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Mike Adams
When The Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang" tour came to Chicago in October 2006, we had the opportunity to visit backstage with monitor engineer Mike Adams. It was a cold, windy autumn evening in Chicago when we had this pre-show conversation.
Tell us a little about yourself, Mike.
MIKE ADAMS: I grew up in Colorado. I count my career from when I started getting paid on a weekly basis. That was 1981. It was a band called Green Dog, out of Denver Colorado. Today, I live in North Carolina.
As far as getting started, I took the long, stupid, hard road. I knew from the time I was 14 that this was all I wanted to do. Back then, there were no audio engineering schools, so when I was 16, I just started hanging around, getting myself into nightclubs, and finding guys that I thought made it sound really good and just started picking their brains. I started trading out my labor for their knowledge. So basically, by the time I was 18, I was working all over the Denver area, mixing in blues clubs and at small rock clubs. I just hit the ground running, and now here I am.
So you were always a mixer, never a tech? That's unusual.
No, I reversed the usual path. I knew how to mix, and really knew my way in and around a console, and yet I had no idea about so many basics. Things like, how do you hang a PA in the sky like that? It's kind of embarrassing when you can paint the picture but you have no idea how the canvas is manufactured... So that was actually the hard part, going back and kind of getting educated.
I was lucky, though. I started working for Showco after I'd been in the business about 15 years. The first thing I learned there was that I knew absolutely nothing about the logistics of audio. They were great. I mean, they knew I had deficits in knowledge but they were willing to work with me because I had other things to bring to the party. I'll always be grateful for that.
This is your first Rolling Stones tour. What other artists have you worked with?
Well, let's see. I've done monitors for Pantera, John Mayer, Guns N' Roses, Luther Vandross, Third Eye Blind, Ozzfest, and Black Sabbath. I did Kiss for years. Let's see, also Motley Crue and Fear Factory. That's pretty much it. Overall, I've done a lot of metal, a lot of pop, and some R&B. This is like a little bit of all those things.
What's the setup like?
The way we work out here, I mix the principal band members, and J. Summers mixes monitors for the singers, keyboards and horns. It's a huge stage with a lot of performers, so it really takes cooperation and teamwork to make it work.
You have a mix of ear monitors and wedges on stage.
Well, we need them both. In the band, Mick Jagger uses in-ears, and so does (bass player) Darryl Jones. The other principals don't, so we have a full array of wedges across the stage. In the orchestra, Chuck Leavell uses them, plus Bernard fowler and Lisa Fischer, tow of the backing vocalists.
It's a Clair Brothers tour. Are they Clair wedges?
Well, technically they're Clair's 12AM wedges, and that's a wedge I love. The stage is just ridiculously big, so I think we have 100 wedges onstage. Anywhere you go onstage, there's a mix coming out. I know it seems ludicrous, but in reality, it's just really good coverage.
Mick Jagger has been on again, off again with in-ears over the years. Does he use them consistently now?
That's correct, ever since he first put them in, about three or four weeks into rehearsals. He had been using just the wedges because we were in a very large area. Then one day he just looked over at me and said. "Well, I guess it's time I start wearing these, because I know I'm going to be wearing them on the tour." When he started with the 2X-S he said he normally wears just one. But I think it might be in part to being Sensaphonics and what he learned from talking with Mike Santucci, the head man there. So he's been on two ears for the whole show ever since the first day that he put them in. Which is great, because it's so much better that way.
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Adams preps for the show, matching his mix notes to the night's set list. |
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What about ambience? Do you use audience mics in the IEMs?
That's correct, ever since he first put them in, about three or four weeks into rehearsals. He had been using just the wedges because we were in a very large area. Then one day he just looked over at me and said. "Well, I guess it's time I start wearing these, because I know I'm going to be wearing them on the tour." When he started with the 2X-S he said he normally wears just one. But I think it might be in part to being Sensaphonics and what he learned from talking with Mike Santucci, the head man there. So he's been on two ears for the whole show ever since the first day that he put them in. Which is great, because it's so much better that way.
