Seattle-based rock/blues band Candlebox recently completed a gruelling Middle East tour, performing for US troops in Kuwait, Iraq and other locations. In addition to searing heat and dust, the band encountered mortar fire that forced them to ‘move’ a lot faster than they might have otherwise chosen to. Through it all, their Earthworks microphones performed flawlessly…

‘I used SR25 cardioid microphone with the accompanying KickPad optimization curve on Scott Mercado’s kick drum,’ saya Carlos Novais, the band’s FOH engineer/tour manager. ‘This mic, combined with a P30/C Periscope cardioid microphone for the snare drum, four DP30/C Drum Periscope Cardioid Tom Mics for the toms, one SR25 for the hi-hat, plus a pair of SR30 cardioids for overheads, created an incredible mic set-up for the drums. I also used an SR25 as a vocal mic for Adam Kury.

‘Iraq has a really brutal climate and not once did we encounter any issues with them,’ he continues. ‘When I received the mics, I did an A-B comparison of with other live sound microphones. I was really impressed with the wider and more uniform frequency response of the Earthworks mics and I love the fact that I don’t encounter phase cancellation issues when using multiple microphones together. They have excellent rear rejection characteristics, which eliminates unwanted sounds and they handle the fast attack transients of the drums beautifully. I was very impressed with their performance.’

For the band’s latest studio endeavor, Candlebox drummer Scott Mercado used the DK25/R drumkit recording system. ‘Being a trained drummer/percussionist who transitioned into the rock genre, it’s really important that grace notes such as flams and ruffs be picked up – regardless of the volume level I’m working at,’ he says. ‘The DK25/R conveys all the subtle nuances of my snare work. Other mics just seem to get drowned out by ambient noise.’