Contemporary producer Butch Vig recently worked with Against Me! and Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson, using a newly-acquired Bock 507 microphone
“I’m spoiled,” laughed Vig. “I have a vintage ELAM 250 and my engineer, Billy Bush, has a Brauner VM1 Klaus Heyne Edition. Both of those mics are absolutely amazing on vocals.”
“I was looking for something equally amazing, but different, and I knew David Bock had a reputation for building sweet sounding mics.” At that time, Vig was beginning work with Against Me! for their April 2010 release White Crosses.
Vig used the Bock 507 on Against Me! lead singer Tom Gabel, together with a Chandler LTD-1 preamp and a Summit LTA-100A compressor. “Gabel is tremendously dynamic,” said Vig. “The Bock 507 captured his performance with a transparency that made me feel like I was still standing in the room with him. It has a lush bottom and nice definition on top.”
Vig and Shirley Manson, both recent transplants to Los Angeles, have been working on new songs for a possible future Garbage release. “Although Shirley’s vocal range and style is completely different from Tom’s, the Bock 507 does a wonderful job with her as well,” said Vig.
“It really captures her persona. I can hear all of the breathiness in her voice. I’ve found that I really like mics that work well with vocalists singing in a high register or a low register, or whether they’re singing softly or loudly. The 507 is that kind of mic.”
Concluded Vig. “Of course, you choose a mic to create a certain vibe within the larger context of a recording…The Bock has given me another option for a go-to vocal mic. David Bock has made an incredible sounding microphone. The only question now is… should I buy a second one? It did so well on individual instruments that I’d love to hear a piano with a pair of 507s… or a stereo pair for room mics on drums. That would be amazing!”
