Bryan Ferry takes to the stage with Audio-Technica?s AT4055

Recognised for a career spanning almost four decades with a CBE award on November 30th 2011, long-term Audio-Technica user Bryan Ferry will take to the stage of London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire for the final dates of his ‘Olympia’ tour on December 14th and 15th with the company’s AT4055 cardioid condenser vocal microphone.

The former Roxy Music front man has been using Audio-Technica mics for many years, with production manager Des Jabir stating that Ferry’s microphone is the perfect match for his vocal style. “Bryan has been using the AT4055 cardioid condenser vocal microphones since before I came onboard,” Jabir commented; the current version of Ferry’s favourite AT4055 microphone being the AE5400 cardioid condenser mic.

“He loves it – the feel of them, the look of them and the way they sound. I think Bryan owns about seven.

“We need different qualities to other vocal microphones. Bryan has an unusual voice – it’s deep and in a relatively low register,” he continued. “Because of that, a lot of the features that many people look for just aren’t a requirement for Bryan, especially on the top end frequencies.

“As well as his unique voice, Bryan also plays the harmonica, which requires the microphone to perform completely differently again. It has to be able to be EQ’d in a certain way that ensures it doesn’t feed back, yet still maintains a sonic clarity.”

Having been a staple of Ferry and Roxy Music’s touring kit for such a long time, the hard-wearing nature of the AT4055 is something Jabir is quick to stress. “Given that it’s a condenser microphone, the durability of the microphone is important because it gets some rough treatment on a daily basis. For a start, it’s being handled – most condenser mics are placed on a stand and left to do their job. Moisture is another problem, and it handles that as well as any other microphone. Again, that’s amazing considering it’s a condenser.”

The full interview with Des Jabir is at http://www.eu.audiotechnica.com/en/news/bryanferry/