The Rick Wakeman Ultimate Experience shows featured more than 90 artists on stage performing selections from Wakeman's best-loved albums - The Myths And Legends of King Arthur, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth and The Six Wives Of Henry VIII - at The Centaur venue at Cheltenham racecourse.
Front-of-house engineer Ian Barfoot has worked with Wakeman for nearly 30 years and is full of praise for Audio-Technica's budget-friendly 20 Series models.
"I use the AT2020s exclusively for brass," he explains, "I'm not usually a fan of large diameter capsules for live work but the size of the AT2020's diaphragm is a great 'halfway house' and it sounds much more expensive than it is. I tried them on a show in Buenos Aires for the first time last year and was so impressed with them on French horns that I ordered 10 when I came back to the UK.
"I use the AT2031s on woodwind, where they do a good job of 'mellowing' some of the instruments that can be a little strident, like the piccolo," says Barfoot. "I'll also be trying them on choir at some point - I think they'll turn out to be a good all-round pencil condenser mic."
(Jim Evans)
