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Creed on tour with Audio-Technica microphones for Vocals Guitars Drum
musiciansnews.com August 9 2002
The hard rock four-piece Creed, featuring vocalist Scott Stapp, guitarist Mark Tremonti, and drummer Scott Phillips, is back on the road using an arsenal of Audio-Technica wired and wireless microphones in support of their latest release, Weathered. Recognized as the Rock Artist of the Year at Billboard's 1998 Music Awards, the band has had numerous #1 Rock Radio singles and played to millions of fans worldwide.
Kirk Kelsey, Creed's front-of-house (FOH) engineer and co-producer of Weathered, chose a wide array of Audio-Technica microphones to help capture the band's signature sound. "I've been using Audio-Technica mics for years, both live and in the studio. When we were recording Weathered, we used AT4047's on clean guitars, AT4050's for the dirty guitar, ATM25's for the toms, AT4060's for overheads, and an AT3035 on kick. When it came time to hit the road, rather than mix and match a bunch of microphones, I wanted one company with the products and support that would cut it, and A-T is the one."
Currently, for Scott Phillips' drum kit, Kelsey is using an AE2500 on kick; AE3000 on toms: AT4033 for overheads; ATM35's for bottom snare and an ATM23HE on top snare. Guitarist Mark Tremonti uses an AT4054 for vocals while sideman/bassist Brett Hestla is using an AT4054 for backup vocals. All guitars are direct.
"We were struggling to find the right wireless for Scott Stapp's vocals, but after doing a shootout with all the wireless units available, we're now using the ATW-7373x handheld wireless," stated Kelsey. "I've been trying to get a really big sound out of Scott's voice and the A-T wireless does the trick. It sounds really good." In addition, Kelsey is utilizing the new Artist Elite AE2500 microphone, which features Audio-Technica's unique dual-element design. The AE2500 combines condenser and dynamic capsules within a single housing, positioned in a perfect phase relationship - something that would be nearly impossible to accomplish with separate microphones. "The new AE2500 kick drum mic is just incredible," commented Kelsey. "I was using a combination of a boundary mic on the inside of the bass drum and a AT4050 a little further out. I was getting decent results, but when I put the AE2500 in there alone, it was just unbelievable. I was able to get the attack of the beater along with the tone of the bass drum shell - the system's techs noticed the sound difference right away."