Sennheiser UK's director of marketing John Steven said: "We first worked with Crystalroc when they produced some dazzling gold and diamond microphones for the Kylie Showgirl Homecoming Tour. Everything worked out so well that we thought it would be nice to do something special for The BRIT Awards. We ran it by Derrick and the producers, and everyone was really pleased with the results."
Performers on the night using Sennheiser systems included Corinne Bailey Rae, The Scissor Sisters and the critically acclaimed Amy Winehouse who also picked up Best British Female Solo Artist. Also, on both the Love and Hate Stages, every act using IEMs chose the Sennheiser evolution 300 G2 Series. Zieba explains: "The two stages this year meant that we were running duplicate mic and IEM rigs to the FOH desk, and despite this added complexity, all the Sennheiser gear performed absolutely flawlessly. IEMs alone accounted for 40 out of the 100 channels in use, and thanks to Sennheiser's co-operation, wireless stability was rock solid. Yet again, it was a testament to Sennheiser equipment and their superb technical support throughout the show."
The show was also the BRITs debut for three Sennheiser NET 1 Wireless Network Systems, each acting as a hub for Sennheiser's multi-wireless systems. The NET 1 intelligently co-ordinates and automatically configures frequencies for all connected components and portable units through wireless sync on the front panel. The unit offers frequency scanning and automatic frequency coordination for all connected components, with wireless synchronisation to transmitters and IEM receivers from the front panel, and real-time monitoring of frequencies, RF level, AF level and battery telemetry.
Also featuring for the first time at the show was Sennheiser's new A5000-CP circular polarized antenna. Unlike conventional helical antennas, most of which have a much narrower bandwidth, the A5000-CP covers the entire UHF range from 450 to 960MHz. Earls Court 2 is not blessed with the crispest of acoustics, and finding that the FOH desk was to be positioned on the balcony at the rear of the hall would have unnerved many a sound designer. Not so Derrick Zieba, who added: "The A5000-CP eliminates multipath problems and variations in signal strength. Its gain over the entire UHF band is also far superior to that of conventional antennae, and given the location of the front-of-house desk, it meant we could go into the evening with total confidence in the system's performance."
(Lee Baldock)
