Ben Folds mentioned once to me that he loves the SM5B and wanted to see Shure reintroduce it.  Here’s a shot from the recent Ben Folds Five album artwork with Ben’s own SM5B in the studio:

I began thinking about which mic I would like to see reintroduced into our line. The Shure 300 was a beautifully crafted Ribbon microphone. Sleek and elegant with a timeless design, this mic was used in many applications including vocals and instruments.

I think this microphone would be a hit on stage, in music videos, maybe even a USB version for on the road interviews by radio stations or bloggers.  Shure now has the capability with the KSM313 and the KSM353 to make more Ribbon mics and I think this would make an interesting “throwback.”   There could be some subtle design changes but it would bear an instantly recognizable resemblance to its predecessor.

With in ear monitors becoming the norm on tours and even in smaller rooms, having a bi-directional mic on stage is much more possible today.  Like the 55SH and now the Super 55, we are seeing those models all over music videos and on major award shows.

What about you?  What Shure mic or product would you like to see brought back?

Ryan

I like to research what other interviewers have recently asked an artist and then avoid those questions entirely…or at least rephrase them differently, but mostly avoid.  So I got my questions together, packed up my gear and headed down to the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Once inside the venue, I meet with Jason’s FOH Engineer Ettore “ET” DeDevitiis who had been with Jason for several years now.  ET brought me over to “Guitar World” where my interview with Jason would take place right before their soundcheck. I met several crew members, began setting up my gear and got some quick B-roll video of the mics onstage.  Jason has been loving what the SM86 gives back to him.  He’s very comfortable with its flat front so he can get right on the capsule.  On stage right, there were a cluster of mics set up where later in the show the band members would, one by one, join Jason around a Shure Super 55 and sing acoustic style.

My interview with Jason was great.  We’d met before at a NAMM show where he signed autographs at our booth for an hour.  The line was so long for him we had to turn people away. Look for this interview on our site soon.

After the interview, I went back to FOH to listen to Ettore’s mix.  Of course the arena was all but empty save a few people who were brought in for a special soundcheck party, but ET’s mix was great.  Being a drummer, I honed in on the kick sound and asked if he was using both a Beta 52A and  the new Beta 91A.  He confirmed.  He also mentioned it was a brand new Yamaha kit.  There were Beta 56A’s on the toms, about 4 inches above the heads.  Sounded amazing.

After Jason’s check, I watched a bit of Christina’s soundcheck.  Her voice sounded angelic through her UR2/KSM9 wireless.  I also met her drummer Elmo who had just toured with Skrillex.

Right before showtime, I met my wife and 2 boys out front and we grabbed our seats about 3 songs into Christina’s set. She puts on an energetic show and is so happy to be opening for Jason.  One of her dreams come true!

The arena was about 3/4th’s full and I was happy to see so many people out supporting live music.  Money can be tight for some and the fact that it was that well attended is promising.

Jason puts on a great show and his vocal range is pretty amazing.  He really does invite the audience into his party and they all sing along.  The band is super tight and ET has everything sitting right where it should be in the mix.  At one point in the show, he and percussionist Mona Tavakoli were on stage and performed his new song “You F___in’ Did It.”  When Mona kicked in on her Cajon, the whole crowd went wild. Pretty cool.

This is the kind show I could watch night after night and be content.  It’s great when an engineer finds that gig that they are totally into and they love doing their job every night.  With a great singer and a tight band, how could you not?

I can’t wait for the next time Jason comes back to Nashville.  I may not even wait till then…..ROAD TRIP!!

Ryan

The Vogue Theater- Indianapolis, IN

Who?

Mona.

Never heard of them eh?  Neither had I until a good friend of mine who does monitors for Ronnie Dunn introduced me to them.  Mike Addams called me on the phone and said you HAVE TO work with these guys.  They are about to explode. They have already taken off overseas and their record is going to release in the States early next year.  Mike doesn’t call me too often to tell me me about a group so I knew this was going somewhere.

Mike introduced me to the band after the very last Brooks and Dunn concert in Nashville.  Mona are based in Nashville but their rock music and interesting videos have already taken root in the UK and other countries overseas.

Tonight though, while I was in Indianapolis still for PASIC, they were coming through town and I did not want to miss seeing them.  I arrived at The Vogue about 2 songs into their set. They were in the middle slot opening for The Airborne Toxic Event.  The place was already packed and the crowd was definitely into them.  Lead singer Nick Brown announced from the stage that it was Drummer Vince’s Birthday today “so everyone buy him a drink!” Nick is switching between a Super 55 (Black and Red) and an SM58 during his set.  It’s obvious thought that he needs to go wireless because his is all over the stage working the crowd.  The band is tight and they are “arena ready.” It was so great to see them in this smaller club first, kind of like when Bon Jovi got back together and I saw them at the House of Blues in Chicago.  That was a great experience as well.

