Audio-Technica is celebrating its 16th year of supporting the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards by providing an extensive selection of vocal and instrument microphones for its annual awards show.
The 43rd Annual CMA Awards aired live in 5.1-channel surround sound Wednesday, November 11th, on the ABC Television Network from the Sommet Center in Nashville, and featured over 250 Audio-Technica microphones, including hard-wired mics and Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF wireless systems.
The CMA Awards presentation is recognized as Country Music’s Biggest Night and represents the pinnacle of achievement for those involved in country music.
Audio for this year’s CMA’s was supervised by award-winning audio producers Michael Abbott and Tom Davis; ATK/Audiotek provided the sound system with FOH (front-of-house) mixers Patrick Baltzell and Rick Shimer; the broadcast music mix was handled by New Jersey/California-based Music Mix Mobile’s John Harris and Jay Vicari.
Several performers used Audio-Technica’s acclaimed Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless System during the course of the show.
Country/pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift paired the 5000 Series system with the AEW-T4100 cardioid dynamic handheld ransmitter for her lead vocals and AEW-T1000 UHF UniPak transmitter for her acoustic guitar. (Swift made history by taking home top honors in the categories of Female Vocalist, Album of the Year, Video of the Year and Entertainer of the Year, every category in which she appeared as a nominee.)
Audio-Technica endorsers Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean each performed with the 5000 Series and the AEW-T5400 cardioid condenser handheld transmitter, with Chesney performing a duet with Dave Matthews, who also used an AEW-T5400 (pictured below).
Other 5000 Series users included Billy Currington, who also used the AEW-T5400, and Chris Daughtry, also an endorser, who performed using an AEW-T6100 hypercardioid dynamic handheld transmitter. Jamey Johnson went a different route, choosing the wired AE6100 hypercardioid dynamic handheld microphone.
The backline mic complement of A-T wired microphones included the AE3000 cardioid condenser instrument microphone on snare and rotary speaker; AT4050 multi-pattern condenser microphone on guitars and bass; AT4040 cardioid condenser microphone on overheads; AE2500 dual-element cardioid instrument microphone on kick drum; AE5100 cardioid condenser instrument microphone on hi-hat and ride cymbals; AE5400 cardioid condenser microphone on rotary speaker; ATM450 cardioid condenser instrument microphone on ride cymbals; ATM650 dynamic instrument microphone on snare and rotary speaker; and ATM350 cardioid condenser clip-on microphone on toms and fiddle/violin.
Tom Davis, co-audio producer, stated, “We use Audio-Technica mics every year on the CMA’s because of their reliability and sound quality, not to mention the brand’s extensive product line perfect for capturing the various artists and musical instruments we have on the show.
“A-T’s RF systems and their on-site technical support have been exceptional — I cannot say enough great things about them.”
Co-music mixer John Harris echoed Davis’ statements: “For years, Audio-Technica has been our go-to mic of choice because of its clear sound, consistency from mic to mic, and overall reliability. With Audio-Technica products, we can be 100 percent confident in our mics on stage, so that gives us one less thing to worry about within the hectic live program schedule.
And with the A-T 5000 Series wireless, we can be certain that the audio quality is not sacrificed at all – it’s completely transparent, which is what we need.”
