According to Mark LeCorre, Dido’s production manager and front-of-house engineer, Dido has adopted a satin nickel-finish hybrid Sennheiser 5000-N wireless transmitter with Neumann KK 105-S capsule for her busy schedule of radio and TV promotion dates across North America and Europe.
“I’m digging the sound of the microphone,” said LeCorre. “I’ve always loved the Neumann stuff. It’s just really open and clear and the top end is really natural. Lots of open airy sound, which is what Dido’s all about. She liked the mic as soon as she tried it.”
LeCorre, who has worked with Dido ever since she left the UK band Faithless to go solo, introduced the singer to the hybrid Sennheiser/Neumann microphone as an alternative to her regular Sennheiser 3000 Series. “She’d always used the 3000 with the condenser head [SKM 3072-U],” he said. “She likes to change slowly. The feel of this microphone is similar, and she liked the weight of it. Then she sang into it and really liked the way it sounded. It’s working great.
“We’ve been using the Neumann KMS 105 wired vocal mic for all the acoustic shows that we’ve been doing. Then, I’ve got the Sennheiser E 602 on the kick drum. I’ve just started using the Sennheiser Evolution E 903 on the snare recently and it’s working out really well. I’ve got E 604s on the toms, piccolo snare and timbales; an E 609 for the bottom snare mic; Neumann KM 184s for drum and percussion overheads; and an E 602 on the big gong drum. The guitars, bass and keyboards are all direct.”
For more information on the mics, visit www.neumann.com or www.sennheiserusa.com. For more touring news, visit mixonline.com/live_sound_tour_profiles/index.htm.
