{"id":60749,"date":"2025-07-11T17:31:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T16:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/?p=60749"},"modified":"2025-07-11T17:34:48","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T16:34:48","slug":"ace-skunk-anansie-guitar-tone-lauten-mics-guitars-drums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/2025\/07\/11\/ace-skunk-anansie-guitar-tone-lauten-mics-guitars-drums\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ace of Skunk Anansie Gets His Incredible Guitar Tone | Lauten Mics on Guitars &amp; Drums"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"article-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"header-img quote-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1397\" class=\"wp-image-60759\" src=\"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-Roundhouse-Camden-2025.webp\" alt=\"Ace (left) and Skin (right) of Skunk Anansie on stage at the Camden Roundhouse in 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-Roundhouse-Camden-2025.webp 2560w, https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-Roundhouse-Camden-2025-300x164.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-Roundhouse-Camden-2025-1024x559.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-Roundhouse-Camden-2025-768x419.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-Roundhouse-Camden-2025-1536x838.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-Roundhouse-Camden-2025-2048x1118.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/div>\n<h2>We catch up with Skunk Anansie Guitarist Ace and FOH engineer Ben Hammond during sound check at the Camden Roundhouse<\/h2>\n<p>Skunk Anansie have been bringing their crushing brand of alternative rock to audiences for nearly thirty years. With high-energy live performances a huge part of the band&#8217;s identity, it&#8217;s no surprise that they take their live sound incredibly seriously.<\/p>\n<p>For their 2025 UK and European tour in support of new album The Painful Truth, Front-of-House Engineer Ben Hammond (Bradley Simpson, The Pretty Reckless) utilised a wide range of <a title=\"Lauten Audio Microphones | Synthax Audio UK\" href=\"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/lauten-audio\/\">Lauten Audio microphones<\/a> across the drums and guitar rig.<\/p>\n<p>We met up with Ben and guitarist Ace backstage during build-up for the band&#8217;s first of two sold-out nights at Camden&#8217;s iconic Roundhouse venue in London, where they took us through the Lauten Audio microphones they chose for Ace&#8217;s guitar rig, as well as for drummer Mark Richardson&#8217;s drum kit.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mic'ing Skunk Anansie at the Camden Roundhouse - Ace and FOH on microphones\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9mo5aOHIIHE\" width=\"1840\" height=\"1035\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2><br \/><br \/><\/h2>\n<h2>Inside Skunk Anansie\u2019s Live Sound Setup \u2013 Ace &amp; FOH on mic Choices<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;We started off with the Lauten Snare Mic,&#8221; Ben mentions whilst taking us through the drum mic situation. &#8220;We heard a lot about it, wanted to try it and fell in love with it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>After being impressed by the Snare Mic, Ben set about adding the Lauten Tom Mic to drummer Mark Richardson&#8217;s kit, before complementing them with Lauten&#8217;s LS-208 on kick and LA-120s on the hi-hats.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;After many, many years, it&#8217;s making me do drums differently, I&#8217;m hearing things in kits I&#8217;ve never heard before&#8221; Ben remarks. &#8220;They allow you to put all that musical midrange back in.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">\u201cIt\u2019s making me do drums differently\u201d <br \/><strong style=\"font-weight: 200;\">FOH Engineer Ben Hammond<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Once we&#8217;d had the rundown on the drums, we turned our attention to Ace&#8217;s range of amplifiers and vintage cabinets. Ace&#8217;s attention to detail when it comes to everything on his rig presented a challenge when it came to upgrading the microphones.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Changing the mics on Ace&#8217;s guitar rig was the most intimidating thing,&#8221; FOH engineer Ben Hammond tells us. &#8220;He&#8217;s got such an insane ear, if a microphone is a millimetre out of place he&#8217;ll tell you which one.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As it turned out, switching to the LS-308 ended up being the ideal choice for someone as involved in the live sound as Ace.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not actually listening to the stage sound, I actually prefer the sound I&#8217;m hearing through my in-ears,&#8221; Ace jokes. &#8220;The capture of it is just really fat&#8230; it&#8217;s really juicy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Taking their aggressive sound to venues of varying sizes across the UK and Europe presents its own challenges when it came to creating a cohesive, consistent live show &#8211; especially with smaller stages, which can be problematic when it comes to creating the best sound for the audience.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Some days we&#8217;re in arenas with room for days, then others we&#8217;re in clubs all squashed together,&#8221; Ben explains, mentioning past issues with bleed between amplifiers and other on-stage elements.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;With how tight the pick-up pattern is on the Lauten stuff, being able to keep that separation has made everything really, really easy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Massive thanks to Ben and Ace for having us down!<\/p>\n<p>Skunk Anansie&#8217;s latest album <a title=\"www.skunkanansie.com\" href=\"https:\/\/skunkanansie.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Painful Truth<\/a> is out now.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Lauten Audio Microphones | Synthax Audio UK\" href=\"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/lauten-audio\/\">See the full range of Lauten Audio Microphones<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"clear: both;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-60767\" src=\"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Ben-Hammond-Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-FOH-engineer.jpg\" alt=\"Ben Hammond (FOH Engineer) at front of house for Skunk Anansie\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1201\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Ben-Hammond-Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-FOH-engineer.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Ben-Hammond-Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-FOH-engineer-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Ben-Hammond-Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-FOH-engineer-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Ben-Hammond-Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-FOH-engineer-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Ben-Hammond-Skunk-Anansie-soundcheck-FOH-engineer-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left; font-size: 1.1rem;\"><em>FOH Engineer <strong>Ben Hammond<\/strong> during sound check for Skunk Anansie&#8217;s gig at the Camden Roundhouse (London)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-wrapper\">\n<div><hr \/>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" id=\"dyn-logo\" class=\"head-img alignleft\" style=\"margin-top: 1.4rem;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/lauten-audio-logo-2023.jpg\" alt=\"Lauten Audio Logo\" width=\"300\" height=\"65\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Want to know more about <a title=\"Lauten Audio Microphones | Synthax Audio UK\" href=\"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/lauten-audio\/\">Lauten Audio<\/a>? <br \/>Give us a call on <a href=\"tel:+441727821870\">01727 821 870<\/a> to speak to one of our team, or <a title=\"Contact Us | Synthax Audio UK\" href=\"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/contact-us\/\">contact us here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<style>\n\n.wordpress-wrapper ul li {\n  list-style: disclosure-closed;\n  margin-left: 1rem;\n}\n\n#milan-products li{\n  list-style: disc;\n  margin-bottom: 0rem;\n}\n\n#attachment_50344 {\n  border: none;\n}\n\nh1 {\n  line-height: 36px;\n}\n\n.article-wrapper p, .article-wrapper li {\n  font-size: 130% !important;\n  line-height: 26px !important; 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With high-energy live performances a huge part of the band&#8217;s identity, it&#8217;s no surprise that they take their&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":60788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[4,494],"tags":[2474,2471,2478,2473,2477,2480,779,550,2472,2481,1467,2475,751,286,704,937,2479,2476,2470,74],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60749"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60749"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61073,"href":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60749\/revisions\/61073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.synthax.co.uk\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}