WEST HOLLYWOOD – Bobby Crown, the FOH mixer, production manager and system engineer for the venerable Troubadour for the last seven years, brought an all-A-T package of microphones into the famous club in 2008, and they've been used there ever since.
Now in its 54th year, The Troubadour has been a flagship venue of the American music industry, hosting artists including the Eagles, Elton John, James Taylor, Metallica, Franz Ferdinand, the Strokes and Guns N' Roses, who, like many classic artists, got their careers going as a result of performances there.
The Troubadour continues to be a vital link in the evolving American music industry and culture, and microphones from Audio-Technica, an innovator in transducer technology for over 45 years, have helped keep it that way.
Crown, who at one point was simultaneously an engineer at four of L.A.'s leading venues including the Whisky a Go Go and the Viper Room before settling in at The Troubadour in 2003 for what he calls its "magical positive energy," has found the A-T microphones to be suited to a variety of applications.
Electric guitars and basses have been enhanced with ATM650 Hypercardioid Dynamic Instrument Microphones, ATM250 Hypercardioid Dynamic Instrument Microphones (on the rear of the amp cabinet) and ATM250DE Dual-Element Instrument Microphones. For acoustic guitars, there's the AE5100 Cardioid Condenser Instrument Microphone. Vocals are captured using the ATM610 Hypercardioid Dynamic Handheld Microphone.
Crown found the Audio-Technica PRO 35 Cardioid Condenser Clip-on Instrument Microphone, well-suited in high-SPL applications, to work well for active stage performances, and he relies on it as all-round go-to microphone for drums and other percussive applications.
"I tried it out on the kick now, and it's an amazing sound, so I've started using it on the toms, and the whole kit sounds fantastic," he said. "The PRO 35 is a small condenser mic so it has a lot of headroom for the pre-amp and a lot of bottom-end roundness. You can just bring up the gain and it sounds great. It's a flat-sounding microphone that lets the drums sound very natural and takes advantage of the great sound of the wood ambience of the room. In terms of overall functionality, it's the best multi-purpose microphone I've ever used."
Crown also uses the ATM650, ATM450 Cardioid Condenser Instrument Microphone and AE5100 on the snare and the ATM450 and ATM650 on the high-hat. The ATM450 also works superbly in pairs as a room microphone, capturing the essence of The Troubadour's warm, intimate sound even as the room itself has evolved, with recently added balconies and an upstairs bar area.
"Every night we have a different artist, and over time the room will adjust as the size of the crowd changes, but the A-T microphones remain the consistent thing about the sound," said Crown, who estimated that he's mixed over 5,000 bands at the Troubadour.
"We get a lot of guest engineers in here, and I've found that they really appreciate the comfort zone they feel when they find out we're using the same Audio-Technica microphones that a lot of them already use on the road. The A-T mics help in so many ways."
For more information, please visit www.audio-technica.com .