In general, I'll just pop the ambient mics into the ear mix between songs so he stays connected to his audience. There's a lot of back and forth between Mick and the audience. On certain songs where the whole audience is singing along, I'll pump that in and it can really sound great.
What about Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood?
They're just not in-ear guys. Keith is old school. He's the musical conductor of the band, and while the Stones are not a jam band, they don't always do things the same way twice. Keith likes to be able to hold his guitar, make sound with it, and pull the group together that way. He wants to make sure that everyone hears that guitar change and he wants the whole group orchestra to move with it.
Did it change your world when Mick switched over?
No, not for me, because I wear Sensaphonics when I mix, no matter what the artist is wearing. I know that sounds a little dangerous, but the reality of it is, if I get a good mix in my Sensaphonics, that mix will work in anything. It will work in anyone's earphone product, and it will sound great if I have wedges on stage.
In fact, that's really the big reason why I started wearing Sensaphonics. The 2X-S is the flattest reference I've ever heard for ear monitors. It doesn't create any kind of color in the mix, and that way they match up well with anything. For instance, it matches up well with a good wedge, like the Showco SRM we're using on this tour. So now I know, if it sounds good in the ears, it will sound good in the wedges. What a concept!
You call these reference earphones. Can you explain that a little more?
Well, most guys that have been around awhile are used to mixing through something that has some coloration color to it, whether it's a speaker or a console or a microphone. By color, I mean like a presence bump, or a certain darkness or brightness, whatever. So when you use something that doesn't have any color, you actually have to paint the picture, as opposed to relying on equipment that has a certain curve to it. Frankly, it can be a little terrifying to an engineer. But musically, it's so much better, because you're hearing what's really there.
So how hard do you have to work to get a good in-ear sound?
Really, it's no work at all. That's because, especially in the midrange, the quality of the Sensaphonics is very similar to what a good wedge sounds like. So it's really just a normal mix technique for me.
When controlling all the separate ear mixes, do you then switch the inputs into your own ears as ref check with artist mix?
Sure, that's one of the reasons that I use the particular console that I do. My main console is the new Midas H4000, and my sidecar is a Midas H3000. I've been using them for awhile now, and I love them. One of its features is that it has a split cue, and you can cue in stereo. So I just run the cue on an A-B system, the A feed going to a cue box for Local Ears, and the B system going to my live wedges. So I can listen to anybody's ear mix or anybody's wedge mix at any given time. After I started doing a lot of ears, I wanted to find something that was just a little bit sweeter and this is the desk. I love Midas for sure.
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Those are Sensaphonics president Mike Santucci's hands, making new ear impressions for Mike Adams. |
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What else have you got out here?
Let's see. I'm using all Avalon 737s for Mick's compressors - one for each of his two handhelds, plus one for his headset. I'm using six Manley ELOPS - that stands for electro-optical limiter - as compressors for keyboards. And I'm using Aphex gates, some dbx products, you know, just the normal stuff for monitor world.
For wireless, I'm using all Sennheiser EW Series IEM wireless for the ears, with EK packs. I'm using all Shure UHF stuff for the mics that are onstage. I'm using the Clair Brothers helical antenna, and the Clair Brothers antenna combiner for the ears stuff, to project it hundreds of miles into outer space. (laughs)
I always have to ask: How many mixes are you running?
Forty total, actually. That includes left-right, the ears, and everything.
You said left-right. Do you set up stereo pairs in the wedges?
As a matter of fact, we do. There are a series of zones across the stage, and each is set up in stereo. We use four wedges left and four right and that creates the zone. So each zone has a stereo sweet spot for anybody who cares to be in it.
What about time alignment?
The thing is, these guys are always moving. So even though we are creating stereo image every 24 feet, it's all relative, you know? That's why we didn't get into a lot of delays and things like that, even though technically we should because of distance. But on a stage this size - where is ground zero? It changes every night, every song. So we just set it up the best we could and it's worked.
So it's up to the artists to find the sweet spots?
You know, with these guys, they've done it seen it said it all. They're cool you know. They know where the kitchen is, and they'll go to where they like it the best. What's important is, every night they expect it to be the way it was the night before. And then they're happy. So that's what we give them.
What kind of levels are you running?
