On Stage
Carolan is also responsible for selecting microphones, taking advantage of a diverse assortment to meet a range of specific needs.
Seven vocal mic positions are placed around the stage, all with hard-wired Neumann KMS 105 condensers. There’s also one wireless mic, a Sennheiser EM3031 with KMS 105 capsule, that floats around as a standby.
“The KMS 105s work well because the singer, Matt, moves his head quite a bit while singing,” explains Carolan. “The guitarists use a single mic to keep it as pure as possible, a Royer R-122L, which then hits an AMS Neve1073 preamp before it gets distributed. Chris Wolstenholme, the bass player, uses a beyerdynamic M88, which is his personal preference and I have no problem with it.”
Shure SM7s are applied to the “distortion part” of the rig. For drummer Dominic Howard, M88s handle kick drum, with a Shure SM57 on the top and a KMS 105 on the bottom of the snare drum, and approach that Carolan has been using for about 10 years. AKG C 451 Bs are on hi-hat and Shure Beta 98s are on toms, with cymbals captured by KM 185s underneath.
Monitor engineer Adam Taylor, another long-time veteran with the band, is well-versed in meeting their needs. He details his console selection chronology as “an analog desk, to a digital desk, to a bigger digital desk, and now we’ve got both.” Specifically, “both” on this tour are a Midas H3000 analog and Avid Profile digital.
“The H3000 is limited with what you can do with the automation,” he notes. “I mix quite a bit on the faders, but the Profile is doing all the automation, as well as handling all my effects.”
Taylor applies an Avalon VT-737SP for distortion on vocals, as well as a George Massenburg EQ for the lead singer, who prefers to have his mix finalized. “I also use two channels of Neve 1073 preamps for the Royer guitar mics,” he says. “They don’t like complicated mixes – just a straightforward mix, preferring their own instruments just a little above everything else.”
Band members are on Sennheiser G3 wireless monitoring systems, and Taylor is pleased with how they’ve performed globally: “The systems are designed to work around the world, and have worked everywhere so far. If one system group doesn’t work, we simply switch to another.”
The stage is devoid of monitor wedges, but three d&b J-SUB subwoofers are supplied for the bass player along with two L-Acoustics dV-SUB subwoofers for the drummer. A Hameg HM5014-2 frequency scanner lets him know what’s going on with the RF situation at each venue, in real-time.
“It’s been invaluable. We couldn’t have done this tour without it,” he states. “At some venues, they’ll tell you what frequencies are available, but you never really know what’s going on until you look for yourself. With the Hameg, you know.”
The band started out with Shure E5 earbuds, but Taylor has been switching them to Westone UM2s. “I’ve always used the generic ones with this band, and they don’t want to move away from that. Ultimate Ears has just released the new UE7 with a softcore plug on them, and the touring keyboard player is using those.”
The stage features three large towers that lift up and down, each one holding a band member, plus the two previously mentioned subwoofers for the bassist and drummer. For the North American date this writer attended, the show was set up in its 360 configuration in the arena, giving fans a unique perspective to view the performance from behind the stage. The drum kit would revolve around on occasion, allowing the drummer to face the crowd sitting behind the stage.
And with a consistent 111 dB SPL (according to my iPhone app), the show was definitely loud, but the d&b system wasn’t overbearing in any way. Judging by the fans’ reaction, and press reviews the next day, a lot of folks agree with that assessment.
The Muse Audio Crew
Marc Carolan, Front of House Engineer
Adam Taylor, Monitor Engineer
Paddy Hocken, System Engineer/Crew Chief
Richard Gibson, Monitor Technician/RF Tech
Nigel Pepper, SR PA Tech
Oliver Gross, SL PA Tech
Ted Bible, Upstage PA Tech
Jeff MacKay is managing editor of Live Sound International.