Dan Woolfie, the band's tour manager, has been using a Shure PSM1000 in-ear monitoring (IEM) system on all the band's recent dates, as well as a KSM313 ribbon mic on Josh Dewhurst's guitar and the new KSM8 dual-diaphragm mic for vocals.
Blossoms had been using IEMs for only a matter of months when they recorded a session at Abbey Road and came across Shure's PSM1000 systems. In that instant the whole band agreed that this upgrade would make a huge difference to their live shows.
The PSM1000s provide dedicated monitor mixes for each band member, but their use on the Blossoms tour doesn't end there - the whole backstage team also uses the system.
"The band loves the PSM1000 IEMs, and so do the in-house techs wherever we go, because they're so easy to use," explains Woolfie. "From a crew perspective, PSM1000 allows us to have a crystal clear live audio and access to all the band members' mixes via Cue Mode - so if there are any technical problems on stage, we can hear them straight away and sort them out. We can also do silent line checks and have great communication with the front of house engineers, which is a great help when time is an issue - and that's always the way at festivals.
"There's also no drop out in signal when we're running around, which is something we found happened with the old system we were using."
Josh Dewhurst, Blossom's lead guitarist, has always been particular about his live sound, and used to employ combinations of dynamic and condenser mics together on his amp to create the thick, warm sound he wanted live. This has changed since being introduced to the Shure KSM313 ribbon mic. "I'm very particular about how my guitar sounds from a FOH perspective and also, very importantly, from an IEM perspective too," he comments. "I went from using various stereo mic rigs to just the KSM313 ribbon mic alone. It perfectly captures the guitar and amp's individual tones simultaneously without getting lost or altered in any way."
(Jim Evans)
