As we all have seen, many touring people have gone to combining condenser and dynamic mics, such as the M-88 or B-52 with an SM-91. It is my impression that, in terms of audio, the AE2500 is very competitive with those kind of setups. The only point that left me a little puzzled was why AT decided to go with a five-pin jack in the mic, rather than two standard XLR outputs.

If anything happens to the special cable, you are up the creek, instead of being able to ask the local provider for a couple more XLR’s. Since the cable is so important and the mic really cannot be used without it, it might be a good idea to provide a carrying bag that had compartments to carry both, rather than just the traditional mic bag that the AE2500 arrives in.

AE2500 special cable and output jack

Luckily, at almost every tour stop, the sound company patch guys always put the mic and cable aside for me, together, when they were striking the stage. Sometimes the tour manager duties really distract me, thinking about the reporter I promised an interview to, or making sure there is security for the signing at the merch table, or getting a runner to take Terri back to the hotel. Did I place the set list exactly where the guitarist likes it to be, where he can see it when he is working his wah-wah?

We used the AE2500 successfully at three more shows, on the East Coast. It is always a pleasure to return to the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., for two reasons. First, that is the area I am from, so I get to see family and friends, and secondly because the venue is one of the most together in the whole world, and I really mean that. Richard had the pleasure of rocking out on the very satisfactory subwoofers there, and the AE2500 was up to the task.

From there, the next morning, we went to The Downtown club on Long Island. During our drive north, it was pouring down rain the whole way. The Downtown has only one console, so we split the vocal channels, and I stood on the right side of the board during the show, watching for requests from the band. The rain continued the next day as we drove to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey.

Dale Bozzio, Audix enthusiast

The system there was provided by SPL Sound, Inc., of Vineland, NJ. The tech with me at the monitor position was Frank Bruno, and he presented me with a trouble-free day, and a Ramsa SX-1. Also on the bill was Missing Persons, and I overheard Dale Bozzio ask Frank if he had any Audix vocal mics, which he didn’t. I piped up and said I have one, an OM-2 that I use to record with at home, and sometimes use as my talkback mic at gigs.

“You’re a lifesaver!” Dale said, and told me to not even bother with peeling off the white gaff tape with my initials on it. Animotion played, then Missing Persons, and Berlin followed with a very strong closing set. The fans who braved the rain got a really good show, and then we drove off to our hotel near Baltimore/Washington Airport, for a few hours sleep before our flight the next morning.

A very inventive use of shackles by SPL Sound of New Jersey

After the show, Frank saw me photographing what I thought was an amazing use of simple hardware store shackles, like a janitor would use to carrry a key ring on. They served as stress relief, to take the weight off the snake ends terminating at the split. “What, have you got a thing for shackles?” he asked.

I said no, I just thought the way that SPL used them was one of the most brilliant things I had ever seen, compared to the half-assed looping of steel wire over whatever Anvil latch is nearest, that we have all seen so many times.

The mighty AE2500 would put in one more unexpected appearance before I sent it back to AT. I went to the San Diego County Fair, to mix New Found Glory.

When I looked in the Sound Image mic box, I found a dynamic mic I really like and put it in the kick drum. I had not even brought my tool bag in from the car, just my CD’s.

John Kerns savors the end of the next to last show at the San Diego County Fair

The drum tech said he could not seem to get any click in the drumfill, so I hiked out to my vehicle and got the 2500, swapped it in, and we proceeded to complete the soundcheck. My FOH systems tech was John Kerns, who is known for his time spent mixing Springsteen, and more recently, No Doubt. John told me that he has been using the 2500 on guitar cabinets, and that it sounds great and cannot be overloaded. Many people use multiple mics on guitar cabinets (as in fact I was that day – each NFG guitarist uses four Mesa Boogie 4x12’s, with two mics per player) and that can induce phase differences, due to the physical separation between the mic positions.

With the 2500, this problem is eliminated, since the two elements are physically right next to each other, but you still get the advantage of having two tones to play around with.

Well, you learn something every day. Historically, I am pretty much a one-kick-drum-mic kind of guy, although I have used two many times when they were available to me. For those who enjoy a pair, the AT AE2500 is a one-piece solution that, it turns out, even has other uses which it also excels at. Leave it to the guys in the field to mess around with a new product, and figure out applications that never occurred to the designer at the factory.

Hey, did you know that the Beta 52 is a really good trumpet mic?