AUDIO-TECHNICA MICS STAND UP TO THE AGGRESSIVE SOUND OF SEVENDUST
Audio-Technica
Posted 2004-08-19
Sevendust, one of the most widely resonant bands on the metal music scene, is now an official endorser of Audio-Technica microphones. The group is currently on an extended tour that began in late 2003 and will run through July, in support of its fourth studio album, Seasons. To address Sevendust’s mounting need for equipment that can handle its hard-driving performances, the band changed its entire mic complement mid-tour, and the results were immediately apparent. “We played the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach early in the tour using another brand of microphone,” recalls Sevendust FOH mixer Andy Meyer. “When we came back through the club several months later, after having switched to Audio-Technica, the house sound engineer there mentioned how much better the band sounded. It was intended as a compliment to me, but I knew that changing to Audio-Technica microphones was the reason the sound had been so significantly better. That confirmed what I had believed ever since I first tried the A-T mics: they make the difference between good sound and great sound.”
On the current tour, Sevendust and Meyer are using a wide assortment of Audio-Technica microphones. Their mic selections reflect the depth of the A-T product line and are custom-suited to the band’s specific needs. On drums, Meyer uses an Artist Elite® AE2500 for the kick, an ATM25 and ATM23 on the top of the snare, a pair of ATM23s on the vintage Octabon drums used by drummer Morgan Rose (who sings through an ATM75 headset microphone), four AT4050 microphones as overheads and one AT4050 on snare bottom, and the Artist Elite AE5100s on the high-hat and ride cymbals. On guitars played by John Connolly and Clint Lowery, Meyer has chosen AE2500s for each of the mono amplifier cabinets and four AT4047/SVs on the stereo cabinets. Bassist Vince Hornsby’s amp is miked utilizing an ATM25. Lajon Witherspoon, lead vocalist for Sevendust, sings through a handheld AEW-T6100 wireless mic/transmitter, part of an Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless System; Connolly and Lowery use the same setup on backing vocals.
Meyer, who also owns ESI Audio, a production and live sound rental company in Tampa, Florida, has worked with such heavyweights as Helmet (his first experience with A-T mics), Widespread Panic, and Megadeth. He emphasizes that A-T microphones can cover the gamut of styles and genres of music, providing them all with the best sound quality. “Between touring with top artists and assembling systems for rentals to others, I’ve seen a lot of mics at work under the stress of touring conditions,” Meyer remarks. “Audio-Technica microphones are the ones that always, always perform the best under those circumstances. They are simply a better product.”
For more information on Sevendust, please visit www.sevendust.com.
