Javier Weyler was born and raised in Venezuela and was surrounded by music from a very early age. He started playing drums at the age of 13 and spent nine years in a band releasing two albums. In 2000 he moved to the UK to further his knowledge about audio engineering and started working at Sahara Sound as an assistant engineer. It was there that alife-changing meeting took place.
"I ended up meeting Kelly and Rich from Stereophonics," he says. "They came to the studio to work on demos for You Gotta Go There To Come Back. We became friends and I ended up playing percussion on that album. In March 2004, the band came down to the studio again to work on the demos of the next album. I started playing along with them - itwas a very natural process."
Weyler eventually became a fully paid up member of Stereophonics and now uses his expert knowledge to spread the word about his mics of choice. "I have a couple of sE Z5600a's and a pair of sE3s. I use them for everything, especially the Z5600a's which I use for guitars,vocals, overheads, drums and stuff like that. The Z5600a is a great all-rounder as you have the polar patterns: omni, cardiod and figure of eight so it's very versatile and you can use it for several things. And I love the fact that it's a valve mic so it's very warm. I've been using it from recording vocals in my bedroom up to putting it in front of my kit. A lot of dynamic range to put up with! It's a good package as well, as it comes with the case and all the accessories so you can take it anywhere with you."
Weyler is so impressed with his sE mics that he has become something of an evangelist for them, persuading other drummers and even the Stereophonics engineer to use them. "I fell in love with them as a good all-rounder microphone and have recommended them to lots of different people. Jim Lowe, our engineer, bought a pair of sE Geminis. We used them as a pair of overheads for the album Sex, Violence, Other, and they were great. The vibe was really good and they captured the drum kit sound really well - very natural and roomy. The majority of that album was done using the Geminis."
And Javier uses them for recording his own music and that of a band back home too. "I am writing my songs at the moment. I have a production company with a friend of mine who's an engineer and we've been recording a band in Venezuela and using sE for the overheads andthe room mics and they work great for us."
What with his music, his Black Beans Music production company, the new Stereophonics live DVD and a new album planned for later this year, the future looks incredibly busy for Weyler and his sE mics.
(Chris Henry)
