With such specific requirements, sound designer Clive Goodwin turned to the DPA 4060 for its excellent sound and ability to provide an intimate sound in a large Broadway theater. To achieve this, Goodwin hides the DPA 4060 in the actors' hair or beards, with the microphones in close proximity to the mouth, where possible. He also hides a 4060 in the concertina, and each of the ukuleles and cajons, as well as two in the accordion. By equipping each actor and musician with the small capsules, Goodwin ensures that audience members are visually unaware of any amplification happening behind the scenes.
"My main consideration in selecting a microphone was the sound quality," says Goodwin. "To me, the DPA 4060s have a transparency and clarity that is missing in many other mics of this type. They have a sound that is closer to a large diaphragm microphone than a tiny body mic, and they accurately transmit the sounds of the instruments and the actors' voices. This is important, because you have to start with a good source, such as the DPA 4060, because the audio just gets degraded through other gear after that."
Supplied by Masque Sound, the new microphones are being used with Sennheiser wireless systems.
(Jim Evans)
