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Aerosmith Tracks with Shure

Shure microphones and headphones were in the mix of gear used on the new Aerosmith album tracking sessions.

Niles, IL (December 16, 2011)—Shure microphones and headphones were in the mix of gear used on the new Aerosmith album tracking sessions.

In recording basic tracks for the 14th Aerosmith album, scheduled for release in April 2012, producer Douglas noted, “You don’t do a session like this with one brand of microphone. I like to use different mics in different situations. But during almost four months of tracking, there were a lot of Shure microphones that never moved from their spots. That includes classics like the SM57, but also some of the new mics like the KSM condensers and ribbons. We also used Shure headphones throughout the sessions.”

Within each guitar amp iso chamber was a Shure ribbon microphone. Douglas recounts, “I had a KSM313 and a KSM353, and boy, did they get used! I absolutely love them. The 313 is interesting because it has a bright side and a brighter side, which is really cool. During the actual tracking session, that was on Brad Whitford’s guitar rig. I just used one of them inside the iso box, but because it’s a ribbon, it was hearing all four amps. So it’s multiple voicing in real time, and the sound is absolutely amazing.”

For Joe Perry’s rig, Douglas selected the KSM353 for a more neutral sound. “Same deal as Brad in terms of setup,” he notes. “It was just killer—big and fat and everything you want in a ribbon.”

Joey Kramer’s drum sound started with an SM57 on snare top, augmented by a Shure SM81 underneath. “I have always used the 57 on snare and always will,” says Douglas. He also used a Beta 91A boundary mic as part of his kick drum setup, deployed on the floor right in front of the kick drum to capture the overall drum kit while augmenting the kick sound. For hi-hat, Douglas employed a dual microphone setup recommended by engineer Warren Huart, with a KSM137 condenser and an SM7B. Two KSM44A studio condensers captured the sound of the room.

All five band members used Shure SRH840 headphones for monitoring throughout the sessions.

Shure
www.shure.com

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