With command performances from Bruno Mars, Adele, Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran, the Annual Grammy Awards took up residence in Los Angeles’ Staples Center for its 59^th year celebration of music industry achievement.

Joining the headliners, Lady Gaga, the Weeknd and Katy Perry, also turned to Sennheiser’s flagship wireless technology, the Digital 9000 system, for performances, which were viewed by nearly 25m TV viewers around the world.

Adele opened the show with her hit ‘Hello’ on a Sennheiser Digital 9000 system, featuring the SKM 9000 transmitter and MD 9235 microphone capsule combination to transmit a powerful vocal performance. Later in the evening, she won multiple Grammy awards for Best Pop Solo Performance, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year for the song – as well as Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for 25. After collecting the awards, she returned to the stage for a tribute to George Michael, performing his song ‘Fastlove’ accompanied by a montage of images and videos from Michael’s life.

Sennheiser’s Digital 9000 system was also employed by Beyoncé, who performed her songs ‘Love Drought’ and ‘Sandcastle’ through a Sennheiser SKM 9000 and MD 5235 transmitter/capsule combination. Backed by elaborate dance choreography and visual effects, Beyoncé would go on to win the Grammy award for Best Urban Contemporary Album for Lemonade. Meantime, Ed Sheeran also sang through the Digital 9000, relying on the same capsule and transmitter combination for his performance of ‘Shape of You’ – which featured him looping his own voice to craft the song’s backing vocals.

Bruno Mars was also among the artists who entrusted his performances to Sennheiser’s Digital 9000 system, using its fully uncompressed HD audio mode. Mars took the stage twice during the evening – first for a tribute to Prince, joining The Time for ‘Let’s Go Crazy’. He would later return to perform his single ‘That’s What I Like’ from 2016’s 24k Magic album.

Mars’ FOH engineer Chris Rabold and monitor engineer Ramon Morales have taken to the Digital 9000. Currently, the pair are in rehearsals for Bruno Mars’ upcoming 24K Magic Tour, where the Digital 9000 will serve as primary wireless system, making the decision to use it in a broadcast environment for the first time an easy one.

‘In a situation like the Grammy Awards, you have a very limited amount of time to dial in your settings,’ Rabold says. ‘What’s great about Sennheiser and the Digital 9000 is that your sound is essentially there as soon as you turn the system on.’

For Morales, consistency is paramount: ‘The biggest concern with any wireless technology is always reliability, and Sennheiser has always given us that,’ he said. ‘The Digital 9000 is even more robust than our previous Sennheiser system, and it sounds even better, too.’

Rabold and Morales cite the dynamic nature of Mars’ vocal as their biggest challenge: ‘He can vary anywhere from a whisper to a yell, sometimes singing far from the mic, sometimes right on it, and other times cupping it,’ Rabold says. ‘The Digital 9000 helped the team capture every bit of the performance cleanly, whatever the input level.’

Part of the success in preserving these details is due to the power of the SKM 9000 transmitter paired with the MD 9235 capsule. Rabold and Morales chose this combination for Mars’s vocals based on both its performance and pedigree. ‘We have experimented with many capsules over the years on his voice, but always kept coming back to the MD 5235, which has been his staple for many years,’ Rabold explains. ‘Now the MD 9235 captures everything we love about the sound of the MD 5235 while taking the detail even further, all while maintaining that familiar smoothness that we love.’

‘One thing I love about the Digital 9000 is that regardless of how much level you push into those mics, there are no wireless artifacts in the signal,’ he adds. ‘Compared to other wireless systems, which often have a certain crunch to them when pushed hard, the Digital 9000 maintains an extremely natural sound at any level. The result is a much smoother top end, which in turn makes the low-mids in the vocal sound thicker.’

Switching to the Digital 9000’s HD mode meant no audio data reduction, according to Morales: ‘Using the HD mode really made a difference,’ he says. ‘It just opens up the microphones in a way that makes it really easy to place them in the in-ear mixes.’

Mars’ lead vocal was not the only audio transmitted by the Digital 9000 during his Grammy performances – all four background vocal mics and the mics for his three horn players were running via the system, which used two EM 9046 receivers for a total of 16 channels of transmission. ‘We used the SKM 9000 transmitters with prototype MD 9245 capsules for our backing vocalists because they feature a slightly tighter pickup pattern,’ Rabold says. SK 9000 bodypack transmitters cleanly delivered the rest of the signals to the receivers.

