Longtime Styx monitor engineer Evan McElhinney is utilizing an Audix TM2 integrated ear-stimulator (coupler) to help ensure consistent performance across the entire band’s sets of in-ear monitors, while drummer Todd Sucherman’s kit is miked entirely with the company’s microphones, including D6s on the kicks and gong drum, D2 and D4 instrument mics across the toms, i5s on snare top and bottom, and SCX25A condensers as overheads. And when producer Will Evankovich joined the band, an OM7 vocal mic was the choice.
The TM2 is a coupling device that allows measurement of the performance and frequency response of any in-ear monitor. McElhinney feeds the TM2’s output signal into Rational Acoustics Smaart audio analysis software to verify all of the IEMs are performing as optimally as possible.
“Todd Sucherman hits hard but is very consistent in both the power of his hits and where he strikes the drum heads,” says McElhinney. We have a D6 on the kick drums and another on his 20-inch ‘gong drum,’ which is next to his floor tom. D2s are for the higher-pitched toms and D4s for the lower ones. The i5s are on the snare and we even have an ADX51 on each of the hi-hats and another on the chime tree. Most interestingly, he’s been using the SCX25As — the lollipop mics — as overheads.”
Though the ADX51 and SCX25As are traditionally considered studio condenser mics, McElhinney emphasizes their performance onstage with the band.
“What I like best about Audix mics is their SPL handling,” he notes. “They take whatever we throw at them without distorting, and yes, that includes the studio products. At the same time, the SCX25A is just so transparent. What goes in is what comes out. And obviously, there’s nothing like a D6 for beef on a bass drum.”
For vocals, the Audix OM7 handheld vocal mic is the choice for Evankovich, who joined the Styx touring lineup after producing Crash of the Crown.
“Will stands near the drum kit, at stage right where the big cymbals are,” explains McElhinney. “Any mic we put on him was just getting too much sizzle, until we tried the OM7. The cymbal rejection on it is just unbelievable, and it has really cleaned up that area of the mix.”
