With No. 1 US / No. 3 UK album Contra under their collective belts, Brooklyn-based indie rockers Vampire Weekend are spending most of 2010 on the road. The band is touring the world with a comprehensive Sennheiser microphone and monitoring package, ensuring that the sound at every gig has true bite.
The band’s Front of House engineer, Neil Heal, has previously worked with the White Stripes and the Raconteurs, both of whom also use Sennheiser equipment.
“I specified a complete Sennheiser microphone rig because the equipment is very good,” he says. “Nothing goes wrong, it just gets on with the job and it all sounds great. It makes my job a lot easier.”
The band’s onstage setup features an e 945 super-cardioid vocal mic for lead singer Ezra Koenig, half-cardiod e 901s, clip on e 904s and dynamic cardiod e 902s on Chris Tomson’s drums, and MD421s on the band’s cabs.
The band has also just started what is shaping up to be a very successful festival season, which has already seen them perform at Coachella, the Isle of Wight Festival, Sasquatch and most recently deliver an extremely well received set on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage.
“At festivals you can tell when you’re using an e 945 on the lead and every other band is using something else. They just make the vocal sound so much better,” says Neil.
Meanwhile, monitor engineer Chris Moon is using a combination of four G3 IEMS and two G2s. “I’ve been working with the band for eight months and inherited some G2s when I started,” he says.
“Once all the band went to in ears, we started using the G3s. Overall they are so much better than what any other company can offer. As well as the sound quality they are really easy to use, which is key when on tour.”
It is not just on tour that Sennheiser equipment has a significant impact on Vampire Weekend’s sound, though. The company also assisted the band in the recording of Contra, by arranging the supply an M149 Neumann studio microphone via Tour Supply in the US.
“We were really pleased that Vampire Weekend were keen to use the M149 on Contra,” says Sennheiser UK artist relations manager Mark Saunders.
“It’s great to think that the unique sound of the Neumann microphone has made some small contribution to the album and that Sennheiser products are also supporting them on stage as they promote Contra on their current world tour.”
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