DPA's Belgian distributor Amptec gave Verniest the first DPA d:facto II Vocal Microphone in the country to demo and since then he has been using it for a wide variety of gigs and with many different artists.
"It doesn't matter what situation I put it in - whether it is a small club, a big outside stage such as the Pukkelpop festival, with wedges or in-ear - I have consistently got great results," Verniest explains. "The vocals are incredibly clear through my mix and there is very little crosstalk from the drums or guitar amps. I even recorded some gigs in multitrack to compare the d:facto with other microphones and there was a huge difference in terms of crosstalk, with the d:facto coming out much better."
Joris Verniest's recently used the DPA d:facto II Vocal Microphone at a concert for Belgian Indie Rock band Het Zesde Metaal at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. The band was playing with a string quartet and acoustic piano, both of which were also miked with DPA - d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones for the string quartet and a stereo pair of DPA 4021 Compact Cardioid microphones for the piano.
"In general I use the d:facto II Vocal Microphone with DPA's wired handle, but I do like the concept of the adapter system that makes it compatible with most commonly used wireless systems," Verniest says. "I've always been a big fan of DPA's sound quality and have quite a collection of DPA mics. That's why I was so interested to try the new d:facto Vocal Microphone."
Among the bands that Verniest has introduced to the DPA d:facto Vocal Microphone are Customs, The Bony King of Nowhere, Renée and Sherman.
"All of these artists have really noticed a difference and have been very happy with the clarity d:facto delivers to their vocals," he adds. "Sherman, for example, wanted his vocals to be very loud and clear and the d:facto helped me achieve that without sounding hollow or being on the edge of feedback."
(Jim Evans)
