Artist
The Presets
The Presets are a pair of avant-garde Aussies who, while forging a musical path that wouldn't be unfamiliar to acts like Daft Punk, Nine Inch Nails, and the Faint, don't mind dragging disco along for the ride. Julian Hamilton (production, keyboards, vocals) and Kimberley Moyes (production, drums, programming) met in the early '90s as students at Sydney's Conservatorium of Music. Both were there to study classical music, but as they delved into the great composers, neither could forget an extracurricular love of '80s pop: the Smiths, Pet Shop Boys, Björk, New Order. So instead of abandoning their passion for music's lighter side, they bonded over it, composing music at school by day and dancing to acid house by night. Eventually, they joined the band Prop together, cranking out several albums of experimental instrumental music that won them critical plaudits across Australia. The Presets were born as an offshoot of Prop -- when Hamilton and Moyes wanted to remix a track with harder electronic edges, they did so under the Presets moniker.
In 2003, with a distinctively spiky disco-dipped sound and several years of collaboration boosting them, they released a demo; the influential Aussie label Modular wasted no time adding the Presets to its roster. A first EP, the relatively hard-driving Blow Up, featuring guitar work from Silverchair's Daniel Johns, arrived the same year as the duo first hit the Australian stage circuit. In 2004, the mellower Girl and the Sea, whose title track was featured on the TV show The O.C., was released, and 2005's Down Down Down, the disc that established the Presets as a band worthy of Euro buzz, followed. With momentum on their side, the Presets also released Beams in Australia in 2005; in April of 2006, a month after it found favor with electro-freak-loving British fans, Beams lit a path into U.S. record stores.
~ Tammy La Gorce, All Music Guide
| Application | What They Use | On A Budget |  |
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UR2/KSM9 with KSM9 Dual-Diaphragm Condenser Microphone KSM9 offers switchable cardioid and supercardioid polar patterns and advanced two-stage shock mount suspension. |
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PGX24/SM86 Handheld Wireless System | ||
| Backing Vocals | |
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SM57 Instrument Microphone Multi-purpose Shure microphone with contoured frequency response for clean sound reproduction of amplified or acoustic instruments. Cardioid, Dynamic. |
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PG57 Instrument Microphone | ||
| Kick | |
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Beta 91 Kick Drum Microphone A low-profile microphone that requires no external mounting hardware. Lies flat on a pillow or other surface inside a kick drum for superb attack and low-end punch. |
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PG52 Instrument Microphone | ||
| Kick | |
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Beta 52A Instrument Microphone Optimized for low-frequency bass punch and high-power SPL handling, the Beta 52A's supercardioid design provides maximum isolation from other onstage sounds. Designed specifically for kick drum and other bass instruments. Supercardioid, Dynamic. |
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PG52 Instrument Microphone | ||
| Snare Top | |
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Beta 57A Instrument Microphone The Beta 57A is an excellent microphone designed for use with amplified or acoustic instruments. The compact grille design gets the microphone cartridge close to the sound source. Supercardioid, Dynamic. |
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PG57 Instrument Microphone | ||
| Snare Bottom | |
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SM57 Instrument Microphone Multi-purpose Shure microphone with contoured frequency response for clean sound reproduction of amplified or acoustic instruments. Cardioid, Dynamic. |
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PG57 Instrument Microphone | ||
| Toms | |
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Beta 98D/S The Beta 98, designed for toms, snares and percussion instruments, is perfect for sound reinforcement and recording. Its flexible gooseneck lets you position the microphone in practically any configuration. |
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PG56 Instrument Microphone | ||
| Hi-Hat | |
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SM81 Instrument Microphone One of the world's greatest studio condenser mics, the SM81 is a flat response mic with a selectable, low-frequency response switch and a 10dB attenuator. Cardioid, Condenser. |
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PG81 Instrument Microphone | ||
| Overheads | |
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KSM32 Embossed Single-Diaphragm Microphone Embossed single-diaphragm, side-address microphone for highly critical studio recording and live sound productions. Offers extended frequency response for an open, natural sounding reproduction of the original sound source. Cardioid, Condenser. |
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PG81 Instrument Microphone | ||