Lady Antebellum has won the hearts of listeners everywhere with rich vocal harmonies, superb playing and songwriting talent, and captured the “Country Album of the Year” GRAMMY Award for its third studio album, Own the Night. A big part of the band’s pure country pop sound is the engineering of Clarke Schleicher, Studio Services Director of Warner Music Nashville, who was credited for the GRAMMY Award along with producer Paul Worley.
Schleicher has been working with Lady Antebellum since the band’s self-titled debut album in 2008.
“The single most important tool recording engineers use is their monitors,” Schleicher stated.
He uses
JBL LSR6328P studio monitors for all of his tracking, overdubbing and mixing.
“The monitor has to be accurate at all SPL levels, louder as well as softer. It must have excellent stereo imaging at the center mixing position, yet also deliver an accurate sound field into the control room for the artists, producers and musicians to hear. I use the JBL LSR6328P because it does all those things perfectly—and more. I’d say its biggest advantage is its low-frequency presence, clarity and punch.”
Schleicher runs his LSR6328P speakers without subwoofers. “I don’t feel the need to [use subs]—at Warner Studios, I run them without subs and with the HF level at -1dB, and the tonal balance is just right,” he said.
Schleicher listens to three sets of LSR6328P monitors—one pair in the studio, one pair at home and another pair at Skyline Music Publishing with Worley, who has produced all of Lady Antebellum’s albums. “I’ve trusted JBL products for decades,” Schleicher added. “I also have a pair of JBL 4313B’s, 4410A’s and LSR6332’s in addition to the LSR6328P’s. I have collected many types of speakers for years and still have every pair I’ve ever purchased. No matter which brand I’ve tried, JBL speakers always seem to win.”
Besides Lady Antebellum, Schleicher uses the LSR6328P on all his other projects, including albums with Sara Evans, The Band Perry, The Randy Rogers Band and James Otto. “The artists, record labels and musicians are always asking what kind of speakers I use, because they like them so much,” he said. “The head of one record label liked them so much he’s getting a pair for his office.”
