer electric piano — are Neumann KMS 105s. “A 58 will always work, but once I got a little bit of money in the budget, I got the Neumanns,” says Moro. “I didn't have them in Europe, but I decided I really needed them.”

The KMS 105 is also mentioned by Moro in this August 1, 2007 Electronic Musician interview about the Not Too Late Tour, specifying a wireless model and its reduced use since the addition of a Sennheiser RF system.

“We still have high praise for the wireless KMS 105, although we’re not using it as much because there’s not as much movement,” says Moro. That’s mainly because, unlike previous tours, Jones rarely has her hands free. “Norah plays guitar a lot on this tour, and the backup singer, Daru Odo, is also playing bass when Lee Alexander, the bass player, is playing guitar. So we put everybody on Sennheiser wireless instrument systems, which makes things a lot easier.”

Jones continued using the KMS 105 during the 2010 The Fall Tour, as stated by FOH engineer Brett Dicus in this January 26, 2010 Music Gear Review interview.

To convey that indescribable quality, FOH engineer Brett Dicus continues to rely on a Neumann KMS 104 cardioid or 105 super cardioid microphone, with a backline of Sennheiser Evolution wired microphones and wireless personal monitors for her band.

Brett Dicus uses the microphones to deliver a sound that is as close to studio quality as possible. With Jones' natural airy and sibilant voice, he needs the microphone to have the most life-like and natural high-end possible. "Bother microphones deliver the signature Neumann studio sound with the robust handling required for a live performance" Dicus said of the KMS 104 and 105. "Above all else, the most critical sound reinforcement tool that we bring with us to every date is Norah's Neumann vocal microphone."

Norah has been using a Neumann microphone or capsule with Sennheiser Wireless RF transmitters for almost her entire touring career, a career that spans four albums and most of the globe. Dicus returned to KS 105's from a brief stint using Shure SM 58's "because that was all that was available for a little while." Norah used KMS 105's all the way back on her "Come Away with Me" tour for their high-gain and clean sound to amplify Jones' quiet vocals. Now they're making use of that gain with Jones' new, grittier sound. Gritty, here, is a loose term, as the record itself sounds perfectly clean, but there's that hint of dirt that makes me feel like I'm listening to an old 45 with a just slightly overdriven old Neve board. It's really a great new sound with the same equipment that shows some creativity on her team's part.

Another The Fall Tour mention by Dicus of the KMS 105 can be found in this February 2, 2010 Front of House Magazine interview.

Depending on the acoustical circumstances, Jones sings into a Neumann KMS 104 cardioid or a KMS 105 super-cardioid. Both microphones deliver the Neumann studio sound with the handling required for a live performance. "Above all else, the most critical sound reinforcement tool that we bring with us to every date is Norah's Neumann vocal microphone," said Dicus. "She's been using some variant of a Neumann microphone or a Neumann capsule with a Sennheiser RF transmitter for almost all of her touring career. On those rare occasions where we're asked to use something else, we miss the studio-quality high-end and lifelike sibilance that we get ‘out of the box' with the KMS 104/105."

Used for vocals on the Not Too Late Tour, as stated by production manager and FOH engineer Lee Moro in this August 1, 2007 Electronic Musician interview.

Jones sings from three different locations onstage — from behind an acoustic piano, a Wurlitzer electric piano, and front-and-center with an electric guitar. “I have the 104 on two positions and one with a Neumann KMS 140,” Moro shares. “The 104s sound great, so we might switch that third mic to keep things consistent. Plus, it’s easy if we have a problem with any of them out on the road. It’s easier to find a 104 or 105 than a 140.”

Used for the piano on the Not Too Late Tour, as stated by production manager and FOH engineer Lee Moro in this August 1, 2007 Electronic Musician interview.

On this tour, which mainly takes in theaters plus a few amphitheaters such as Denver’s Red Rocks, there has also been a slight change to the acoustic piano setup, according to Moro. “We had three KM 100s with the AK 40 capsules last time. Now we’ve taken the middle one and put a TLM 103 in there. It’s the hugest of large diaphragms and gives a bigger overall sound. I’ve become a big fan of the 103. They’re stupendous and pick up everything really nicely.”

It was also used on the The Fall Tour for the closing jams (for which Jones played guitar), Jones' Wurlitzer 200A and her guitar amp, as stated by FOH engineer Brett Dicus and tech Kelly Macauly, respectively, in this July 9, 2010 Mix Online interview.

