Neumann's KH 120 active studio monitors are proving to be one of the year's major success stories for distributor Sennheiser UK. Joachim Walker, engineer at Labrinth's north London studio and his club DJ, heard them and urged the artist to give them a try.
"Joe instantly loved them and said 'give them a chance'. And I thought, if Neumann makes speakers, they've got to be the best. So I did and now I think they're great," says Labrinth. "They are very clean and smooth, but quite punchy - you get a lot of bass out of them, which I didn't expect because they are so small!"
Meanwhile, Sennheiser equipment is a feature of Labrinth's live performances, as his monitor engineer Ross McGrogan explains.
"I've been working with Labrinth about a year. When I started he was using in-ear monitors, but none of the other band members were. Sennheiser G3 is my system of choice and we pushed to get everyone using them. They took to them straight away," he says.
Labrinth has been using an e 935 wireless vocal microphone for some time and Ross was happy for him to continue. "He was using it before I was involved and I like it myself. I think it is suited to his voice and we both get everything that we need out of it. We've never had any issues with the Sennheiser gear. It's stable, solid, very reliable and there's plenty of clarity and warmth there."
Tour Manager Dan White concludes, "It's been great working with Sennheiser. Phil Cummings [Sennheiser UK Project Manager] has been extremely helpful and the live tour has gone really well. There have been some last minute requests for Lab special events and photo shoots where we have needed to have kit couriered in, but nothing has ever been too much trouble."
(Jim Evans)
