(05/10/2014) Overnight success was slow in arriving for Ohio garage rock duo, The Black Keys (TBK). The band was active for over a decade in small clubs on the Midwest indie circuit before the big time finally caught up with them in 2010 with the release of their sixth album, Brothers, and its quirky hit single Tighten Up . We accidentally took off, remarked TBK's drummer, Patrick Carney.
We weren't expecting that. Nevertheless, they've had to get used to it as record sales and popularity have climbed steadily ever since, to the point where their eighth album, Turn Blue, released in May 2014, debuted at number one in Canada, the US and Australia, the band's first record to top the album charts anywhere. The band is currently in the midst of their Turn Blue worldwide tour complete with a full panoply of Sennheiser microphones specified by their long-time FoH engineer, Jason M. Tarulli, and fully endorsed by monitor engineer Rob Elliot.
copyrighted by Chris Isaac Tarulli has been with the band since their early days, starting out in small Ohio clubs and living out of the back of a van. He clearly did a good job as Carney and the other half of the duo, guitarist and vocalist Dan Auerbach, have remained loyal to him throughout. Tarulli experienced the meteoric rise to fame right alongside the band, learning as they learned how to transition from small and medium-sized clubs to sold-out 10,000-seater arenas. Naturally, that has had a certain impact on the kind of gear available to the band It's great to be able to choose what we want after so many years of having to make do with anything and everything! said Tarulli. As far as Sennheiser is concerned, this is the first tour where we've had Sennheiser gear throughout, and so far it's been great.
The Black Keys' production manager Anthony Pitcher is a long time Sennheiser friend and was instrumental in cementing the relationship with Jason Tarulli and Rob Elliot. I've used the Sennheiser line exclusively for years, said Pitcher. It wasn't a tough sell with my audio team they're brilliant engineers who already had a thorough knowledge of the product line. It was just up to me to bring it to the table for this band.
Overall, I'm really into the classic sound and feel of Sennheiser mics like the MD 441, 421 and the e 906, said Tarulli. I went for a combo of e 906 and MD 421 for Auerbach's main guitar rig, with the 906 placed near the centre of the cone to get all the mid/hi-mid details plus the crunch and fuzz that comes from the Marshall amp and Fender guitar, and the 421 placed midway or nearer to the outer edge of the cone to get the low-mid warmth. Blended together, that makes for a nice, full, big-sounding guitar. I've got a 906 on the rhythm guitar because it's a great mic for guitars, (actually, I think the 906 is an all-round great mic, period. You could use it for almost anything loud and it would sound fantastic) and a 421, the classic bass guitar mic, on bass. You can't really go wrong with this choice, the 421 has excellent low/low-mid response.
copyrighted by Chris Isaac For the drums, Tarulli explained that as Neumann microphones had been used for making the records, the idea was to carry some of them over for the live drum sound in conjunction with Sennheiser equipment. He opted for an e 901 and e 902 for the kick drum, stating them to be respectively, a good, solid inside kick mic to get the sound of the attack and the drum shell tone and the outside mic to get more of the drum head sound. He went for an MD 441 on the snare ( a solid mic with good rejection ) and a Neumann KM 184 on the hi-hat which he described as a small condenser mic that gets the sizzle of the hi-hats without sounding thin. He also went for KM 184s as overhead mics. The KM 184 is an excellent small-diaphragm condenser with good detail the cymbals are full sounding, not thin or washy and it also complements the microphones on the rest of the kit for a more natural feel, he explained.
For the rest of the kit, Tarulli decided on an MD 441 for the cow bell: Overkill? Maybe! he laughed, but it really makes the cowbell feel full and even. Also, I can push the fader up when things get quiet to add a little extra ambience to the snare. His final choice regarding the drum kit was an e 904 for the tom-toms, which is perhaps the choice he is the most pleased with. The biggest problem I had for a while was with the tom mics, he recalled. I love mics like the 421 for toms, but mics that size can be difficult to focus and the stands can be clumsy and take up too much real estate on the drum riser. Most drummers can't help but hit them . sometimes fatally! The 904 solved all my problems it's compact, clips easily onto the drum, won't come loose or fall off, even after the occasional wild hit from a drumstick, and sounds great.
Last but not least, Tarulli decided on e 945s for both the tambourine and main vocals. The 945 is a good all-round mic with excellent rejection and proximity effects, he remarked. The tambourine comes through really well, even in the midst of a loud stage, and it does the same job for the vocals, resulting in nice clear vocals and a crisp-sounding tambourine.
The final word went to Sennheiser Canada's Chris Isaac who handles artist relations and has been looking after the band: It's great to have The Black Keys on board, he said. They are a fantastic rock duo with great stage presence who never fail to bring the house down with their live performances wherever they go. They also happen to be really cool guys, along with their team, who are a pleasure to work with.
The Black Keys are currently working their way round the US before breaking for Christmas and a month off. In February they will embark on a second European
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
12/07/2025
As the death toll continues to mount, with at least 120 killed and more than 170 people still missing on July 10 from devastating Texas floods, a number of broa...
12/07/2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and MIAMI -DirecTV and TelevisaUnivision have signed a deal that will make the ad-supported premium subscription tier of ViX, ViX Premium wi...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Season 1
Season 2
Se...
11/07/2025
AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration launches two papers to guide the future of AI integration, today at the AI for Good Global Summit
The...
11/07/2025
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...
10/07/2025
The current holder of the prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award has been forced to stop reporting over fears for her safety in Afgha...
10/07/2025
Spotify is turning up the volume on Australian music with a multipronged initiative designed to highlight the dominance of Australian artists on the global stag...
10/07/2025
This is not a drill: Oasis is back on the road-marking its first live performanc...
10/07/2025
The music industry depends on fresh ideas, bold voices, and emerging talent. Yet across the U.K., too many young musicians lack the space to develop their craft...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
10/07/2025
Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...
10/07/2025
Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...
10/07/2025
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...
10/07/2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....
10/07/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...
10/07/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...
10/07/2025
The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...
10/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
10 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard...
10/07/2025
In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...
10/07/2025
As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...
10/07/2025
10 Jul 2025
VEON and Cohen Circle Secure Investor Commitments for Kyivstar Listing Kyiv, New York, Dubai, and Philadelphia - July 10, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq:...
10/07/2025
5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...
10/07/2025
Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...
10/07/2025
Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...
10/07/2025
Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...
10/07/2025
FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...
10/07/2025
SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...
(05/10/2014) Overnight success was slow in arriving for Ohio garage rock duo, The Black Keys (TBK). The band was active for over a decade in small clubs on the Midwest indie circuit before the big time finally caught up with them in 2010 with the release of their sixth album, Brothers, and its quirky hit single Tighten Up . We accidentally took off, remarked TBK's drummer, Patrick Carney.
