Knack For Their Craft: Elevating The Art Of Audio With Daryl Hall & John Oates On Tour

All In The Mix

Both Salamone and Squiers stress that maintaining solid working relationships and communicating with the band are vital to their sound. “They literally help me mix the show,” Salamone confides. “Examples of this would be keyboard parts being pushed (level wise) from stage on a given part of a given song from Charlie DeChant and Eliot Lewis, or getting them to change the parameter of a sound that might in turn change the timbre, which most of the time works better than EQ from the console.

“Porter Carroll on percussion changes up how and physically where he plays parts to alleviate bleed into Daryl Hall’s vocal mic. while Shane Theriot switches out guitar amps and speakers to find the voicing that fits for me sonically. Brian Dunne and Klyde Jones’s consistent rhythm section coupled with Daryl’s voice never fail. John Oates is very much on the same page, pointing his amps away from his vocal mic, and from day one he’s encouraged me to do and ask whatever I need of the band. All of these little moves add up to a better mix and help these amazing songs translate.”

A look at the drum microphone approach from behind the kit. (Credit: Steve Jennings)

“The musicality coming from the Hall and Oates stage is second to none. Finding a way to translate that energy to the listener is challenging and is not as easy as just pulling up the faders on the console. Throwing a bunch of plugins at it is not the answer either. You have to use restraint and care in what you choose to process or not process. I try not to EQ and compress just because I can – every move is somewhat of an educated decision. The best metaphor for the finished result is like applying make-up on a model. Before the make-up, you see plain potential. After applying the make-up – EQ, compression and effects in my case – the features start to pop out and the model and hopefully the mix become extraordinary, with sophistication and sheen.”

There are 50 inputs on stage working with a traditional selection of microphones. Starting in the backline and working toward the front, a Shure Beta 52A [dynamic] is placed outside the kick drum and a Sennheiser e 901 [condenser boundary plate] is inside. Snare top and bottom get a pair of Shure SM57s, while hi-hat and ride utilize AKG C 460 pencil condensers, forming a nice complement for the Shure KSM32 side-address cardioid condenser overheads. The former supplies the desired brightness and the latter brings a darker coloration. An Audix D2 [dynamic] is on rack tom, while Audix D4 dynamics stand in for a pair of floor toms. SM57s once again show themselves for congas and bongos; chimes and toys go with a Shure SM81.
Bass DI is a Countryman Type 85, bass mic another SM57.

Old school on the guitar amps with single Shure SM57s. (Credit: Steve Jennings)

All guitar amps are… you guessed it, SM57s, and the horn mic is an Audio-Technica ATM350 cardioid condenser. Keyboards are direct with more Countryman Type 85s. Backing vocals are all Miktek PM9 dynamics, while lead vocals are captured with Telefunken M80 dynamics. Everything is hardwired.

“I’m about spatial depth and imaging,” says Squiers about some of the defining characteristics of his mix, which he creates with the aid of a Yamaha RIVAGE PM10 (“it has girth, sonic quality, dynamics”), three racks of Crown Macro-Tech 36×12 amplifiers (“classic old school at its best, and I’m old-ish, so why not?”), and “Big Red,” an imposing rack-bound collection of outboard gear including his own I/O cage as well as Salamone’s, a splitter, Sennheiser 2050 RF transmitters used in conjunction with the custom Jerry Harvey Audio Lola in-ear monitors worn by every band memer except Daryl Hall (more on that in a minute), and two channels of handheld Shure UHF wireless, only for the times Pat Monahan of co-headliner Train drops in for a guest turn.

Hall will not part with his Firehouse 12 wedges. That’s non-negotiable, and right now spans across three different positions on stage – front and center, at his piano, or while he’s on electric keys. “He doesn’t want to wear ears, or a belt pack, none of that,” Squiers relates. “I did wedges for many years before people started shoving things in their heads. It doesn’t bother me. He likes to hear everything. I have a stereo mix in front of him – the outside wedges are left and right, and I pan things accordingly.

“All of the backing vocals are in their spatially correct places. The keyboards are stereo, and I have his vocals on the outside along with his vocal effects. So he has imaging right in front of him, it’s not like some mono mix beaming off his forehead. To alleviate some of the weight on the stereo mix I’ll put kick, snare, and bass guitar in the center wedge. There are three mixes really – left, right, and mono center.”

A look at the keyboard rig. (Credit Steve Jennings)

Different Registers

As for the band members wearing the JH Audio Lola IEMs, Squiers provides vocal prominence for everyone in their own mix, without developing an unhealthy sense of competition. “It seems like everyone sings in this band all the time,” he says. “There are so many harmonies going on in different registers. If I were to try to bring up individual vocals in everyone’s mix, I would wind up creating this volume war. Everyone would be going ‘I can’t hear myself, give me more.’ Each mix needs to be treated as a unique piece of real estate. I can tuck things in a lot nicer that way.

“When I start piling things on top of one another, the mix becomes convoluted, and you start screwing up your EQ as well. Start moving things off of each other, and it’s amazing what you can do with your EQ. The volumes change, there’s less competition. We have two ears, we’re blessed with imaging. You can hear things behind you, to the left, to the right, in front, and anywhere in between with spatial accuracy. Why take away from that experience when you’re onstage? It doesn’t make sense.”

Plenty of L-Acoustics K1 and K2 arrays to deliver main and side coverage. (Credit: Steve Jennings)

There’s a celebratory vibe to the show, with fans embracing both the expected and unexpected. Those who come out to hear powerhouses like “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “Rich Girl,” and “You Make My Dreams” won’t be disappointed, plus they’ll hear so much more.

“There’s really solid musicianship going on here,” Squiers concludes, sharing a parting thought. “They take the time every day to go through all their parts, triple-check their harmonies, and make sure everything is spot-on and in its place. You’ll hear all the songs, sure, and the nice thing is they stage them for a live environment. You won’t just hear what you heard on the record. Certain parts will be extended, other parts change. The crowd sings along and loves it. They’re more of a rock band live, with a lot of heart and soul.”