Here is another first for me. We use only mics from one company and every mic on Blink's stage is Audix. Typically, I try and stay away from single vendor setups purely for the reason that I like to have freedom to use the best tool for the job rather than select from a small tool box. That said, when I came on board to this gig, Blink was already in rehearsals and was mic 'ed and dialed in. Though Steve Walsh so graciously said I could change anything I want, rather than heavy foot my way around, I started out by doing what I am supposed to do. I listened first to the setup to see how it sounded. And to be perfectly honest, it sounded excellent. Except for one minor issue and one minor addition, I was perfectly happy to roll with the all Audix mic layout. Well, almost all Audix, there actually is one alien mic and direct inputs and such

Curious about the mic list? And just to keep it interesting, this should be enough info for an audio human with some experience to decipher.

K K S SB S2 H R F O O 8 R CB B B G G G G V V

91 D6 I5 I5 MD 1244 1244 MD MD 1244 1244 palmer 1244 avalon avalon palmer palmer palmer palmer om7 om7

The new exciting thing for me is that I really like the Micro D's and M1244a's. I have never used either before enough to form an opinion but they sound quite good. Less 'clinical' than the Beta 98's I usually use and a much nicer warm low mid that really brings the toms out on top with less EQ. Plus the M1244a's are an 'all in one' small format mic which means they do not have that dorky external supply that the Beta 98's and Micro D's have.

As far as the changes I made? Well, Travis is an amazing drummer and really smashes the kit hard. Originally there were SX1's on the HH and cymbals, but it was not to happy with the level and were crunching a bit. Swapping to the 1244's solved it and looks cool to. No mic stands anywhere near that kit, small mics, underhead cymbal mic'ing. Oh, it is a sexy setup.

As far as the addition, well, we all know that you can never have enough cowbell, so even though I love to keep my inputs lean, 20 for Blink, I bit the bullet and let the input # creep to the lofty 21 inputs we are at now.

Meet Robert who handles Mark's bass rig, notice the 'Ocho.' And ya already know Steve who rocks the monitor rig

And the pics keep piling up so may as well thin out the stockpile a bit.

And to end things on a scary note, guess what! I lost some of my things! I know, you are surprised and awed that it took this long for my belonging to stage an escape. But the story gets worse. I not only left my pointy hat that was made in Nepal out of alpaca wool, bit I also left a shirt that was a personal gift that says "I'm hung like a ...." well, you know the rest of the story if you have been joining my adventures for a while. Anyway, after the initial shock faded I decided to see if I could hunt them down.

Now check this out, I mentally retraced my steps back to the only logical place they could have escaped me and low and behold, after a phone call and a chat, I found a lead But one can never be sure. How am I to know that it was nit just any pointy hat and shirt that were what was found? Could it be the wrong ones? Thankfully I was able to persuade Kara from the hotel into helping me positively identify them by sending me a pic. Thank you Kara and Jennifer!

Dave Rat