Candlebox tours Middle East with Earthworks
Published: MEA
IRAQ: Seattle-based rock band Candlebox has recently completed there tour of the Middle East using mics from Earthworks.
With rock and blues influences, Candlebox consists of vocalist Kevin Martin, Peter Klett on guitar, Scott Mercado on drums, Adam Kury on bass, and Sean Hennesy on guitar. The band performed for US troops in the State of Kuwait, as well as Bagdad and Al-Basra in Iraq, plus a few other locations.
‘On this tour, I used Earthworks’ SR25 cardioid microphone with the accompanying KickPad optimisation curve on Scott Mercado’s kick drum,’ said Carlos Novais, FOH engineer/tour manager for Candlebox. ‘This mic, combined with a P30/C Periscope cardioid microphone for the snare drum, four DP30/C Drum Periscope Cardioid Tom Mics for the toms, one SR25 for the hi hat, plus a pair of SR30 cardioid microphones for overheads created an incredible mic setup for the drums. I also used an SR25 as a vocal mic for Adam Kury.
‘These microphones were terrific,’ Mr Novais continued. ‘Iraq has a really brutal climate and not once did we encounter any issues with them. When I received the mics, I did an A-B comparison of with other live sound microphones. I was really impressed with the wider and more uniform frequency response of the Earthworks mics and I love the fact that I don’t encounter phase cancellation issues when using multiple microphones together. These mics have excellent rear rejection characteristics, which eliminates unwanted sounds and they handle the fast attack transients of the drums beautifully. I was very impressed with their performance.’
Candlebox drummer Scott Mercado is equally enthusiastic about Earthworks microphones. For the band’s latest studio endeavor, Mr Mercado used the Earthworks DK25/R drumkit recording system. ‘I used the DK25/R for our new album Into the Sun,’ he confirmed. ‘For me, being a trained drummer/percussionist who transitioned into the rock genre, it’s really important that grace notes such as flams and ruffs be picked up—regardless of the volume level I’m working at. The Earthworks DK25/R conveys all the subtle nuances of my snare work. Other mics just seem to get drowned out by ambient noise.
‘When I was looking for the best mics to use on my drums,’ he continued, ‘there were several factors I considered really important. I wanted mics that could accurately capture the deep resonance of the toms and had outstanding transient response across the entire sound spectrum. Equally important, I wanted the microphones to maintain a low profile on the drum. Most sound engineers are very surprised by the small size of the Earthworks microphones. They always assume they’re listening to a large diaphragm mic. These are the best mics on the market for drummers of all styles. Until I discovered Earthworks, I was never able to use a single microphone brand for my recording work.