Zach ‘Ekzakt’ Perry shares his career progression using mics from Lauten Audio

The music producer and mix engineer Zack 'Ekzakt' Perry is known for his precision and attention to detail. In the early part of his career, he solidified his place in the hip-hop and R&B community by working with artists such as Jamie Foxx and Kelly Rowland. Recently, his client list has expanded to include PARTYNEXTDOOR, Too $hort, 6lack, Kiana Lede, Guapdad 4000, and Rexx Life Raj.

Early in life, his passion for music turned into experiments with rhythm creation. “I always wanted to be a behind-the-scenes guy,” shares Ekzakt. After a friend suggested attending music school, Ekzakt enrolled at Expressions, an entertainment university based in Emeryville, CA.

It was there that he first encountered a microphone manufacturer whose products continue to play a vital role in his current production: Lauten Audio.

While pursuing a sound engineering degree, Perry made extensive use of the university's recording facilities.

One of the companies the school interacted with was Lauten Audio. They had the large-diaphragm condenser tube microphone Oceanus, and I loved using it. I rented the studio a lot to practice, and it was my favorite microphone. It complemented the way I engineer, the way I listen to music, and my approach to mixing, he says.

Better Gear, Better Starting Point

The Oceanus was out of Perry's price range as a recent graduate, but he knew he wanted to stick with a trusted manufacturer. He chose the Lauten Clarion FC-357 microphone, which became a key component in his initial kit.

“The main thing I love about Lauten is the good attention to detail in the midrange, which is important for music overall. I appreciated the way Lauten microphones handle that range and make it musical. Everything about them is musical,” he says.

Perry began his engineering career in the Bay Area by recording a local rapper named Mistah FAB. The duo turned a room in Perry's house into a studio by reinforcing the bedroom studio with absorbent panels to treat reflections and provide acoustic isolation. Perry ran his studio with FAB using the Clarion from 2010 to 2014.

Some microphones can resonate, but I've never had these issues when using the Clarion. I had an advantage because this microphone competed with recording facilities that had more expensive microphones. Better gear gave me a better starting point, Perry adds.

Too $hort's Boom Box

Towards the end of his tenure in the Bay Area, Perry and Mistah FAB collaborated with Too $hort. Shortly after, Perry decided to move to Los Angeles to continue that relationship and expand his catalog and experience.

Too $hort recruited Perry to help record his upcoming album The Pimp Tape, the rapper's twentieth studio album, released in 2017. "I started working with $hort at his house," says Perry. “During that time, he had a warehouse downtown. He invited me to a session, and six months later, I joined as the recording and mixing engineer for $hort and three artists under his label.”

Additionally, Perry took on the role of studio manager and helped Too $hort build the 14,000-square-foot warehouse studio with upgraded equipment. As a premium recording space, Perry strove to find the best selection of microphones for the studio; he spoke with a Lauten representative, initiating a conversation that led to the inclusion of several Lauten microphones in Too $hort's microphone locker.

The team chose a pair of LS-208 for the radio program setup along with a Eden LT-386 and an Atlantis FC-387. "Not only do I think they sound great, but the price points are a few thousand dollars cheaper than anything comparable," says Perry. “That has always been a big advantage for me with Lauten; they manufacture microphones that compete with others that cost double. There is so much equipment that is expensive, and if you can find something that suits your needs and does what you want at a good price, that's really valuable”.

When Lauten offered customization of the Eden and Atlantis microphones through a partnership with a company specializing in ceramic coating and painting, Too $hort seized the opportunity and sent in ideas.

Designs were crafted for a black and silver Eden microphone with a modified Oakland Raiders logo. Too $hort also customized a red and black Atlantis microphone with the same Raiders/Oakland logo combination.

West Coast Super Group—'Snoop Cube 40 $Hort'

Both the Atlantis FC-387 and the Eden LT-386 are Signature series microphones featuring Lauten Audio's MultiVoicing® circuit, which places three distinct microphones in a single housing.

I like Atlantis and Eden, which have multiple microphone circuits in their products so they can be used well in multiple situations. You can tell the talent to take off the headphones very quickly and press the switch. Then you have three options to run very quickly. 

For Perry, Lauten microphones are notable not only for having multiple modes but also for the ease of use and the quality of those modes. “Many microphones are good for various things but aren't great,” says Perry. “While with Lauten, I feel like their microphones do three things and are great at all three."

When the West Coast supergroup, formed by rappers Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40, and Too $hort, formed Mount Westmore during the pandemic, Too $hort and Perry served as musical directors for the album titled Snoop Cube 40 $Hort.

“We started more or less when the pandemic started. All the guys have their own recording studios, so we were sending sessions back and forth,” says Perry. Since Perry and $hort had been collaborating for years, they served as musical directors. “Everyone sent me their recordings. $hort and I arranged every song; we put all the verses in order, and I also mixed the vocals on half of the album,” Perry continued.

For Too $hort's vocals, the pair used the Eden microphone. “We pretty much always use Eden for his voice. Its midrange is amazing and offers plenty of detail in the high range without being harsh or shrill,” Perry continues. As for the other Lauten Audio microphones in Perry's kit, they remain constants in his workflow. “I use the Atlantis both in my home studio and in $hort's studio's B-room,” he comments, adding that the Clarion is still in development.