Directly at the source of each wedge, we have 116 dB SPL. If you pull back from the wedge about 5 feet, where your head might be, I believe it's around 104 or 105. So it's loud, but I don't think it's ridiculous.
How loud are your in-ear users listening?
I think they're clocking about 83 decibels on average when we checked. Very reasonable, obviously much safer.
What about hearing safety? Do you work on that aspect?
Yeah, it's definitely a consideration. I'm definitely aware of it, and I try to make the people I work for aware of it, too. And it generally pays off.
When I present Sensaphonics to an artist for the first time, that's actually something that I try to explain to them. It's a mindset. I have a little speech. I tell them, "It's going to be so clean and so clear that you're going to hear everything. You're probably gong to go Ôit's not loud enough.' But with the isolation these give, you don't need to have it that loud anymore. Just try to get your head around it."
How does the artist dynamic work in that situation?
Nowadays, if you're working with an established artist, chances are they're already wearing in-ears. And some of the newer bands, absolutely, the first thing out of my mouth is to tell them they should definitely give them a try. It's a small investment for something that could be such a big useful tool for you.
I'm never super aggressive about trying to tell somebody what they like and what they don't, but if they've never experienced Sensaphonics, I encourage them to do so. And I'll give them the reasons why I recommend it.
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The Rolling Stones set list for their Chicago show, October 11, 2006. |
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How did that work on this tour?
When we started in rehearsals, we inherited a giant box of other in-ear products, so obviously there was a different mindset previously. Of course, being new, J. Summers and I didn't want to rock the boat, but as soon as we saw sort of an inlet, I opened the door. It's a product I really believe in.
The first time we came to Chicago, October of 2005, we asked Mike Santucci from Sensaphonics to come down and just kind of talk to people about hearing habits and such. Mike's an audiologist, and it's his company. Anyway, a few people got the 2X-S right then and immediately loved them. Later on, the 3D ambient ears came out, and several people are using them now.
How is that working out? Are ambient earphones the answer?
Well, the folks that have them, love them. Darryl Jones is on the 3D now. Chuck Leavell is just over the moon about it. He loves them. Bernard Fowler goes back and forth between the ambient and the 2X-S. What they're saying is that the ambient ears put them in a much more natural stage environment. In other words, before they had a left and a right, but now they have left, right, front and back. And I think that's the biggest thing the ambient ears give the artist, is that you now have your head back. As opposed to just your ears.
How did you first get to know Sensaphonics?
It was through a mutual acquaintance of ours, Greg Price, a front of house mixer I was working with. I was lucky enough to work with Greg on Ozzy Osbourne, and Greg is basically a scientist himself. He doesn't go willy-nilly into anything. He does his own research and I think that's how he found out about Sensaphonics. One day, he introduced me to Mike Santucci backstage at an Ozzy Osbourne show. Basically, Greg told me, "You need to stop being stupid and you need to start using these products." And I was smart enough to listen.
Have you tried other brands of earphones?
Oh yeah, I've had all of them. And with certain exceptions, I think everyone makes a decent product, but there's more science in a Sensaphonics product, and it sounds better. The 2X-S is more of an accurate musical reference than any of the others, the comfort is unprecedented, and the service is second to none.
Is sound quality your bottom line?
Of course! I start there with everything that I do. The first question is, is it the best sounding product? Then I whittle away. The next issue is that it has to be reliable. Because if it's going to be in the shop, then I don't want it. Then, if it meets those two needs, then it's on to the other things.
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Mike Adams and Sensaphonics president Mike Santucci hanging out in monitor world. |
What are the other factors?
It depends on the product. For in-ears, comfort is probably the third thing. For me personally, because I've worked for a lot of bands that have long shows and sometimes do long sound checks, it's important. Having something in your ears for that long, if it's not super-comfortable - well, it really sucks. And the only one out there is with the soft silicone ears is Sensaphonics. I swear, if it wasn't for the fact that there's sound coming out of it, you'd never know it was there. I can wear them all day.
Anything else?
Yeah, remind me never to mix an outdoor show in Chicago this time of year! What were they thinking when they booked this?!?
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