Popular indie rock band Modest Mouse are relying on EAW® MicroWedge MW12 Stage Monitors on their current world tour. The band has been using the monitors on their busy itinerary of music festivals and other concert venues throughout North America and Europe this summer.
David Campaniello, the band's monitor engineer, reports that mixing monitors for Modest Mouse is a challenge. “I've tried many different monitors and have always struggled with maintaining tonal quality at loud volumes. The MicroWedge is the first monitor I've used that provides the volume that's required without compromising sound quality and natural tone,” he says.
Campaniello is using four MW12s on two mixes for singer, lyricist and guitarist Isaac Brock – an inside pair solely for vocals and an outside pair for an instrument mix. Lab.gruppen 6400 amplifiers provide power to the MicroWedges. According to Campaniello, one pair of MW12s is actively bi-amped using the EAW UX8800 digital processor. “I initially ran all four MicroWedges passively crossed over but then switched the vocal mix pair to active operation. The high end is smoother and more stable,” he says of the change.
Outside of the festival circuit, the compact and ultra-low-profile MicroWedge, just 12 inches wide by barely 23 inches deep and only 13 inches high, has proven especially beneficial. “Modest Mouse sometimes plays small stages, so the size and weight of the MicroWedges are ideal,” explains Campaniello.
All in all, he comments, “The band has been happy, and this is the easiest time I've had on any of the tours so far. In my opinion, the EAW MicroWedge out-performs all other professional stage monitors available on the market today. I would definitely use these wedges all the time and recommend them to everyone.”
Currently touring behind No One's First, And You're Next, an EP of unreleased tracks from previous album sessions, Modest Mouse will next play two nights at the 24th Annual Bridge School Benefit. The charity event, organized every year by Neil Young and his wife, Pegi, will once again be held at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California in late October.
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