OLD LYME, CT — British rock trio Muse, currently in the middle of their world tour of stadiums, arenas and major festivals, are taking the stage with Sennheiser and Neumann microphones and Sennheiser personal wireless monitors.
Marc Carolan has been Muse's FOH engineer for six years, and has been a Neumann fan for even longer. "We use Neumann KMS 104s and 105s on our vocals," he explains. "But I've been using the Neumann 105 for about eight years now, and other models in the studio, of course. We've tried others but nothing comes close."
When Muse became the first rock band to play at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium earlier this summer, an interesting addition to the band's usual roster of equipment was the Neumann KU-100 Dummy Head binaural stereo mic, providing a spatially accurate recording of the occasion for a DVD to be produced at a later date.
"The dummy head was an experiment really," continues Carolan. "Wembley is a fantastically spatial venue and I wanted to see if the binaural recording would capture some of that feel. It will be interesting to see how it works in the mix for the DVD. The dummy head definitely got some strange looks, especially when Sennheiser asked me to pose in front of the crowd with it for some photos."
The Neumann microphones have long been an essential part of Muse's live equipment. More recent arrivals were the band's wireless monitoring systems.
"We've been using the Sennheiser G2 300 series personal monitors for around three months," explains Muse's long-term monitor engineer, Adam Taylor. "Previous issues with the stereo imaging of other products have been resolved and I have all the band using the G2s now. The RF is very stable and flexible and the system is very user friendly. The band liked the small size of the belt pack too."
"We have been using Sennheiser mics throughout the past few years in one form or another. And it goes without saying that the HD 25 has always been my preferred choice of headphones. I've always found that Sennheiser has produced reliable and quality products. We're also using the SKM 5200 wireless handheld radio mics with the Neumann KK 105 capsule. Again, the RF is very stable, even with passive antennas, and the sound quality is excellent."
After the band's two dates at Wembley Stadium, Muse journeyed to the continent for high-profile stadium shows, including one at Paris' famous Parc Des Princes. Throughout the summer, the band's tour took them through Asia, and recently finished their tour in North America.
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