Erik Wheater is a drummer from Rochester, NY.  He currently performs with regional Alternative Rock artist Melia, as well as locally performing Indie/Fusion band Transient Mammals. He began studying drums at the age of 8 at the Hochstein School of Music, then the Eastman Community School through high school.  He completed his Associates in Music at Monroe Community College in 2008.

Erik began showing an interest in the recording arts during high school and studied recording as his minor in college.  He interned at Blackdog Studios with Robert Blackburn, Calvin May and Matthew Guarnere, later joining the team as a Staff Engineer in 2006.  He briefly ran a private recording studio with a friend from 2009 until 2012 called Pulsar Audio Lab. Erik currently works out of his small yet robust home-based recording studio in Rochester NY.

Erik bought his V44s Stereo Mic #84 in March of 2019 and has used it on practically every recording he’s done since.

“My V44s is easily one of the best sounding and most flexible mics in my collection! it has a very natural sound to it: clean and clear lows, even mids, and crisp highs without being harsh or pushed and the stereo capabilities are unmatched! I’ve used it on a ton of sources in comparison with many much more expensive mics and it has excelled over all of them! Currently my favorite applications for it are in Mid-Side for drum rooms and XY for drum overheads, though dual omni in 90° and Blumlein have both yielded some really cool results as a room mic on a number of sources.

A special shoutout to Vanguard for their genius shockmount design which not only allows me to place it closer to sources or in tighter spaces but also holds my precious mic more securely and safely than any other mount I’ve used. The quality of the rotation mechanism on the V44s is also incredible with solid 15° clicks from 0° to 90° allowing for easy recall of stereo patterns. The included decoding box is also a stroke of pure genius.”