Los Angeles, CA (July 27, 2021)—For Lord Huron’s fourth album, Long Lost, recorded at Whispering Pines Studios near downtown Los Angeles, the band and audio engineer Ben Tolliday selected DPA 4018 supercardioid, 4011A cardioid and 4006 omindirectional microphones to support various instruments and songs.
“The songs on Long Lost are very dynamic, more so than on our previous albums,” Mark Barry, drummer and engineer for Lord Huron says, “and we wanted a pair of drum overheads that we could keep set-up for the entire tracking session. We looked for mics that could handle the detail of brushes and attack of sticks, while also consistently sounding good. Everyone agreed that the DPA 4011As were best for this; full, clear and detailed, but not too harsh-sounding mics. The 4018 on the snare drum won every shootout.”
Paul “Pab” Boothroyd’s Wild Ride
Tolliday says he knew that small diaphragm condensers were going to play a big part on this record, with the band referencing certain 1960s releases. “I knew I needed small condenser mics with a slightly faster transient response and a little more focus for the strings and drums specifically. When the opportunity arose to use the DPA mics, I really jumped at the chance and it was awesome for us. It was the perfect fit for what we wanted.”
Tolliday believes DPA gave the album the most natural sound possible, but with all the benefits of a small diaphragm condenser. “I didn’t feel like there was a lot of excessive coloration, but I didn’t want that out of the microphone on some of the sources. We then did coloration with other bits down the signal chain. For specific things such as strings spot mics, overheads and snare, I just wanted as much natural clarity and focus as possible, and that is what the DPA mics gave us,” he says.
