If you’ve ever pondered just what’s going on inside Sleep Token’s drums during one of their many spectacular gigs, then your prayers have just been answered.
And, rather than being in any way mystical, faux-religious or an acknowledgement of any kind of afterlife, the reasons for their drum’s odd appearance and punchy sound are sensibly grounded in pure science and good musical taste.
“Every sound engineer I ever met used the D6 and told me it was the microphone for kick drum,” says Sleep Token’s Front Of House Engineer, Thom Pike.
The D6 by Audix is, by now, a bit of a classic. Being a hardcore dynamic mic able to cope with extremely high sound pressure levels while delivering an authentic-sounding response that remains free from distortion in even the most extreme live settings, it’s become a go-to mic for kick drums globally.
And that’s especially so in the high-pressure, high-speed, double-kicked world of metal in its many forms.
And the best just got better with the new Audix D6X gaining approval from one of metal’s biggest and most technical acts to the extent that it’s now being used in some surprising locations.
The pursuit of perfection
"I have never used anything but the D6 on kick in my professional career. The D6X makes a great mic even better by giving you the versatility of different sounds,” says Engineer Pike.
“I just got the D6X,” he says. The new mic takes the trusty D6 and adds a three-position switch both duplicating the trusted D6 frequency response, and adding two further curves with increased midrange and high-mids. “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.”
And his love for the D6 led him to experiment further with the mic, with the full endorsement of a band who always strive to deliver something different.
“We tried it as a laugh in sound check one day,” Pike recalls, describing the then unusual decision to try the D6 on the kit’s toms too. “Both the drummer, II, and I loved it so much that we stayed with it, and now that’s our standard setup.
“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.
“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. 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.”
“Never be scared to ask questions"
And it’s not just toms where Pike is using Audix to experiment. “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.”
And, having gained such a high-pressure hot seat in rock, does Pike have any advice for live engineers wishing to emulate his success?
“Never be scared to ask questions,” he says. “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 awhile, and you see even veteran FOH people who do arena tours still asking questions.
“So just ask."
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