ADELAIDE, Australia — Having sold over four million tickets for concerts that have taken place in 35 countries, The Australian Pink Floyd Show is not your average tribute act.
“Pink Floyd created their own universe of sound – no other band has ever sounded the same,” enthuses The Australian Pink Floyd Show’s (TAPFS) guitarist and vocalist, Stephen McElroy. “It’s so important to capture not just the sound, but also the feel and the emotion of their amazing music.”
Since 1994, TAPFS have even played for Pink Floyd themselves, including performing with members of the real band, and have performed at Battersea Power Station (he iconic building known to all Pink Floyd fans as the Animals album cover and the scene of the famous flying pig), as well as Glastonbury Festival, Wembley Arena, London’s O2 Arena – and continue to tour all over the world to this day.
McElroy is fiercely passionate about the authenticity of the band’s sound, and
the mics the band use on stage must adhere to the same level of sonic perfection, which is why TAPFS chose to use OC818 mics by Austrian Audio while on tour.
“We were very keen to use Austrian Audio microphones,” says McElroy. “They have hundreds of years of experience between them all and they also have the desire and passion. We are now seeing new microphone technology from Austrian Audio that will revolutionize the industry. Exciting times, indeed!”
The first thing McElroy noticed about the OC818 was the build quality:
“Straight out of the box they felt solid, heavy and robust,” he nods. “They feel like they will last a lifetime. The microphones are beautifully presented and it’s immediately apparent that they are a top quality product – surpassing the AKG legacy and firmly rubbing shoulders with the likes of Neumann, etc. The build quality is fantastic, and the ceramic diaphragm mount and solid body is a work of art – and also technically brilliant. Everything about their microphones ooze quality.”
The band have been using OC818s on their guitar cabinets and the drum kit while touring around the world, using the dual cardioid pattern (stereo) feature for the drum overhead channel – meaning they only have to place one microphone over the kit instead of two.
“We’ve never heard it sound so great, as there are no audible phase cancellations due to having two microphones so close together,” he points out. “The single stereo microphone is far superior.”
And it’s not just the band that is impressed. Trevor Gilligan, TAPFS’ FOH engineer has found the OC818 to be reliable through and through:
“We need a good, reliable set of mics as they are used, put on and taken off for over 100 shows a year – in all extremes of indoor and outdoor shows,” he says. “I use them for overheads and ride cymbals – which is a very important part of my mix – and the difference is very noticeable. We have also been putting them on one of the guitar setups, which are also very good. What I like about them is the sonic punch and rich smooth sound in the whole frequency range, especially at the top. The rejection of feedback is very good; I must say, the mics suit our needs very well indeed!”
McElroy reports that he wouldn’t hesitate to use an OC818 in future, and is looking forward to using more models as Austrian Audio introduces them.
“It all comes down to the quality of audio,” he stresses. “These microphones are very accurate, very flat in frequency response, and particularly accurate and smooth on the high end. They are warm, organic and real. These microphones won’t colour your sound, so they won’t leave you second guessing what your audience is hearing. They won’t exaggerate undesirable frequencies. Instead, your audience will hear what you hear on stage, but sweeter. I’m extremely fussy and picky about sound and I’ve tried a multitude of microphones, but these microphones are not only refined and classy, they also have a lot of mojo going on!”
For more info, visit: https://austrian.audio
