Photo: Alan L. Mayor/WireImage.com
Erick “Otto” Celeiro, front-of-house mixer for singer/songwriter Gavin DeGraw, is miking the vocalist with an Audio-Technica AEW-T5400. “This vocal mic sounds better than any wired vocal mic I have ever used,” says Celeiro. “Simply crystal-clear and full of energy. The sound always starts with a brilliant microphone, and the AEW-T5400 is definitely that.”
Celeiro is also using a Soundcraft MH4 console, with “nice-sounding mic pre’s,” continues the engineer. “I insert a Summit TLA50 compressor and keep his vocal channel pretty flat. Gavin has a great voice; it helps when the source is great. I can’t really say there are serious unique challenges to mixing Gavin other than he can be unpredictable: He has a hard time following a set list. [Laughs] Often, I don’t know what he’s going to play next or it may even be a song I’ve never heard before—not to worry, [because] neither has the band. He has two positions for his vocal mics—he may be singing at his piano and all of the sudden he’s at his guitar position in the middle of a song.”
Of his mixing style, Celeiro explains, “I usually listen to what the band is playing, then I try and make it mine. I like to mix how I hear it should be. I have been fortunate thus far to have the freedom to do so. If you listen to Gavin’s record, it’s very pop-sounding, but the band plays with a lot more energy. I find myself exaggerating that energy and the results are very satisfying.”
For more information on the Audio-Technica mic, visit www.audio-technica.com. For more information on the Soundcraft board, visit www.soundcraft.com.
