5th January 2023, Kathmandu
After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Taiwanese rock band 831 returned to the stage with a series of sold-out concerts across Asia.
The “Miss you 300” tour saw them performing 21 sold-out shows in major cities in China and a debut show in Singapore before they returned to Taiwan to kickstart their “Upside Down World” tour on home ground in the Taipei Arena.
As well as giving their fans an electrifyingly good time at the shows with their beat-heavy hits, the band also shared their personal thoughts and feelings, giving fans a glimpse of the warmth behind the rocker image.
Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 has always been a mainstay of 831’s touring inventory, which has gradually expanded to include many other Sennheiser and Neumann products such as the SKM 500, MD 435, and MD 445 as well as the Neumann KM 184.
When 831’s front-of-house audio engineer Huang first heard the MD 435 and MD 445 on the snare, he was so impressed that he immediately requested for it to be deployed at the Taipei concert. He also enjoys working with the Digital 6000 series for its low latency, wide dynamic range, and superb sound quality.
“Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 is impressive and has been serving the band really well. In fact, it is lead vocalist Up Lee’s only choice of microphone whenever the band goes on tour,” Huang commented.
For vocals, 831 used a two-channel Sennheiser Digital 6000 system. 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.
From an engineering perspective, D 6000 requires much less calibration and can unreservedly showcase the band’s stellar performance. It gives them the freedom and peace of mind to focus fully on their stage performance. There is no doubt why this is the vocalist’s system of choice to work with on tour,” Huang explained.
The guitar and bass were miked with wireless instrument systems from the wireless evolution series, with the drumkit benefitting from various Sennheiser and Neumann microphones. 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 was picked up by e 904 and MD 421. For the hi-hat and ride, they had chosen the Neumann KM 184.
Band Manager Woods Song spoke highly of the support from the local team: “I would like to thank the Sennheiser team for the great support. Our repertoire of Sennheiser and Neumann gear has grown significantly over the years.
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 trusts 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!”