Power Plus Sound & Lighting Inc. provided high-quality audioreinforcement for the San Diego Symphony, and audio engineer DavidLeyton needed a specialized microphone for Ilmar Gavilan, theCuban-born violinist in Doc Severinsen’s Latin band.
Leyton auditioned several mics for the project before choosing theDPA 4061. He characterizes the reaction musicians had to the miniaturecondenser in a typically straightforward way, “They play for afew seconds, look up and say, ‘We want to use thatone.’
“We need a very high-quality mic to use on the strings to getmore gain with pop and rock acts, and because of the high SPL thismicrophone can handle, it can be used in virtually any application.What’s beautiful about the string mounting system is itsnon-invasive rubber mount that hooks onto the strings behind thebridge.
“A lot of violinists are hesitant to hook anything right ontothe bridge because it’s part of the intonation of the instrumentand they don’t want to damage their instruments,” Leytonadded. “But with the DPA system, you don’t leave any markson the instrument or change its timbre. It’s brilliant and veryeasy to use. I was able to train several musicians on it in very shortorder. In a nutshell, it’s the sound quality of a large studiocondenser in a very unobtrusive miniature package with a tremendousamount of versatility from their many mounting accessories.”
For more information about the microphone, visit www.dpamicrophones.com. For more touring news,visit mixonline.com/live_sound_tour_profiles/index.htm.
