Shania Twain’s latest network television special, UP! Close andPersonal, which featured the singer backed by multipleGrammy-winner Alison Krause and Union Station, was performed and filmedbefore a small audience in Nashville-based Citation Studios in earlyNovember.
“It was all acoustic instruments with no wireless, so it lent itselfto quality microphones,” reported Steve McCale, Shania’s live sounddesigner and the monitor engineer on the TV special. McCale also workswith Faith Hill, Stevie Nicks and Chris Isaak. “It sounded really goodand was very tastefully done.
The one-hour show, mixed for the broadcast by Shania’s husband,producer Mutt Lange, featured two dozen Neumann and Sennheisermicrophones in all. In addition to Twain’s trademark Evolution Series935, Krause and four of Union Station’s five bandmembers also used thehigh-output cardioid vocal mic. Drummer Larry Atamanuik used theEvolution Series mics, with an E 602 on the kick drum, an E 903 on thesnare, and E 604s on the rack and floor toms. A pair of Neumann TLM193s were positioned overhead, with a Neumann KM 184 on hand to pick upthe sound of his brushes on the snare, and a TLM 103 for percussion.Front-of-house mixing was handled by Nigel Green, Brad Maddox and DaveSkaff.
Krause and Union Station were miked with a variety of Neumann andSennheiser gear. Neumann KM 184s were used on mandolin and one of theacoustic guitars, a KM 140 on the second acoustic guitar, TLM 170s onKrause’s fiddle and the upright acoustic bass, and a TLM 103 on thedobro. Three Sennheiser MD 441 supercardioid dynamics were also used onfiddle and the two guitars. All of the performers wore SennheiserEvolution 300 Series wireless monitors.
For more on the mics, visit Sennheiser at www.sennheiserusa.com or Neumann at www.neumann.com.
