LOS ANGELES, CA – After finding advantages with Audix mics in the studio, the Aquabats drummer Ricky Fitness (Richard Falomir) has been bringing Audix gear with him on tour to ensure that he’s no longer “at the mercy of the house mics.”
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Part rock band with ska-punk roots and one of the most rabid fanbases ever known, part TV producers whose antics pit the heroic band members against comic-book-esque villains on The Aquabats Super Show, and part creative force behind the star-studded musical children’s program Yo Gabba Gabba, The Aquabats are a cross-media phenomenon. They work clean enough for kids but snarky enough for the parents to chuckle along without worry — and they do it all to a body-moving soundtrack using AUDIX microphones, beginning with the new PDX720 dynamic studio vocal mic. Drummer Ricky Fitness (Richard Falomir) details their use of the PDX; the A133 studio condenser, the SCX25A “lollipop” condensers, and gallery of drum mics including the D2, D4, D6, and i5. He monitors through A150 headphones.
“I knew early on that I wanted to play music,” recalls Ricky. “I’ve been in the Aquabats since I joined as their drummer in 2001, and the rest is history. We do a lot of things with the Aquabats, such as our TV shows.”
Ricky first encountered AUDIX mics via the enthusiasm the brand was creating among his peers. “I had always seen AUDIX mics, just touring around,” he says. “I used a D4 on a lot of different things. I had always seen other artists using them and knew they had a great reputation. When I started to acquire more, my mic locker went all over the place — it was whatever I picked up along the way! They upped the quality of what I was able to do, whether that was studio work, onstage, or teaching young kids to play drums online.”
Right now, Ricky is most excited about the new PDX720, the dynamic mic designed to go anywhere a large-diaphragm condenser can — and many places one cannot. “On tour, the PDX720 is working great on the outside of the kick drum,” is how he describes one unexpected application, “while I use a D6 on the inside. Then the D4 and D2s are on my toms, and I love them. Of course, an i5 on the snare.”
Since the PDX720 is also meant for podcasting, another use Ricky found was for the voiceovers in the Aquabats’ sketches. “We had multiple characters doing voiceovers at the same time [in the studio]. We had the PDX in in the mix and different actors and producers using it. Our guy Cameron Webb is kind of a mic snob. First, he loves the way the PDX looks. I think it catches people’s eye right away and exudes quality. I know AUDIX’s reputation as a drum mic company is awesome, but the PDX is an amazing jack-of-all trades.”
Ricky’s close second favorite is the SCX25A, known to enthusiasts as the “lollipop” mic. “What I noticed right away was the detail,” he explains. “I record a lot of stuff I close because I have a small space. Their sound is just so balanced. It has clarity. It’s so the right amount of detail that I’m looking for, you know, capturing the toms and the cymbals and even my hi-hats when I use as overheads. I’m curious how they’d sound on vocals.”
Whatever mic is in hand or on a stand, consistency of results is an AUDIX virtue Ricky points to again and again. “On tour, we always used to be at the mercy of the house mics,” he notes. “Sometimes they’re great and sometimes they’re not so great. Now I bring my whole AUDIX mic setup out. Now we know what we we’re getting every night!”
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