Live sound engineer, sound designer and producer Dirk Schulz is
encouraging all the singers he works with to switch to DPA d:facto™ Vocal Microphones because he is so impressed by their rich,
natural sound.
“Right now I am in love with the d:facto™ Vocal Microphone for lead vocals,” he says. “What I really
like is the smooth but precise studio quality sound the d:facto™ delivers on a
big PA system. I find it much easier to place the vocals into the mix and it
also makes my vocal effect chain sound much more detailed. I can even imagine
using the d:facto™ in a studio recording situation where a vocalist might feel
more comfortable singing into a handheld microphone. I am sure that it would
deliver equally great results.”
Based in Heidelberg in South West Germany, Dirk Schulz is
currently handling Front of House for Swedish band Mando Diao, who are
undertaking a series of European showcase gigs to promote their new album Good
Times.
“Mando Diao’s lead singer Björn Dixgård switched to the d:facto™ Vocal Microphone last summer after we conducted a blind A/B
test with another microphone to see which he preferred. He loved the microphone
and was amazed by how natural and rich his voice sounded through his In Ear
monitors.”
Dirk Schulz is also working with singer Michael Patrick Kelly
and has moved him over to a d:facto™ Vocal Microphone, too. In both cases the microphones were
supplied by DPA’s German distributor Mega Audio.
“It works equally well for Michael, even though he has a very
different voice with much higher range,” Schulz says. “In my opinion this
microphone is a game changer because it delivers a very smooth response at all
frequencies, including off-axis. This means there is virtually no distortion –
and any spill that the microphone does pick up is not overbearing, so it fits
in well with the overall mix. Quite frankly, it is unlike anything I have ever
heard before when it comes to a live vocal microphone.”
Alongside the d:facto™ Vocal Microphone, Schulz is also a big fan of d:vote™ 4099 Instrument Microphones, which he often uses to amplify
musical instruments on stage.
“I have used these microphones many times in the past and have
always found them to be the most convincing sonic solution for classical string
instruments in a live sound environment,” he says. “The d:vote™ 4099 Instrument Microphones sound very natural and precise to my
ears. When Mando Diao was recording an MTV Unplugged session, we used d:vote™
4099’s on strings and acoustic guitar because we needed a microphone that
wouldn’t pick up too much spill from the drums. The fact that these microphones
can be positioned very close to the sound source makes them ideal on stage –
and of course I trust them to deliver DPA’s exceptional sound quality.”
Both d:vote™ 4099 Instrument Microphones and a d:facto™ Vocal Microphone were recently used by Schulz to ensure
perfect audio at Berlin’s Tempordrom where actor and director Matthias
Schweighöfer was delivering his first ever concert as a solo musician. Best
known for his roles in films such as Raus aus der Haut, Das Wilde
Leben and the critically acclaimed Valkyrie, which also starred Tom
Cruise and Kenneth Branagh, Schweighöfer was performing in Berlin to promote
his first album Lachen Weinen Tanzen.
“The string section of about 20 musicians from the Babelsberger
Film Orchestra were all amplified using DPA d:vote™ 4099 Instrument Microphones,” Schulz says. “It was a really
successful concert and thanks to DPA the strings sounded the way they should.”
