New York (October 7, 2010)–Carrie Underwood, currently touring with Clair for her new album, Play On, has been using Heil mics on stage.
The decision to use Heil Sound products, most noticeably the RC 35 wireless capsule, began with Cam Beachley, monitor mixer. According to Beachley, “The existing wireless system itself was fine, but the capsule needed to be changed, only because Carrie cups the mic and we needed something that didn’t color the sound when she does that.” An extensive listening session was held where as Cam put it, “nothing made me happy,” until he found the RC 35, which he says, “sounds the same regardless of how someone holds it.”
The Heil Custom Shop provided versions of the mic that would fit and compliment the look of the show, ultimately coming up with seven different finishes, including a blue that matches the color of a 1959 Ford pick-up truck used on stage. Also, Cam came up with a unique “cane” mic that utilizes a 90-degree swivel on an extended stick used on the opening number. In addition to the RC capsules, Heil mics are being utilized in a variety of backline uses including a PR 48 and a pair of PR 28s—both models (usually associated with drum miking) being used for keyboardist Jonathon Hamby’s Leslie set-up.
Randy Lane, FOH mixer for the tour, remarked, “Carrie is absolutely one of the best vocalists I’ve worked with. She can take a song from an intimate whisper to one of the most searing vocals you have ever heard in your life in the space of a heartbeat, and the Heil RC 35 delivers that vocal impeccably. I like to make sure that her vocal is the focal point, but I also make sure that what the band plays on stage is conveyed accurately to the audience. She has a top-notch band with her and I’m trying to capture exactly what they play and just stay out of the way. To that end, it all starts with the source and Heil mics absolutely are faithful to the source.”
Heil Sound
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