Immediately after their set, each of the guys in the band came out to the merchandise tables and began signing posters, CD’s, and shirts for fans buying them up.  I even had to run out to their trailer for them to grab more posters.  I hadn’t eaten a dinner so I asked the guys if they wanted some pizza.  They were happy to accept.  I went around the corner and ordered a couple up and talked more with the band as they took more pictures with fans.  The pizza went fast.  Nothing like hungry musicians after a gig!

Get used to hearing about these guys.  They are something special and are hungry to make it big!

Here’s some links to their stuff:

Shure Mona page and links

and here’s some iPhone photos from that night:

Ryan

Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN

The last time these wonderful Christian Artists were in Nashville, I had a prior commitment and was unable to stick around for the show.  Tonight, I planned to spend the afternoon and evening with the band and crew.

I meet up with Carter Hassebrook who is the bands FOH Engineer and stage manager.  We went to the stage and I grabbed some video b-roll of the mics on stage.  Shure UHF-R wireless mics are on all vocals with various capsules for each singer.  For their acoustic set, lead singer  Mark Hall has been using a Super 55 and loving it.  I also grabbed some footage of the drum kit as they are using the new Beta 98AMP’s on the toms and the Beta 91A in the kick drum.

As I finished up gathering the b-roll, drummer Brian Scoggin arrived and we got set up to grab a quick interview with him on stage.  I was also planning to interview Carter so I decided at the last minute to interview them at the same time, which worked well!

Since every member of the group is also a Youth Minister, they are all very well spoken and know so much about each other.  It was a great interview – you can look for that on our YouTube channel at some point. Following the interview, the band soundchecked for about 30-40 minutes. After their soundcheck, everyone usually meets at the front rows of the venue for prayer time.  They discuss a bible verse or two then disperse amongst the chairs in the venue to bless them and send their prayers out that the audience will enjoy the show and live in the moment.

Then the openers, Sanctus Real, The Afters, and newcomer Lindsay McCall from Chicago all soundchecked.  According to Carter, all three lead vocalists for these groups requested to sing on the UR2/KSM9!

It is always great, during these economic times, to see a full house.  People were spending their money on shirts and merchandise. This tour for Casting Crowns is in support of their freshly released CD Come To The Well.  Their messages are very powerful and thought provoking.  “God doesn’t NEED me, he WANTS me.”

It is so important that the message reaches the audience with the utmost clarity.  Shure microphones are there to help complete that mission.

Ryan

Photo © 2011 Photo Reserve

I don’t know where Talib Kweli and Mos Def get their time.   It has been said that in the current state of the music industry you have to be a shark – that you must always swim or drown – and if that’s the case these two are makos.

Talib Kweli has garnered a reputation as the MC’s MC.  At 35 years of age he has already released four solo albums, five with collaborators, be it Mos Def, Hi-Tek, or much-respected underground hip-hop producer Madlib, and a slew of mixtapes, singles, and guest appearances.

Mos Def at 37 has also released four solo albums and a slew of collaborative works, but also has amassed a respected resume as an actor, be it on stage or film.

Together the two released an album to critical acclaim, 1998′s Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star.  Reuniting to revisit that material and then some, the two put on an amazing showcase of their talent on Friday night in Chicago.  Of the two shows the duo were to put on that night, I went to catch the first show.  I’m not the world’s foremost authority on live hip-hop, but I’ve seen more than enough shows to know the good from the bad.  This was the great.  Starting with their famed DJ, J. Rocc of the legendary Beat Junkies, and ending with Mos and Talib being joined by Chicago’s best (my opinion), Common, this set will not soon fade from memory.

The cool part for me as a Shure person was that the stage mics were all Super 55s, all of them custom paint jobs.  This started with Mos Def about two years ago, when he requested a Super 55 with a gloss black cage and red foam insert, and another with an inverted scheme, which he has most frequently used.  Prior to this tour, Talib came in to another two custom Super 55s – one matte white with red foam and the other a gloss green with a yellow foam insert.  After their first set we sat down for an interview (subscribe to Shure’s YouTube channel to see when it posts) and the subject of the mics came up.  The two were very happy with the sound they’ve been getting.  Mos at one point grabbed Talib’s white/red mic and mentioned how much he dug the scheme.  I brought up the green/yellow mic and Talib said he was leaning towards using it for the late show.

Unfortunately for me the late show was going to start well after midnight and I had a looming early morning happening.  After wrapping up the interview I thanked them again for the killer show and hit the road.

Richard

Talib Kweli and Mos Def with some of their custom Super 55s, Photo © 2011 Photo Reserve

Photo © 2011 Photo Reserve

Photo © 2011 Photo Reserve

Photo © 2011 Photo Reserve

Photo © 2011 Photo Reserve

Photo © 2011 Photo Reserve

Photo © 2011 Photo Reserve

In this episode of our podcast, we introduce the the Super 55. Our guest, Product Specialist Rob Klegon, takes us on a tour of the new product and how it compares to its predecessor, the 55SH Series II.