Four members of the band do a little jam at the end of the show surrounding a Neumann TLM103 mic. Dicus has a Waves Q10 inserted on the channel, as well as the strip EQ to help eliminate feedback and then to contour the tone. (...) According to tech Kelly Macaulay, Jones also plays a Wurlitzer 200 that is run through a Sans Amp Classic to get the overdriven sound into a Keeley-modified Ibanez analog delay pedal into her Vox Pathfinder 15R amp. (...) Jones uses two Vox Pathfinder 15R amps: one at the guitar position (miked with a TLM103) and the other at the Wurlitzer position amp (Shure KSM32). These are mounted to the amp with a custom Audio Analysts Z-bar.

Used for the piano on the Norah Jones & The Handsome Band Tour, as stated by production manager and FOH engineer Lee Moro in this August 1, 2007 Electronic Musician interview about the Not Too Late Tour.

On this tour, which mainly takes in theaters plus a few amphitheaters such as Denver’s Red Rocks, there has also been a slight change to the acoustic piano setup, according to Moro. “We had three KM 100s with the AK 40 capsules last time. Now we’ve taken the middle one and put a TLM 103 in there. It’s the hugest of large diaphragms and gives a bigger overall sound. I’ve become a big fan of the 103. They’re stupendous and pick up everything really nicely.”

Used for vocals on The Fall and part of Jones' custom Neve console, as stated in this February 1, 2010 Electronic Musician interview with Jones, producer Jacquire King and his assistant engineer Brad Bivens. It is King who mentions that "[t]he vocals were recorded through a Neve 1073 module."

Demos for The Fall began at Jones’ Manhattan home studio in May 2008, with engineer Tom Schick manning her custom Neve console (with 1073 modules), Otari 2-inch 24-track MTR- 90, and a sumptuous collection of vintage tube mics (Neumann M 49, U 47, and Telefunken ELA M 250). (...) Recording in mid-2009 at New York’s The Magic Shop, Studio A (Neve 80 Series console with 1079 modules to 16-track Studer A827 2-inch 24-track to Pro Tools|HD3) and L.A.’s Sunset Sound, Studio 2 (Neve 8088 with 1073 preamps and EQs to Studer A827 2-inch 24-track to Pro Tools), Jones and King adopted a quasi Steely Dan approach, often recording the same song with different groups, then cherry-picking the best performances.

Used for vocals on Not Too Late and The Fall (in tandem with a Placid Audio Copperphone for the latter), as stated in this February 1, 2010 Electronic Musician interview with Jones, producer Jacquire King and assistant engineer Brad Bivens.

Demos for The Fall began at Jones’ Manhattan home studio in May 2008, with engineer Tom Schick manning her custom Neve console (with 1073 modules), Otari 2-inch 24-track MTR- 90, and a sumptuous collection of vintage tube mics (Neumann M 49, U 47, and Telefunken ELA M 250).

(...) [Jones:] 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.

(...) [King:] And Norah has an ELA M 250 mic and a U 47; then we chose the 250 paired with a Placid Audio Copperphone. It’s basically an old pay phone telephone voice element in a custom copper enclosure. I put that right next to the 250. It has a very frequency limited, old time gritty, edgy sound and gave the vocal a little more texture. Sometimes I leaned heavier on background vocals to give them a different texture and separate it from the lead vocal.

Part of Jones' home studio, as stated in this February 1, 2010 Electronic Musician interview with Jones, producer Jacquire King and assistant engineer Brad Bivens about The Fall.

Demos for The Fall began at Jones’ Manhattan home studio in May 2008, with engineer Tom Schick manning her custom Neve console (with 1073 modules), Otari 2-inch 24-track MTR- 90, and a sumptuous collection of vintage tube mics (Neumann M 49, U 47, and Telefunken ELA M 250).

(...) [King:] And Norah has an ELA M 250 mic and a U 47; then we chose the 250 paired with a Placid Audio Copperphone.

Used on Jones' piano for The Fall, as stated by assistant engineer Brad Bivens in this February 1, 2010 Electronic Musician interview with Jones, producer Jacques King and Bivens.

When tracking vocals live with the band, how do you adapt?