The Sennheiser EM 3732-II receiver and SKM 5200 transmitter plus MD 5235 capsule combination also made many appearances over the course of the show. First by Lady Gaga, who joined Metallica onstage for a performance of ‘Moth Into Flame’; the handheld transmitter/capsule combination was also used by The Weeknd and Katy Perry for their respective performances. A highlight was when the new Sennheiser Ambeo VR microphone was used on-stage during a star-studded tribute to The Bee Gees, featuring Demi Lovato, Tori Kelly, and Andra Day to capture an immersive audio snapshot of the event.

‘Each year The Grammy Awards presents an exciting opportunity to see some of the world’s top musical talent gathered together in one place,’ says Byron Gaither for Artist Relations at Sennheiser. ‘It is heartening to see that so many artists and their teams place their faith in Sennheiser technology year after year. We are especially pleased that four of our artists used our cutting-edge Digital 9000 wireless system to deliver moving and memorable performances.’

More: www.sennheiser.com

Possibly the biggest tour of 2016 and claiming the year’s highest production values, responsibility for the sound on Adele’s tour of Europe and North America has fallen to German rental company Black Box Music.

Among equipment from some of the audio industry’s best known and most well respected manufacturers, Sennheiser’s flagship Digital 9000 system microphones were chosen for Adele and her three backing singers. Front-of-House engineer for the tour is Dave Bracey, who was reportedly delighted with Digital 9000 from the moment he heard it: ‘This is the first time that Adele, Joe [Campbell, monitor engineer] and I have used Digital 9000,’ he explains.

‘Adele had used a different Sennheiser mic for her previous tour, which she really liked. We were going to try out several alternative mics with her during rehearsals, but after we listened to the 9000 we knew we already had the winner. So we compared Adele’s previous Sennheiser mic to the Digital 9000 with a 9235 capsule with her and the 9000 sound was twice as good. It was such a leap forward straight away that we knew it was the right choice. Its whole sonic character is amazing.

‘The main thing is that there’s no compression or expanding going on in the transmission stage, so all of that messing with the signal that happened with analogue radio systems is just not there now. It used to be the case that the cable version of any system sounded better than the radio one. Now there is a radio system that sounds as good as, or better than, any cable microphone I’ve ever heard. That’s a pretty cool thing to lay your ears across.’

With the mic initially running analogue out, Bracey and Campbell did an A/B test using AES. ‘That was superior sound again,’ Bracey says. ‘Now we’re running AES from the mic capsule all the way to the amps flown in the roof. It doesn’t hit anything analogue between the capsule and the amp, so it’s an absolutely clean path.’

‘It sounds great,’ Campbell agrees. ‘It’s the best sounding radio mic we’ve ever used and, moreover, Adele likes it. She’s got a very good ear and she really likes it.’

Bracey is using a fair amount of processing on Adele’s mic, partly because she spends most of the show out in front of the PA – the main stage is a triangular shape with a diamond shaped thrust, with the main PA sitting at the rear of this thrust, while the B Stage is located in the middle of the arena floor with its own PA hung high above it to avoid any impact on sight lines. ‘I need to control the relative tonal balance through a range of performance styles, from when she’s singing low, right on mic, to when she is hitting top voice with it ten inches away.

‘It requires work because Adele’s vocal performance pushes boundaries. If she was behind the PA and just used one mic technique for the whole show, you would do practically nothing with it. The chat between the songs has to sound correct, as well. I have to process the vocal so that it sounds good when she’s talking and good when she’s singing, in every way. You would think that with Adele singing with a quality mic through a quality PA, the channel would be flat all the time. It’s actually not.’

Bracey says that everything pretty much looks after itself, but to encourage Adele to get closer to the mic when talking in front of the PA, he fires a macro that calls up a high-pass filter, she hears a little body go out of it which naturally brings her closer to the mic. ‘I talked to her about it once,’ he says. ‘She understood what I was doing and it works.’

