NASHVILLE, TN —The Zac Brown Band is using Sennheiser gear for performances in support of recent gold and platinum country albums, The Foundation and Chicken Fried, including Sennheiser microphones, wireless instrument packs and wireless personal monitors. Wireless Sennheiser SKM 935/945 G2 vocal mics line the front of a Zac Brown Band set, and Sennheiser EM 550 G2 receivers capture their RF signals stage-side. “The 935 and 945 capsules cut through beautifully and lay there on top,” said Eric Roderick, the band’s FOH engineer and production manager. “And with minimal EQ — that makes me happy.”
Roderick’s opinion of the four Sennheiser e 906 guitar mics — for as many amps —is similar. “I run them with the switches ‘in the middle’ and get nice, clean tone,” he said. “I just hear the amp and no weirdness. With only a tiny bit of high-pass filtering, it’s off and away.”
For percussion, Roderick uses Sennheiser e 908ds for toms with Sennheiser e 614 pencil mics for overheads, ride, and hi-hat. A Sennheiser e 902 low-frequency mic covers the djembe hand drum.
Recently, the Zac Brown Band went completely wireless on stage. All the guitars, the bass, and even the mandolin use Sennheiser ew 372 G2 wireless body-packs and receivers to free things up.
“The mandolin output requires a balanced tip-ring-sleeve connection, so at first we thought we were out of luck,” said Roderick. “But Sennheiser came through. They sent Doug Reed, Tour Supply’s manager of sales and artist relations, who made us a custom interconnect. And that’s not the only time they’ve given us direct and timely support. Tim Moore, Sennheiser’s artist relations manager, comes to the shows and makes things happen immediately. When a piece we needed couldn’t be shipped in time, someone from Sennheiser showed up at our next gig with it in hand.”
In all, the Zac Brown Band runs 18 wireless channels, including six Sennheiser ew 300 G2 wireless personal monitors. “We’re often playing opening slots, and we don’t always have a lot of time to set up,” said Roderick. “So we’re glad to have Sennheiser’s NET 1 configuration interface. We just flip everything on and do a quick scan. The NET 1 takes care of everything, and we can go on with confidence.”
For more information, please visit www.sennheiserusa.com.
