sE Mics On The Road With 'My Morning Jacket'

Ryan Pickett is the FOH and Live Recording engineer for US band My Morning Jacket and relies on sE Electronics for a great sound on stage. When you're wearing more than one hat as Ryan is it's vital to get great quality at the first point in the chain. If he's going to be recording the show it's important to get as close to studio conditions as is possible. The Voodoo Ribbon VR1 delivers a full range sound from 20Hz to 20KHz without sounding harsh or bleeding as condensers can often do. Ryan further enhances the natural rejection of a ribbon mic with IRF2 Instrument Reflexion Filters mounted on modified stands, an idea they got from Tom Petty's engineer when they toured a few dates together.

Superb rejection and high fidelity are certainly great when tracking a show but they also deliver great benefits in the traditional live sound environment, less bleed means better level in the monitors and a better mix for musicians using in-ears.

Ryan explains "“The IRF2s reduce spillover for the recording as well as for front of house and monitors,” he says. “I put them on the guitar amps. The keyboardist plays a lot of Fender Rhodes [piano] through a Fender Twin, so I put one on his amp, as there's also a wedge blowing back into it. There’s another on the bass amp, because it's usually pretty close to the drummer's ride cymbal.”away by the nuance and girth coming from the VR1s on the guitar amps!”

All that is well and good but when it comes to live sound it pays to be rugged and affordable, accidents do happen and you always want a backup. No problem there either as the VR1 is tougher than your standard ribbon and comes at a price that's very favourable compared to a vintage or boutique brand.