In support of her latest album, Laundry Service, her first in English, Shakira has begun an extensive touring schedule that will take her into North and South Americas and Europe. Monitor engineer on the world tour is Vish Wadi; handling FOH is Robert “Cubby” Colby, aided by the Clair Brothers crew of Gene Phillips, Mike Mason and Tom Ford.
“She started with the Neumann/Sennheiser KK 105-S before I came into the picture,” said Wadi, whose has performed monitor engineering duties for the likes of Sting, Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige. Shakira first used the Neumann/Sennheiser hybrid microphone at VH1’s Divas Las Vegas; according to Wadi, Shakira really liked the mic, and he has since being keeping it in his gig bag for the Latin artist.
Wadi’s first introduction to the hybrid mic was when he beta-tested it with Sting during his Brand New Day world tour. “I like it; it sounds good,” he said. “It’s nice and breathy. It’s a studio-quality microphone.” The hybrid pairs the new Neumann KK 105-S capsule head, based on the KMS 105 studio vocalist mic, with Sennheiser’s SKM 5000 N handheld transmitter.
Shakira and her band are also carrying a Sennheiser Evolution 300 Series wireless ear-monitor system. “When youlook at the audio quality,” noted Wadi, “the transmission and everything, I think that the Evolution 300 Series is the best ear-monitor system on the market right now.”
Wadi continued, “Altogether, including effects and stuff, I’m handling 24 mixes on the Midas Heritage. Everybody is on ears, except one of the background singers; she’s on wedges, she’s just not an ear-monitor person.” Those using the EW 300 wireless system include Shakira, the two guitar players, the violin player and the drummer; everybody else is on hard-wiredear monitors.
For more, visit either Sennheiser (www.sennheiserusa.com) or Neumann (www.neumannusa.com.
