With over 364 million views as of December 2012, Belgian – Australian multi-instrumental musician and singer-songwriter Wally de Backer, known by his stage name Gotye, has likely become somebody that you know with his hit song featuring Kimbra “Somebody That You Used to Know”. In May 2012, Gotye announced a world tour and as they wound the globe, Earthworks microphones came along along for the ride.
Gotye’s FOH engineer Lachlan Carrick was familiar with Earthworks in a studio setting, yet discovered the live sound microphones while touring with Gotye and Kimbra in early 2012. “I’d used Earthworks mics a couple of times in the studio for various things, and was always impressed with the way they came up,” explains Carrick. “Then more recently I was introduced to the new series by a fellow Australian engineer, Angus Davidson, who was mixing Kimbra at the time. The Earthworks mics sounded like they provided excellent transient response, with a natural, full tone. Although the Kimbra sound was very different to what I was going for with Gotye, I could see how the mics could work well for us.”
And work well they did. With 12 Earthworks microphones covering the stage and 1 M30 in the FOH booth for analysis, Carrick quickly found his favorite applications. “The DP30/Cs sound killer on congas and bongos!”
The complete Earthworks setup includes 3 SR40s on hats and overheads on the main drum kit, 4 DP30/C mics on congas, bongos and toys on the percussion kit, 2 P30/C flexible gooseneck instrument mics on various percussion instruments on the frontline specials, and 1 M30 measurement microphone in the FOH booth for analysis. And on Wally’s kit you’ll find 3 DP30/C mics on snare and toms.
As a touring professional who has used his fair share of microphones on stage, Carrick explains how Earthworks microphones differ from other mics he has used. “The Earthworks mics have a great build quality, and seem to be very robust,” says Carrick. “But the biggest difference is the dynamic response. Drums can really sound lively and exciting when the mics fully capture the very start of the hits. They really are quick and detailed.”
Carrick was equally complimentary of Earthworks’ support services, “The experience has been fantastic. Communication has been excellent, and everyone seems to want to help out!”
“I wouldn’t hesitate recommending Earthworks microphones for live concert applications,” concludes Carrick. “They’ve proved themselves to me many times over.”
Source: Earth Work Audio Press Release / Megan Clifford
