Nate Rues of Fun. Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage.
NILES, ILL.— For the second year, the artists and bands who performed during the Grammys used the Shure PSM1000 Personal Monitor System. Mumford & Sons, Rihanna, Maroon 5, Carrie Underwood, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake and Taylor Swift all employed the in-ear monitors.
“I love using Shure PSM 1000 on all my shows, especially high profile shows like the Grammys,” said Michael Parker, one of the monitor engineers for the broadcast. “Excellent sound quality and solid RF are easily achieved when using the [PSM]1000s.”
Swift opened the show using Shure Axient Wireless (AXT200/Beta58) for “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”
“It’s a tough environment for wireless inside the Staples Center and, honestly, anywhere in L.A. I couldn’t even get service on my cell phone. So, having a system like Axient with its frequency diversity is key,” said Cory Lorentz, artist relations manager for Shure, who added that this was the first year the product was used at the Grammys.
UHF-R wireless microphone systems, with a combination of SM58, Beta 58A and KSM9 handheld transmitters, were chosen for various performances. Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z Mavis Staples, Frank Ocean and Maroon 5 all used UR2/SM58. Juanes chose UR2/KSM9, and Dierks Bentley tapped the UR2/Beta 58.
Mumford & Sons’ “Babel” won the Album of the Year Award, and they played twice, using wired Beta 58A microphones to perform “I Will Wait” and then with wireless (UR2/Beta 58) for the Levon Helm Tribute.
The Black Keys swept the rock categories, receiving awards for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album and Best Rock Performance. For their performance with Dr. John, the band used wired SM58 microphones. Others who opted for wired SM58s, including Kelly Clarkson, The Lumineers and Jack White. The Lumineers and White also used Shure KSM313 ribbon microphones on their guitar cabinets.
“That performance by fun. was ridiculous…a real highlight for me,” added Lorentz. “Some of the show’s production team might have been a little nervous because of all the water, but I wasn’t. We put all of our gear, including all of our wireless products through the ringer during quality testing. I knew the mics would hold up just fine.”
Dave Bellamy of Soundtronics, which coordinated RF for the broadcast, also had confidence in the microphones’ ability to withstand the challenges of fun.’s performance.
