NASHVILLE, TN — A galaxy of Sennheiser and Neumann microphones and a TRUE Systems Precision 8 mic preamp system were on hand at the Memphis, Nashville, and Atlanta Sister Hazel shows for the band’s all-acoustic "The Hard Rock Park Road to Myrtle Beach Tour." Sister Hazel headlined a traveling exhibition of the Beatles' famed Magical Mystery Tour Bus in support of the future 140-acre Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The tour hit Hard Rock Cafés between New York and Atlanta before a finale at the Myrtle Beach site.
Microphone selection proved to be critical. Ken Kelly, recording engineer, assigned Neumann supercardioid KMS 105 condenser mics to lead singers Ken Block and Andrew Copeland. The vocal harmonies for the rest of the band were captured by Sennheiser supercardioid e 945 dynamics. To capture he band's assortment of acoustic instruments, Kelly used the Neumann cardioid KM 184 small-diaphragm condenser and placed one each near the stools of bassist Jett Beres, lead guitarist Ryan Newell, Block and Copeland. The KM 184s variously picked up acoustic guitars, acoustic basses, mandolins, dobros, and a partially electrified lap steel, which was also captured by a Sennheiser e 906 flat against a Fender Champ. The acoustic guitars were also DI'd, but the more natural microphone signal ended up dominating the mix. "The KM 184s have a very nice top end and clean mids that you can't find in other small-diaphragm condensers," Kelly commented.
Drummer Mark Trojanowski assembled a unique kit for the all-acoustic set. A cajon served as a bass drum, and Kelly used a Sennheiser e 602 II large-diaphragm dynamic and an e 901 boundary layer condenser for bass drum. To pick up the ambience of the rest of the kit, which included hi-hats, and foot shakers, Kelly opted to use two Neumann KMS 105s on opposite sides of the kit. "The KMS 105 is a vocal microphone first and foremost," Kelly said. "So it was an interesting choice! They sounded really great — super low end and nice, sizzley high end. They brought the whole kit alive!"
Kelly kept the rest of the recording chain simple and short. All of the drum microphones went through a "colorful" rack of API 312 pres. A few Neve pres took care of the vocals. Kelly used an eight-channel TRUE Systems Precision 8, which he assigned to all of the DIs, backing vocals and acoustic mics. From the preamps, Kelly converted the signals with Apogee ADX16s and Rosetta 800s before recording in Pro Tools HD3.
In addition to capturing the music itself, Kelly also needed to capture the audience's enthusiastic reaction to the music. He placed a Sennheiser e 914 high-grade condenser on either side of the stage facing out and blended their output into the final mix.
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