USA - Big Mick Hughes' tenure as front-of-house (FOH) engineer for Metallica is almost as long as the band's existence. "This is my 25th year. I was 25 or 26 when I started with the guys, and I'm going on 51 in a minute," says Hughes. Although the band has evolved and grown, a key to its longevity is its constant dedication to hard-rocking heavy metal, showcased on the 2008 hit album Death Magnetic. Another constant for the band has been Hughes' selection of Audio-Technica as the microphones of choice for Metallica's live stage setup, the most recent incarnation of which is crisscrossing the United States, soon to be followed by Europe, as the Death Magnetic World Tour.

"I've been using Audio-Technica for years, because of the way A-T mics sound. I can't really imagine using anything else," Hughes says. "They sound great and have tremendous reliability. I can't remember the last time we actually changed a microphone because it was bad. That just doesn't happen, which is really pretty remarkable."

Hughes has selected a variety of A-T mics for the current tour, including the ATM350 Cardioid Condenser Clip-on Microphone for toms and overheads, AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone for guitar cabinets, wired and wireless versions of the AE5400 Cardioid Condenser Handheld Microphone for vocals, ATM650 Hypercardioid Dynamic Instrument Microphone for snare and dual AT4050 Multi-pattern Condenser Microphones in a stereo configuration on guitar cabinets.

(Jim Evans)


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