DPA delivers immersive experience in Las Vegas
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With immersive audio being a relatively new format in the live industry, audio professionals working these shows have had to approach their mixes from a different angle. This was the case for front of house engineers Tim Holder and Brad Divens, who worked on shows for Underwood and Iglesias, respectively. Knowing that the clarity and definition of their mixes was more important than ever, both engineers required high-quality microphones with detailed, natural reproduction. Holder and Divens therefore turned to DPA Microphones, for a variety of vocal and instrument mic solutions.
“Immersive audio is really groundbreaking,” Holder shares. “It provides a feeling of actually being part of the music for the first time. It’s amazing what you can get out of your mix in that environment. That’s where these great solutions from DPA come into play; the immersive system just enhances the high-definition capabilities of these mics.” For Underwood’s Vegas residency, Holder utilised a DPA d:facto 4018VL vocal microphone for lead vocals, and the brand’s 4055 Kick Drum, 4099 Instrument and 4011 Cardioid Condenser microphones to outfit the drum kit.
“The d:facto is an amazing mic for Carrie’s vocal style,” continues Holder. “Sometimes, she ends up holding the mic at an arms-length, but you still get a full voice and great tone with the mic’s proximity effect. We also have the 4011s as overheads and 4099s on snare and toms, which take the SPL really nicely. There is a deep, fat tuning effect, especially on the snare. There’s also a 4099 on violin when the show transitions into a more classical act.”
Divens found the DPAs to perform similarly well for his first experience mixing Iglesias in immersive. Divens had Iglesias and two backup singers on DPA d:facto 4018Vs, while the drum kit features the brand’s 4099 Instrument and 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid microphones. “The mics are so detailed and brought out all the little nuances in the drum kit, percussion and vocals,” he says. “I wholeheartedly believe that using DPA helped me hear things in the mix that I hadn’t before.
“With these high-fidelity sound systems, you hear the definition and clarity in new ways, so you’re going to want a microphone that doesn’t work against you,” Divens continues. “I always describe the DPA sound to be exactly as the source intended. You have to EQ a lot of other microphones because they have inherent curves or sonic characteristics that you may or may not like. With DPA, it only sounds like the instrument being played, and to me, that detail translates extremely well through the immersive system.”
Despite being the first time either engineer mixed a show with spatial audio, both Divens and Holder note that the experience was beyond their expectations. “I’m having so much fun,” Divens shares. “It’s an entirely different way of mixing and enjoying a concert. It’s very creative and more musical. The immersive aspect combined with the DPA mics has turned the same show I’ve seen every night into something fresh and brand new.”
