L.A. Duo Captures Performances with Ribbon Mics

Pasadena, CA (May 20, 2026)—Los Angeles folk duo The Milk Carton Kids used AEA’s ribbon mics and TRP3 preamps to capture performances on their latest album.

The Milk Carton Kids’ new album, Lost Cause Lover Fool, reflects their signature minimalist approach. Working alongside band members Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, recording engineer Jason Cupp approached each session as an exercise in capturing a complete musical picture, rather than isolating individual elements.

That recording approach became immediately apparent to Grammy-winning mastering engineer Kim Rosen, who, in a note to the band after mastering, highlighted the clarity and depth of the stereo image, particularly in how the drums translated. For Pattengale and Ryan, that feedback confirmed that their focus on room and stereo perspective carried through to the final stage.

The sessions were built around a setup where vocals and guitars could be recorded together. The team relied on AEA N22 and N28 ribbon microphones, with the N22 used on electric guitar, mandolin and kick drum. The N28 was used to capture drums and guitar, creating a stereo image that felt immediate and physically present, as if the listener were in the room with the duo.

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“The microphones got us really close to the sound,” Pattengale explains, “and that’s when Jason could step in and take the record the rest of the way.”

During the early stages of the sessions, the signal chain included a mix of vintage equipment that began to introduce constant interruptions. “Every time we’d open up one of the channels, there’d be something else,” Pattengale recalls. “We’d just be like, ‘Oh God, we’re losing valuable time here.’”

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Cupp suggested removing the problem entirely, so Pattengale reached out to AEA, and the next morning, 12 channels of TRP3 preamps arrived at the studio. “It was a really great and inspired choice of Jason’s,” Pattengale recalls, “solving a problem but also making the record sound so much better.”