Michael Abbott, audio coordinator for the GRAMMY Awards®, specified 12 Austrian Audio OC818 microphones to be used as overhead microphones on the artist drum kits during the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards, which was broadcast live from STAPLES Center in L.A. on January 26th 2020.
“The Broadcast Music Mix engineers came back to me after the broadcast, commenting on how the microphones provided additional tonal response and spatial coherence to the overall drum kit mix,” comments Abbott.
Image credit: Courtesy of the Recording Academy®/Getty Images © 2020
The GRAMMY Awards ceremony is regarded as one of the four major annual American entertainment awards along with the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards, and the Tony Awards.
Hosted by Alicia Keys, the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards featured many special performances – including ‘Old Town Road All-Stars,’ which featured nominees Billy Ray Cyrus and Lil Nas X, who were joined by BTS, Diplo, Mason Ramsey, and Nas.
Other artists performing on the night included first-time nominees and breakout stars, Billie Eilish and Lizzo (who both made their GRAMMY® stage debuts), Blake Shelton and past GRAMMY winner Gwen Stefani, and four-time GRAMMY winners and the 2020 MusiCares® Person of the Year honoree, Aerosmith, who performed the classic and meaningful ‘Walk This Way’ with Run-DMC.
In a tribute to GRAMMY executive producer Ken Ehrlich, and to acknowledge the importance of music education in schools, artists associated with Ehrlich's 40-year career performed ‘I Sing The Body Electric’ from the film, ‘Fame’ during the ceremony. The performance featured nominees Camila Cabello and Gary Clark Jr., joined by Debbie Allen, Joshua Bell, Common, Misty Copeland, Lang Lang, Cyndi Lauper, Ben Platt and the War And Treaty.
“We are thrilled that our OC818s were part of such a prestigious and high-profile musical event that is watched all over the world,” comments Martin Seidl, CEO of Austrian Audio. “To have our mics specified by the GRAMMYs' chief engineer and sound designer speaks volumes about the quality of our products, and the recognition they are gaining throughout the industry.”
Handmade in Vienna, the OC818 is a multi-pattern dual-output condenser microphone equipped with a world-first: optional wireless control, while its sibling – the OC18, is a cardioid pattern precision microphone. Its unique design and outstanding sonics, combined with new wireless control technologies offering highly optimized workflows, have garnered the OC818 five-star reviews from all over the world.
The OC818 also features a second output that allows the engineer, producer or musician to record the rear-facing capsule independently of the forward-facing capsule. If both capsules are recorded to a stereo or dual-mono track, Austrian Audio's free and Open Source Polar Designer plug-in (Mac/Win: VST, AU & AAX) facilitates unprecedented control and tailoring of polar patterns between one and five bands with selectable crossover points.
At the heart of the range is the patent-pending, handmade CKR12 ceramic capsule, made to the same critical dimensions as the legendary CK12 capsules. However, the CKR12 goes further still, utilizing a revolutionary new material offering far more stability, meaning every OC818 is inherently paired with any other OC818, or even Austrian Audio’s OC18 mic.
