The Peluso Community
David Pelta-Tiller
David and Enion Pelta-Tiller are founders of the acoustic ‘supergroup’ Taarka. In addition to his superb musicianship, David is an accomplished engineer and producer. Working from his home studio in Lyons, Colorado, Elephant Revival, Darol Anger, and Sally Van Meter are just a few of the inspiring musicians he’s recorded. In 2013 the Pelta-Tiller’s home and studio were suddenly washed away by the flooding that devastated Lyons. In just 20 minutes, their instruments and a couple Peluso mics were among the few items they were able to load into their van before all else was washed away. They continue to tour, make music, and record as they work re-settling their home and studio. The passion and compassion found in this family is truly inspiring!
David Pelta-Tiller:
David began playing guitar at age 8, spurred on by his musician father. His childhood in Virginia was spent learning the abundance of bluegrass and Celtic and rock music there, but by age 14 he was enriching his knowledge with classical and jazz guitar training at the North Carolina School of the Arts, and began exploring the mandolin.With a diligent practice schedule and great aspirations, David took on the mandolin full time in his late teens, and was a founding member of the celebrated High Sierra Festival Record label’s band ThaMuseMeant, based in New Mexico. In ThaMuseMeant’s 8 year history, they toured all over the United States, sharing stages with the likes of the Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crow, Ricki Lee Jones, Blues Traveler, String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon, YMSB, Greg Brown, and many others.
In 2000, when the band broke up, David moved to NYC to follow his heart and study jazz, where he met Enion Pelta, a member of Brooklyn Browngrass. They began writing together and formed the group Taarka to feature their music.
Upon recieving the 22 47 LE:
So I’ve been loving the mic. Its been my first thought go-to mic since its been in the studio and I’ve tried it on everything. I’ve loved it on voice, mandolin, bass, fiddle, dobro, cello and guitar this far.
Sally Van Meter (a legendary dobro player here in Lyons who’s played with a who’s who of players) has been tracking in my studio and proclaimed completely unprovoked “this is my favorite mic I’ve ever played my dobro under!!, I LOVE the sound we’re getting here!!” – I asked her if y’all could quote her on your page and she said absolutely! Dan Rodriguez from Elephant Revival told me “I like the 22 47 better than the Neumann U47 I was just recording with up in Seattle for the Elephant Revival recordings”.
I love the mic, and feel its a must have for my studio. On most of what I put it on it was great! There has been a couple of occasions when it wasn’t perfect for the job or I had to EQ a wee bit but over all it has been a supreme charm.
On the P-12:
I love the P-12. It doesn’t give as much low end response as the 22 47’s but has a beautiful wet sweetness I’ve been really liking on a lot of things. It’s a great go to mic for banjo, mandolin and voice. It lets an instrument or voice sit inside a mix in its own significant space.
The 22 47 LE vs the 22 47 SE:
So, It gets fascinating to me all the different flavors! I’ve now done 4
different shootouts with all the Peluso mics you’ve sent and other mics we have around here. The differences between the SE and LE are significant. The SE is brighter and has some cross over flavors with the P-12 though the lower end tones are still obviously 22 47s. I really like the SE. The LE was quite a bit darker than the SE. I find the LE to be slightly smoother in the shootout but I could easily see someone reaching for the SE more often and easier. Dan (Rodriguez) likes the SE better. I’m still a fan of the LE though I really like both.
David uses Grace Designs microphone preamps in his studio.
Taarka:
Described by SF Weekly as a “collision of Django Reinhardt and David Grisman,” Taarka is the new acoustic “supergroup” (Flagstaff Live) “presenting masterfully deep americana and gypsyjazz string band music!” Led by the husband-and-wife team of David Pelta-Tiller (mandolin, tenor guitar, vocals) and Enion Pelta-Tiller (five-string violin, vocals) Taarka fills out its unique sound with award-winning bassist Troy Robey and prodigious young guitarist Mike Robinson, Taarka is bringing their otherworldly, energetic music to venues across the US, Canada, Europe and Mexico.
Taarka’s live shows strike a balance between well-crafted songs and spirited instrumentals these days, expanding on its beginnings as a purely instrumental string band putting a modern spin on Gypsy and Eastern European folk music. Taarka has drawn from wide-ranging influences over the past 10 years. Sophisticated listeners would be able to distill flavors of Western and Eastern folk traditions, jazz, rock, bluegrass, old-time, gypsy, Indian, and Celtic music all in a string band setting. Taarka has lately been gaining notice for their songwriting, which is informed by traditional bluegrass, oldtime and folk from America and Europe, 19th century poetry, and rock inspired by performances with some of the greatest names in songwriting today, including Darrell Scott, Greg Brown, James McMurtry, and Nathan Moore, but which incorporates sweeping pop and popping gypsy elements.
The band is equally potent whether as a down-and-dirty duo act or a stellar extended line- up featuring a top-notch array of fellow travelers. David and Enion have performed with members of the Grateful Dead, Phish, and String Cheese Incident, Yonder Mountain String Band as well as Darol Anger, Joe Craven, ALO, Keller Williams, Danny Barnes, Steve Kimock, Taj Mahal, Widespread Panic, The Samples, and Aquarium Rescue Unit, Kaki King, Rob Wasserman, Tony Furtado, The Motet, Dan Bern and The Everyone Orchestra.
Taarka has performed at major festivals across the country including High Sierra, Pagosa Folk n’ Bluegrass, Joshua Tree Music Festival, Oregon Country Fair, Sisters Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass, Mendocino Music Festival, Bumbershoot, Seattle Folklife, Nedfest, Lightening in a Bottle, Berkeley World Music Festival, Aspen Bluegrass Festival, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival and The Millpond Folk Festival and many more.
Find other Peluso Community Members interested in: