Front of house engineer Jeff Gilmer has been using a variety of CADLive and other CAD Audio microphones on tour with Canadian group Saint Asonia.
Consisting of Adam Gontier (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mike Mushok (lead guitar), Corey Lowery (bass) and Rich Beddoe (drums), Saint Asonia formed in Toronto in 2014 and released their debut RCA album Saint Ansonia in 2015. Since then, they’ve released several singles and have toured as headliners throughout Canada.
Gilmer, who’s worked with Ace Frehley, Staind, Smashmouth, Toto, Alice in Chains, System of a Down and more, was first introduced to CAD Audio when he purchased an Equitek E200 for his studio back in the 90s. More recently, he was reintroduced to CADLive mics by Saint Asonia’s system techs and has been impressed by their versatility, ruggedness and audio quality.
Currently touring with Generation Axe, which features guitarists Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt and Tosin Abasi, Gilmer was happy to discuss how he uses CADLive on tour.
“I’ve been getting really good results with the CADLive D80 drum mic for the larger floor toms. It’s warm, punchy, and full of bottom end with lots of top end attack. More recently, I’ve been using the CADLive D88 kick drum mic, which has also has a ton of low end, extended frequency response, smooth high end attack––basically everything you’re looking for in a well-rounded kick drum mic.
“The CAD E70 modular dual capsule condenser mic sounds great for high hat and ride cymbals,” Gilmer points out. “It picks up every nuance and hit on both with a real smooth response without a lot of EQ-ing. Like most CAD mics, it handles SPLs very well. And it has the cool replaceable capsule that lets you use it as a Cardioid or Omni, which would make it work really well for percussion like conga drums, timbales, or even an acoustic guitar.”
In addition to CADLive, Gilmer also uses a CAD Audio GXL2200BP for overheads “because it works great without a lot of EQ-ing and handles the SPLs of being over a drum kit. It’s just a warm, smooth-sounding microphone that’s easy to mount and is very transparent.”
Concluding, Gilmer adds that CADLive works well for other jobs as well: “The CADLive D90 sounds great for vocals. It’s Supercardioid pattern helps to eliminate stage bleed into the vocal mics, especially for the vocalists in Saint Asonia who have a super loud stage volume on the smaller stages.
“Overall, CADLive and CAD Audio mics in general have turned out to be a major plus. They sound really good, are easy to set up and stand up to the punishment of the road—they’re like really classy workhorses.”
