LONDON – Thom Pike is supporting Sleep Token’s unique live shows with an audio assist from Audix. The FOH engineer chose Audix’s D6 for kick drum along with the 10-inch, 12-inch, and 16-inch toms. He also spoke about plans to add other Audix instrument mics to better capture Sleep Token’s sound going forward.
More details from Audix (www.audixusa.com):
Sleep Token may be the most committed concept-rock group of the 21st century. Appearing only in costume, they weave a mythos around an ancient deity called Sleep as its earthly apostles: lead singer/instrumentalist Vessel and band members II, III, and IV. Their stage productions could be setpieces in a Jodorowsky film, and their music blends elements of metal, electronica, djent and careful songwriting into a consciousness-altering potion. Songs are “offerings,” shows are “rituals,” and front-of-house engineer Thom Pike mixes a sound so powerful it could indeed summon the otherworldly. His talisman for drummer II is the D6 from AUDIX, soon to be joined by the new D6X as well as the SCX1HC compact condenser mic on cymbals. Pike tells us that while the D6 is known as a go-to kick drum solution, it also turns up in an unexpected application.
“Every sound engineer ever I met used the D6 and told me it was the microphone for kick drum,” he begins “I’ve never used anything but the D6 on kick in my professional career.” The D6’s reputation for excellent reproduction of kick drum precedes it, but that doesn’t mean kick is the only source on which the stout, compact dynamic workhorse delivers results. “In addition to the kick, I use it on the 10-inch, 12-inch, and 16-inch toms,” explains Pike. “Each has their own D6.”
Pike and the band discovered the merits of the D6 on toms quite by accident. “We tried it as a laugh in sound check one day,” he recalls. “Then, both the drummer, II, and I loved it so much that we stayed with it, and now that’s our standard setup. The mics are large compared to the rest of the D series, so to onlookers who can see the kit it almost looks like there are extra tiny drums or maybe coffee mugs up there, but the sound is well worth the visual oddity.”
Asked to describe that sound, Pike reflects, “The D6 is essentially an out-of-the box mic. When we put them on the toms, they sounded correct before even adding any EQ. It gives you that presence, but the ‘gut’ of the tom as well. Also, we have triggers for gates on the drums to control bleed because the stage is quite loud, and the response of the D6 interacts well with the gates. It makes the whole kit sound very snappy and punchy. “I’ve never used anything but the D6 on kick in my professional career. The D6X, which we acquired recently makes a great mic even better by giving you the versatility of different sounds.”
Still, Pike will try another AUDIX staple, the D4, soon. “I should mention that on the tour I’m currently on, with the band Night Verses, we do have D4s on the smaller toms, and they give me most of what I like about the D6,” he says. “You need less low end given the smaller drum size in any case.”
Sleep Token’s drum kit is meticulously close-miked, and Pike soon hopes to apply his attention to detail to cymbals, using an AUDIX microphone whose hypercardioid pickup pattern he thinks makes it ideal for the task. “I just acquired the tiny pencil mics, the SCX1HC condensers, and their sound is amazing for their size,” he says. “They’re literally the size of your pinky finger. I want to capture the detail in some of the smaller cymbals like splashes and need something that can go very close and be low-profile. We tried other small-diaphragm condensers, and they just didn’t work in this application.”
“Never be scared to ask questions” is Pike’s advice to audio acolytes who hope to stand behind the faders for a band like Sleep Token. “No question is too dumb. The dumb thing is to make an embarrassing mistake because you didn’t ask a question. In my earlier career I placed a high value on looking like I already knew everything. But you hang around while, and you see even veteran FOH people who do arena tours still asking questions. So just ask.”
Also in Pike’s immediate future is the D6X, an evolution of the D6 which, via a three-position switch, duplicates the classic D6 frequency response, then adds two curves with increased midrange and high-mids. “I just got the D6X,” he notes. “We haven’t had a chance yet to A-B it with the D6 or use it under fire, but I’m quite looking forward to it.”
