Avenged Sevenfold & Slipknot FOH Engineer Bob Strakele Takes Austrian Audio On Tour

Bob Strakele, who holds down the front-of-house combine place for each Avenged Sevenfold, who just lately accomplished the third leg of an ongoing tour, and Slipknot, who debuted a brand new drummer in late April on the band’s first exhibits since October 2023, works to maintain issues constant no matter which band he’s working with, sometimes utilizing the identical console and PA in addition to deploying Austrian Audio microphones.

Strakele’s resume consists of excursions with War on Drugs, Greta van Fleet, AWOLNATION and Erasure. But since signing up with Avenged Sevenfold in 2018, taking up from the late Dave “Shirt” Nicholls, he says, “I’ve been just about within the steel scene.” About a yr after hooking up with Avenged Sevenfold, Slipknot — who Nicholls additionally combined, for nearly 15 years — have been able to get again on the street and tapped Strakele for the FOH job.

Whichever band he’s working with, he says, “I attempt to develop a relationship the place they perceive that on the primary leg of the tour we’re going to undergo quite a lot of microphones, simply to see what works one of the best. Thankfully, they belief me to do my factor.” Over the previous yr, to assist preserve a constant drum combine, Strakele adopted a number of fashions of microphones from Austrian Audio and at present makes use of them with each bands. “I’m utilizing two Austrian OC818s on overheads, OC8s for my experience cymbals and I’m utilizing the OC7s on the ground toms,” he studies.

“The OC818s are what I’ve been utilizing with Avenged,” he continues. “I put them in cardioid to get the rejection off the again aspect.” He additionally has a pair of OC18s, he says, which has a hard and fast cardioid sample in distinction to the three switchable patterns of the OC818.

The OC818 pair offers the inspiration of his drum combine, Strakele provides. “For me, it’s not a cymbal mic. I’m principally catching the massive image, with the mics boomed in from behind, equidistant from the snare. I’m an enormous fan of constructing my complete drum sound across the overheads. Everything sounds higher to me after I reasonably excessive go filter them, possibly at 80 Hz or 100 Hz, simply to eliminate any rumble if there are subs on stage. But I like to listen to that woody snare sound, so I don’t are likely to excessive go them too arduous. And when you add EQ, you then’re taking away from the snare sound.”

When first attempting the OC7 mics on the ground toms, he says, “We arrange two units of mics and slowly launched them as soon as I knew that it was what I needed. They have an incredible low finish and an immediacy; they’re quick. The OD5 [active dynamic] and OC7 surprisingly sound an identical to one another the place usually a dynamic would sound slightly bit boxy or not hyped on the highest finish. I may use them interchangeably.”

The OC7s are mounted on LP model claws connected to the legs of the ground tom. “They’re not pointed immediately on the middle of the drum, however they’re not straight down both. They’re pointing possibly three or 4 inches in from the rim.”

Strakele first heard about Austrian Audio microphones from his pal, producer and engineer Joe Barresi, who produced the most recent albums by each Slipknot and Avenged Sevenfold and has additionally recorded Tool, Chevelle, Bad Religion and a bunch of different bands. “We have been on the telephone in the future and he stated, ‘I obtained these Austrian Audio mics; it’s essential attempt them on drums. I arrange a ground tom in the course of my studio, surrounded it with cymbals and had my assistant simply pound it. It sounded nice and we obtained good rejection.’ Since then, I’ve been in contact with Bernd [Gossi, Artist Relations] from Austrian and he’s been offering me with nice assist — each on the tour and off.”

His two principal artists are very completely different with regards to the stay combine. “It took me a very long time to discover ways to combine Slipknot, simply because it’s so chaotic. There are 9 guys on stage and at sure instances there are three drummers taking part in — and typically they’re hitting kegs with flaming baseball bats! I don’t need to say Avenged Sevenfold are simpler to combine, however there’s much more area.”

The music stability can be completely different, he continues. “With Slipknot, it’s just like the guitar and bass relationship is nearly backwards. Normally, the bass is the inspiration, and the guitars are the mid-range hump. With them, it’s a sort of a scooped sound and the bass is performed via guitar amps, in order that’s your mid-range punch. And that’s the half that you simply’re attempting to get to lock with the kick drum. The regular drum equipment is so low-end and high-end heavy that when you’ve got three drummers, you may’t simply put all of them in the identical frequency vary or else it sounds such as you’re throwing a bunch of rocks down a set of stairs!”

This shall be one other busy yr for Strakele. Slipknot, who final performed almost six months in the past, are again on the street with a brand new drummer and a string of U.S. competition dates, together with Sick New World, Welcome to Rockville, Sonic Temple, Louder Than Life and Aftershock. Then, Avenged Sevenfold head to Asia and Europe for a sequence of summer time festivals. In November, Slipknot return to the street for exhibits in Mexico adopted by a month in Europe and the U.Ok.

Ultimately, he concludes, “I simply need what’s finest for the present, so let’s simply get what sounds one of the best. If you don’t have drum sound, the entire combine falls aside. A superb snare and participant are the primary a part of the equation; I’m simply placing the sprinkles on prime.”

The submit Avenged Sevenfold & Slipknot FOH Engineer Bob Strakele Takes Austrian Audio On Tour appeared first on ProSoundWeb.

HI-FI News

through ProSoundWeb https://ift.tt/hJmVkWe

May 22, 2024 at 09:27PM