Lord Huron
Adored for their emotive lyricism and moody undertones, American rock band Lord Huron burst onto the charts with “The Night We Met,” a viral hit that caught the attention of billions. Capturing the intricate and delicate nature of their music, while recording, is crucial for the band, and they put just as much emphasis on recreating that listening experience for live audiences.
To ensure the band delivers a sound on stage that is consistent with their studio sessions, Front of House Sound Engineer Justin Chechile selected the band’s favored DPA Microphones vocal and instrument mics, including the DPA d:facto™4018VLVocal and 2011 Twin Diaphragm Microphones. For recorded and live applications, the band also deploys the DPA DDK4000 Drum Microphone Kit, comprised of the 2012 Cardioidand4055 Kick Drum mics, along with a stereo pair of the 2015 Wide Cardioids and three 4099 Instrument Microphones.
“Lord Huron first started using DPA mics for the recording side of things,” Chechile says.“The team loved the mics’ performance in those cases and thought it would be nice to bring them out on tour—and I’m so glad we switched the live setup to DPA.”
Chechile explains that lead singer Ben Schneider frequently moves around stage during shows, which caused a significant high-end bleed from the drum set. “The d:facto was first to come on the live side,” he says. “We were struggling to find a vocal mic that wasn’t super colored and offered a really flat sound. The d:facto fixed all these issues and provided context and clarity. I could talk about this mic all day. It’s very open sounding and the bleed is so natural.
Ben will sometimes sing way off-axis, stepping away from the microphone for effect or to intentionally make himself sound distant. Even when he’s four or five feet away, the d:facto still sounds exactly like him, just further away. It’s a perfect mic. ”This consistency in performance is also found on Lord Huron’s drum set. With the DPA DDK4000 Drum Microphone Kit, Chechile has been able to achieve pristine sound pickup on every part of drummer, Mark Barry’s kit.
“I was just blown away by the 4055 Kick Drum Mic,” he adds. “It has become one of my favorite mics of all time. The 4055 allows the drum to sound exactly like the instrument. As soon as you plug the mic in, it goes to work representing what’s right in front. ”The DDK4000 also includes a 2012 Cardioid that Chechile places on hi-hats ,along with a stereo pair of 2015 Wide Cardioids, which are close miked under the cymbals, and several of the 4099s on the toms. To further enhance the mics on the drum kit, Chechile selected DPA2011s for the snare, and to pick up sound on touring guitarist, Brandon Walter’s Magnatone amplifier. When not using the 2011 to also mic the bass amp, Chechile will select the 4055, which offers a consistent linear response
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