Shure wireless microphone systems, wired mics, and in-ear monitoring systems were a near-constant presence at last Sunday’s 57th Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, which features 23 live musical performances.
As usual, musicians were permitted to use their preferred microphones for their performances. Although artists brought their own custom earphones, all in-ear monitoring systems were Shure PSM1000, with 24 channels split between two stages, marking the fourth consecutive year that the Grammy production team chose Shure personal monitors exclusively.
Both Shure Axient and UHF-R wireless systems were also in use. AC/DC selected Axient for lead vocals and Angus Young’s guitar, with backing vocals on UHF-R systems with Beta 58A capsules.
Axient handheld systems were also selected by Sir Paul McCartney (Beta 58A), Adam Levine (SM58), Juanes (Beta 58A), and Pharrell Williams.
“We tried the Axient systems in rehearsals and were very happy with the way they sounded on both guitars and vocals,” said “Pab” Boothroyd, front of house engineer for AC/DC and Paul McCartney. “Requesting them for our Grammy performances was an easy choice.”
Shure UHF-R systems, which have a long history of GRAMMY success, were used by Sir Tom Jones, John Mayer, Usher, Eric Church, Rihanna, and Common. In addition, the podium microphones were powered by Shure UR1 bodypacks, eliminating the need to run cables across the stage.
Not all vocals were wireless. The Beta 58A was the microphone of choice for Hozier, while the classic SM58 was selected for Brandy Clark’s performance with Dwight Yoakum, for Sia’s theatrical performance, and backing vocals on several numbers.
Another first for this year’s event was the use of Shure Beta 181 microphones on acoustic pianos. The move was suggested by co-broadcast music mixer Eric Schilling and front of house music mixer Ron Reaves, who says, “It’s the best piano sound ever, and they were the only piano mics we used on the show.”
Schilling adds, “After Ron tried them out on the Latin Grammy Awards, we both agreed that we wanted to use the Beta 181 in all the pianos on this show. They have such a pleasing top end and great rejection. There was very little we had to do to them.”
Along with Shilling and Reaves, audio coordinator Michael Abbott’s crew included production mixer Thomas Holmes, co-broadcast music mixer John Harris, and front of house production mixer Mikael Stewart of ATK Audiotek. The team also included monitor mixers Michael Parker and Tom Pesa, with Dave Bellamy of Soundtronics handling the challenge of RF coordination.