We knew what Norah was singing at any given time would potentially be on the record. We made sure she was isolated from the group. At The Magic Shop she was in the live room with half the musicians, but their amps were isolated. When she played piano [recorded with Neumann U 69 and U 67, Soundelux E49, and Neumann M 582 mics], we covered it with packing blankets to isolate her mic piano mic. Getting levels set beforehand was important, and Norah works very quickly. We were ready if anything went wrong, and we had backup scenarios.

Used on Jones' piano for The Fall, as stated by assistant engineer Brad Bivens in this February 1, 2010 Electronic Musician interview with Jones, producer Jacques King and Bivens.

When tracking vocals live with the band, how do you adapt?

We knew what Norah was singing at any given time would potentially be on the record. We made sure she was isolated from the group. At The Magic Shop she was in the live room with half the musicians, but their amps were isolated. When she played piano [recorded with Neumann U 69 and U 67, Soundelux E49, and Neumann M 582 mics], we covered it with packing blankets to isolate her mic piano mic. Getting levels set beforehand was important, and Norah works very quickly. We were ready if anything went wrong, and we had backup scenarios.

Used on Jones' piano for The Fall, as stated by assistant engineer Brad Bivens in this February 1, 2010 Electronic Musician interview with Jones, producer Jacques King and Bivens.

When tracking vocals live with the band, how do you adapt?

We knew what Norah was singing at any given time would potentially be on the record. We made sure she was isolated from the group. At The Magic Shop she was in the live room with half the musicians, but their amps were isolated. When she played piano [recorded with Neumann U 69 and U 67, Soundelux E49, and Neumann M 582 mics], we covered it with packing blankets to isolate her mic piano mic. Getting levels set beforehand was important, and Norah works very quickly. We were ready if anything went wrong, and we had backup scenarios.

Used for Jones' Wurlitzer 200A during the The Fall Tour, as stated by tech Kelly Macauly in this July 9, 2010 Mix Online interview.

According to tech Kelly Macaulay, Jones also plays a Wurlitzer 200 that is run through a Sans Amp Classic to get the overdriven sound into a Keeley-modified Ibanez analog delay pedal into her Vox Pathfinder 15R amp. (...) Jones uses two Vox Pathfinder 15R amps: one at the guitar position (miked with a TLM103) and the other at the Wurlitzer position amp (Shure KSM32). These are mounted to the amp with a custom Audio Analysts Z-bar.

In this photo, Jones can be seen playing a Fender Mustang Electric Guitar.

Jones can be seen in this photo playing a Gibson SG Junior.

Jones can be seen in this photo playing a white, tortoise-shell Fender Jazzmaster.

In this photo you can see Norah Jones playing a Guild Starfire III from the mid 60s with Guild's HB-1 small humbuckers. The Guild logo can be clearly seen on the factory installed Bigsby. She has also been known to play an earlier Starfire (II or II, unsure) with two Dearmond 200 pickups (white bobbin Gretsch 'Dynasonics').

Used on The Fall, as stated by Jones in this February 1, 2010 Electronic Musician interview.

This time I thought more about what I wanted sonically. On my other records, I would just go to the studio and play, mostly on acoustic instruments with an occasional electric guitar or Wurlitzer. But this time I wanted the sonic landscape to be a specific thing. I wanted heavier drum grooves, and to experiment with keyboards and have weirder sounds weaving through the background. I play more guitar [a Gibson ES-335 and 1960s Guild archtop] and I wanted the backgrounds to be dirtier than anything I’d done before.

"According to tech Kelly Macaulay, Jones also plays a Wurlitzer 200 that is run through a Sans Amp Classic to get the overdriven sound into a Keeley-modified Ibanez analog delay pedal into her Vox Pathfinder 15R amp."

Used for Jones' Wurlitzer 200A on the The Fall Tour, as mentioned by keyboard, guitar and drum tech Futz in this July 9, 2010 Mix Online interview.

“We also have a stock ’70s Wurlitzer 200A electric piano going through a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver (for extra crunch) and an Ibanez AD-9 analog delay before going to the bass input of the Fender Bassman,” says Futz.

You can see on this picture Norah Jones tuning up the guitar with the Boss TU-3.

Norah Jones uses a light Overdrive on her live performances.

It can be confused with a Tremolo effect, but Norah actually uses a delay pedal, in "short" delay setting, to add a bit of vibe, and resemble the 60s guitar sound.