Pictured in Frank Zappa's Utility Muffin Research Kitchen are (L-R) Dweezil Zappa with a vintage Telefunken U47; Telefunken | USA CEO Toni Fishman; and Charlie Bolois, the company's West Coast service and restoration specialist. Photo by David Goggin.

Los Angeles, CA, June, 2007 — The restoration of Frank Zappa's vintage mic collection, begun in 2005, is now complete. The project began with a visit and evaluation by Telefunken | USA CEO Toni Fishman and was completed by Charlie Bolois, the company's West Coast service specialist. Zappa also took possession of a new Telefunken | USA U47, one of a new line of microphones which faithfully recreate the legendary vintage Telefunken sound.

Toni Fishman explained, "Frank Zappa had assembled a very original and complete collection of extremely rare and valuable German and Austrian microphones, unused since his death. We dismantled and carefully evaluated the condition of the mics, performed numerous minor repairs, replaced some of the tubes with NOS (New Old Stock) tubes, and then worked on mic systems integration by matching up the correct power supplies and cables.

"We went through three Telefunken U47s, four Neumann M49s, a beautiful matched pair of Neumann M50s, circa 1950, and four AKG C24s, circa 1960. We also worked on an AKG C-12A that was missing a cable and power supply and rebuilt a custom Telefunken Ela M251 using the existing capsule. It was an impressive collection, but if microphones are unused they tend to deteriorate, so we've given them a renewed life and got them up and running for Dweezil's upcoming projects."

In the second phase of the project, Zappa met with Toni Fishman and Charlie Bolois to evaluate the remaining mics and other Zappa gear. Bolois concentrated on two U67s, nicknamed "The Champ" and "Schneider" by Frank Zappa. "Neither had a power supply," explained Bolois. "First I worked with a number of Zappa cables with various problems and made two good working cables with swivel mounts. Toni Fishman provided two custom power supplies which I adjusted to the correct voltages specifically for each mic. I also replaced the tubes in both, using NOS selected for low noise and low microphonics. A third mic, a vintage M49, required repair of the original Neumann power supply, various tune-ups and a capsule replacement."

After the restoration of the microphone collection, Dweezil unearthed various family treasures, including the rare Systec Harmonic Energizer guitar pedal. Bolois restored the unit to working order and Dweezil identified it as one used by Frank in the 1970s "Roxy and Elsewhere" album period. He has incorporated it in his current "Zappa Plays Zappa" concert tour.

"There is just nothing like it, and it's definitely a treat to have this for our performances of Frank's music." It is hoped that Telefunken | USA will be able to reverse engineer and recreate the unit, as they have done with numerous vintage microphones of the past.

Among other treasures pulled out of storage is "some form of a compressor," explained Bolois. "It's definitely hand made. Somebody adapted a compressor/limiter circuit board that utilized a Telefunken device. Once we figure out what it is and get it working, we'll hear what it sounds like and take it from there..."

For more information on Dweezil Zappa and the Zappa Plays Zappa project, please visit www.zappa.com.

ABOUT TELEFUNKEN ELEKTROAKUSTIK

TELEFUNKEN | USA acquired the TELEFUNKEN Trademark for North America in 2001, and in 2009 the company was named the Elektroakustik (translation: Electrical Acoustics) arm of TELEFUNKEN and awarded the exclusive rights to manufacture a wide variety of professional audio products and vacuum tubes bearing the TELEFUNKEN name, in over 27 countries worldwide. Recreating the classic TELEFUNKEN microphones has been a labor of love for the company CEO, Toni Fishman and the pursuit of that dream has culminated in the manufacture of what we at TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik believe are the finest microphones currently available in the world today.

Along with meticulously manufacturing historic replicas of classic microphones by hand in the USA, TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik is now marketing the R-F-T series of microphones that take advantage of the globalization of technology, in order to offer recording microphones with professional sonic performance at reasonable prices.

Our latest additions to the TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik product line include a revolutionary new capsule design based on Alloy 2213™, an exceptional dynamic microphone [the M80], and a vacuum tube replacement for the original TELEFUNKEN VF14 which offers comparable performance in our U47 and new U48 microphones.

TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik continues to expand, and research and development of new products is an ongoing process. Although based firmly on classic designs, TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik is continuously looking forward. Important changes in our company and further expansion of our product line are slated for the immediate future.

For more information about TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik, call 860.882.5919 or e-mail info@t-funk.com.