London Arena was the penultimate venue for the extended UK leg of the tour where Welsh wonder boys Stereophonics and Feeder played yet another sell-out gig. Shure microphones were extensively used to capture the performances: Shure Beta58As handled all the Stereophonics’ vocals, with Kelly Jones (lead vocals, guitar), Richard Jones (vocals, bass), Scott James (vocals, guitar) and Tony Kirkham (keyboards, vocals) choosing this particular microphone due to its tight response pattern and crisp sound. Meanwhile, Stuart Cable’s drum kit was no stranger to Shure product with a Shure Beta52 being employed on kick drum, a Shure Beta57A on snare top and Shure KSM32’s being utilized as drum overheads. Shure Beta57As were also used on the Leslie cabinet.
Stereophonic’s monitor engineer Mick Brown commented: "For vocals the crispness of a Beta58A cannot be beaten. I’ve also recently switched to KSM32s as overhead mics because they’re warm sounding, with no harshness and are very easy to work with. It’s great to have a condenser on-stage with a lack of edge. The Shure in-ear stuff works well too: it was quite a change to go from full-on wedges to ears, but now, the benefits are being appreciated - all round."
Welsh rock trio Feeder also utilized a range of Shure Beta57As, Beta91s, SM57s, Beta 98As and KSM32 large diaphragm mics as overheads. The whole band and crew also utilized Shure PSM 700 in-ear monitoring systems with E5 earpieces.
For the Stereophonics, PA company Capital Sound Hire supplied a Meyer M3D Line Array system and Meyer MS14 in-fills. Control gear included a Midas XL4 FOH and a Midas Heritage 3000 on monitors whilst Feeder chose a Midas XL200 for FOH and a Midas Heritage XL250 for monitors. The Stereophonics are currently touring the USA, whilst Feeder, after 18 months on the road, are taking a break from touring to write and record new material for their forthcoming album.
(Ruth Rossington)
