AMSTERDAM — Sting used four of DPA Microphones’ handheld d:facto vocal microphones on his recent Back to Bass Tour throughout Europe and the Far East. The performances were supported by Sting’s FOH engineer, Howard Page.
More details from DPA Microphones (www.dpamicrophones.com):
Sting’s recording engineer, Donal Hodgson, who had great success using the d:facto with Sting in the studio, recommended the mic to Sting’s front of house engineer, Howard Page. “Donal knew that I had been looking for a later technology microphone for Sting on our live shows,” says Page, who is also senior director of engineering at Clair Brothers U.S. “If Donal was happy with it in the exacting environment of a recording studio, then I knew I certainly would be as well.”
Page adds, “The d:facto’s definition and clarity was a huge update on our Sting shows, and worked just as well for the in-ear monitors to which Sting listened. It is an absolutely unique microphone that has an amazing transient response and just the right amount of proximity without the normal problems of on/off tonal differences.”
Sting’s long working relationship with Page meant that he was also happy to try the d:facto in a live environment. “Sting and I have a very good relationship, and he trusts me on all things audio. When I asked him to try the d:facto, he was more than willing to go with it,” explains Page.
The four DPA d:factos were ordered from DPA’s UK distributor, Sound Network. These were delivered to Clair’s European office in plenty of time to be included in the equipment packages for the tour. Sting has ‘A’ and ‘B’ simultaneously touring systems, each containing two d:factos – one as the main microphone and one for backup.
“We did shows in France, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Lebanon, Korea, Hong Kong, Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta, so it was a huge amount of travelling,” concludes Page. “On this most recent leg of the tour, I have been in some venues with real long reverb times. The d:facto just cuts through perfectly without losing the tight, natural full-range tone that I need for Sting’s voice.”
Page also mentioned that, even without Hodgson’s recommendation, he would have been happy to try the DPA d:facto Vocal Microphone because he has previously had such good experiences with DPA technology.
