After a two-year hiatus brought by the coronavirus pandemic, Taiwanese rock band 831 have completed a series of sold-out concerts across Asia. The Miss You 300 tour saw them perform 21 shows in major cities in China, as well as a debut show in Singapore before returning to Taiwan to start their Upside Down world tour at the Taipei Arena.
Citing Linkin Park and Metallica as influences, *31 are commonly regarded as Taiwan’s most prominent punk band, combining elements of rock, dance music and metal. The 831 name references the day they five high school students started the band – the final day of summer before beginning their final year.
As well as giving their fans a good time with their beat-heavy hits, the band retained their longstanding use of Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 – a mainstay of 831’s touring inventory, which has gradually expanded to include other Sennheiser and Neumann products such as the SKM 500, MD 435 and MD 445 as well as the Neumann KM 184.
‘Digital 6000 has been serving the band really well. In fact, it is lead vocalist Up Lee’s only choice of mic whenever the band goes on tour,’ says 831’s FOH engineer, Huang.
Huang had first heard the MD 435 and MD 445 on the snare, he immediately requested for the Taipei concert. For vocals, he chose a two-channel Sennheiser Digital 6000 system – singer/guitarist Up Lee used an SKM 6000 handheld transmitter while the rest of the band relied on the SKM 500 handhelds and SK 500 G4 wireless bodypack transmitters. Backing vocals were picked up by cabled e 935 and e 945 mics.
‘We are very impressed with Digital 6000’s low latency, wide dynamic range and sound quality,’ Huang says, ‘From an engineering perspective, D 6000 requires much less calibration and is capable of unreservedly showcasing the band’s stellar performance. It gives them the freedom and peace of mind to fully focus on their stage performance. There is no doubt why this is the vocalist’s system of choice to work with on tour.’
The guitar and bass were miked with wireless instrument systems from the evolution wireless series, with the drum kit benefitting calling on a variety of Sennheiser and Neumann mics. The super-cardioid MD 445 was used on the snare, with its polar pattern helping to eliminate hi-hat bleed. Additionally, the e 901 and e 902 were used on the kick drum, while the toms and snare bottom were picked up by e 904 and MD 421. For the hi-hat and ride, they had chosen the Neumann KM 184.
‘Our repertoire of Sennheiser and Neumann gear has grown a lot over the years,’ says the band’s manager, Woods Song. ‘To be able to have our concert at the iconic Taipei Arena fully decked with Sennheiser and Neumann gear is a testament to how much the band love and trust the brand’s products. We look forward to continuing our journey with Sennheiser and taking our gear with us to wherever the tour takes us next.’
