A Stripped-Down Sonic Landscape For Switchfoot On Tour

Schools Of Thought
Nichols’ job is very hands on and fader intensive. By contrast, the monitoring side of the equation has a more self-sufficient side facilitated by a 32-channel Behringer X32 console. Falling under the guidance of Mark “Chico” DiCicco, who also serves as tour manager, the monitor mixes were essentially dialed in on the first leg for the long haul.

As a result, there isn’t a lot of on-the-fly mixing to do, so DiCicco – despite his own solid engineering chops gleaned from both the studio and stage – can play more of a “monitor of the monitors” role while focusing on his management responsibilities too.

Sennheiser G3 in-ear wireless systems are the choice for everyone on stage, along with UE11 earpieces from Ultimate Ears. Each band member additionally has XiQ, the monitor app for the X32, loaded on their phones to allow them to adjust and refine their mixes as needed, all within a realm of safety that keeps them from accidentally dropping the drums from another band member’s mix while adjusting their own.

Switchfoot maintains a stage plot dominated by Shure components. With the simple-is-better algorithm serving as a backdrop once again, the backline starts with a BETA 91A microphone mounted inside at kick. Nichols previously practiced the traditional “91A inside BETA 52A outside” formula, but halted the habit after the umpteenth time he found himself wondering why his kick drum sounded lousy only to look up on stage to find that someone in the band had kicked the 52 loose and out onto the floor.

A Behringer X32 for monitors, working with the XiQ app for the musicians, is under the direction of Mark “Chico” DiCicco.

“I adapted and discovered that I could get a great kick drum sound just with the 91 alone,” he says with a hearty laugh. “So again, why make things more complicated than they have to be, right?”

For snare top, Nichols contends that the Heil Sound PR 20 is very similar sounding to a Shure SM57, but has “a little bump that just makes it talk a little more.” Still relying upon the venerable SM57 for snare bottom, however, these mics are complemented on the kit by KSM137s on hi-hat and under-ride cymbal, while Sennheiser 604s stand in for toms and KSM32s fly overhead. SM57s are also Nichols’ choice across the board for guitars; currently these inexhaustible workhorses are the same ones he’s been using in this application for the past decade.

As An Ensemble
Vocal mics are SM58s, all hard-wired except for frontman Jon Foreman, who cuts the cord with a UR2 wireless system. Instrument wireless is all Shure UR2 as well, except for bass player Tim Foreman, who uses a Shure digital system.

The mic outlay to capture drummer Chad Butler’s kit.

“For me, the whole 58 thing revolves around the mic’s ability to reject some stage noise while allowing some stage noise through that’s fairly easy to make musical,” Nichols says. “Some people look at their stage and decide that everything should be isolated. They take their guitar amps and face them sideways, or put them underneath the stage. They start erecting plexiglas screens. I subscribe to the notion that to play as a rock band means that you play as an ensemble. That’s a concept some don’t understand or might not even have heard of before.

“Even though I’ve been with Switchfoot for 14 years, I have an orchestral background. That’s a world where mics don’t exist, and instruments are played onstage in a way that they work together to sound bigger as they travel out to listeners’ ears in the room. I’ve expounded on that idea here in the world of rock, and that’s how I got to where I am today. I put mics out in the open where I have to, and make everything work. It’s a challenge, but when you hit the note the rewards are endlessly satisfying.”

Out Of Sight
All that said, one might conclude that Nichols might be the kind to rely heavily on gates. True, he gates snare bottom and toms, but other than that everything else is open. A fair bit of compression is put to work, but with the mantra that nothing is over-compressed.

Another look at the straightforward stage approach, focusing on keys and other elements in the area.

“Bottom line, I guess you could say it’s my overall goal to make this band sound the best I can in whatever room I’m in, and on whatever PA,” he concludes. “It’s my task to insure that the audience enjoys an incredible rock show every time, with special focus on the intensity of the drums and bass, a nice fit in my mix for the guitars, and the vocals sitting in that perfect spot on top where everyone can hear and understand every word that’s sung.

“I’ve always approached mixing from the standpoint that if someone in the crowd realizes I’m there, chances are I’m doing something wrong. I don’t want to make a mark, I want to remain invisible. Everyone should walk away shaking their heads and saying to themselves, ‘Man, that sounded incredible!’ I never want them to be asking themselves why it sounded that way. That’s not the point, and it’s certainly not rock ‘n’ roll.”

Gregory A. DeTogne is a writer and editor who has served the pro audio industry for the past 32 years.