Andre Fischer (left) and Lance Sabin
This summer, Sennheiser donated high-end microphones and headphones—all with lifetime warranty, maintenance, and replacement—to support Minneapolis’ Institute of Production and Recording (IPR) initiative, which provides training and professional-grade audio and video equipment to the youth of Minneapolis via the city’s park system.
The equipment that populates the Ideawerks studio has much in common with the well-appointed studios of IPR. “If a pro deserves the best, then the next generation deserves the best, as well,” says Andre Fischer, the Grammy Award–winning executive director of music industries at IPR. “Ideawerks is not a dumbing down, it’s a lifting up. We want to raise expectations and frame students’ work with the same professionalism we expect of ourselves.
“In my professional career, I find that almost all of my microphone choices are Sennheiser or Neumann,” Fischer continues. “I don’t really use other mics. In preparation for Ideawerks, I knew I wanted the kids to hear that same professional detail that I expect of my own work. So of course, I approached Sennheiser.”
Workstations at Ideawerks
Sennheiser agreed to outfit the project with a complement of microphones with a lifetime warranty with free maintenance and replacement. Ideawerks students have access to three e 835 handheld vocal mics, three e 604s for toms/snares, one e 602 II for bass drum, two e 614 pencil mics for overheads, and two e 609 Silvers for guitar. In addition, 25 Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones will permit both live recording and private monitoring at workstations.
For more information on Sennheiser, visit www.sennheiserusa.com.
For more information on Ideawerks, visit ideawerks.org and read Barry Rudolph’s story, which appeared in Mix‘s August 2009 issue.