Control tech Oliver Twiby is in charge of managing the required radio frequencies: ‘I do all the RF management. At each venue, I scan the venue to check what frequencies we can use and then license them through Ali Viles at Mission Control. We have 22 Sennheiser 2000 in-ears and for Adele we’re running four frequencies in two ranges, a main and a backup in both ranges. We have eight 9000 Series mics. We’re using the entire rack and we have a redundant unit that we can hot swap to, and we’re also running some wireless talkback mics for techs.

‘There are 32 frequencies in total to look for and set up every day. All the in-ears are in the same range, so we have a quite tight RF plot and it’s also quite a tight schedule. The mics have a very good noise floor – you only need 10dB of noise floor – which means that in a busy environment, where everyone is using a mobile phone, we could have dropouts if we were using different mics. The sound of the capsule is also really good. It’s a very organic sounding mic.’

‘We haven’t had any problems with RF,’ Campbell adds. ‘The main challenge we have here is the antenna system. We don’t get to place it where we’d ideally like to have it because of the problems with sight lines, etc. There’s nowhere on the stage that’s high enough to make it ideal, so we have placed one antenna stage left on the back handrail. It could do with being at least a metre higher, but then it would be in front of the LED screen.

‘Because we need flawless reception from the A to the B Stage, we placed another antenna at FOH, which sits in front of the camera position and points at the B stage. This means that wherever Adele is in the room, we can switch between the two receiver systems and have full-strength reception. It works very well.’

The sound quality and reliability of Sennheiser’s 9000 Series has impressed the team: ‘On this tour, nothing is allowed to go wrong – that’s the word from the top,’ Bracey says. ‘It’s a classy show and there can’t be glitches. Audio hasn’t had any. But you also have to future-proof your tour when you’re going out for a couple of years. You don’t change what you start out with, there simply isn’t time. We know that we’ve done that with Digital 9000.

‘The tour has been fantastic so far. Adele is singing incredibly; her voice sounds beautiful. I’ve never heard anything like it. We’ve had great reviews and there have been lots of comments about the sound. It’s one of the best sounding shows I’ve ever mixed, if not the best, probably by a long way. What more can I say?’

‘The advancement in RF technology has enabled us to do more with more reliability,’ says Production Manager, Richard Young. ‘The Sennheiser system allows us to have confidence every night that the audio will be rock solid.’

‘Working on one of the biggest, if not the biggest, world tour of 2016 is a fantastic opportunity for us,’ says Sennheiser Artist Relations Live Performance & Music, Phil Cummings. ‘We started work on providing the Digital 9000 microphone system for Adele last July; the kit requirements for this tour have taken a lot of planning to make sure the audio team have everything they need. Andrew Lillywhite, Tim Sherratt and myself were on hand during rehearsals and through to the live shows. It’s been a real pleasure dealing with everyone on the Adele tour.’

More: www.sennheiser.com

Sennheiser has released a new iteration of its IE 800 ear-canal headphones used by live sound engineers.

The new IE 800 S features improved acoustics with brilliant trebles and a refined bass sound. The design uses Comply memory foam ear tips, and a wider choice of cables.

Featuring a refined version of Sennheiser’s Extra Wide Band (XWB) driver, the design uses proprietary 7mm transducers and the patented dual-chamber absorber (D2CA) system, neutralising the ‘masking effect’ – when the human ear cannot perceive high frequency sounds at a low volume if louder sounds in a lower frequency range are occurring at the same time. The absorber system removes the energy from any masking resonances to prevent unwanted peaks, making even the finest nuances of sound audible. To facilitate cleaning, the earphones employ two protection meshes - one in the earpad and one in the nozzle.

Comply ear tips ensure a custom fit in the ear canal for comfort and attenuation of ambient noise.

In addition to the standard cable with a 3.5mm jack, the new IE 800 S includes 4.4mm Pentaconn and 2.5mm balanced connectors ergonomically designed viscoelastic memory foam ear tips from

The IE 800 S is available from Q3 2017 for €999 MSRP.

More: www.sennheiser.com

Currently on an extensive European tour in support of her Ultimate Collection compilation album, singer-songwriter Anastacia’s summer finds her at multiple festivals – with a comprehensive package of Sennheiser wireless mics, instrument mics and wireless monitoring.

Supplied by Clare UK, the Sennheiser package includes e 901 and e 902 microphones on the kick drum, e 904s on the snare and toms, e 914s on the hats and cymbals and a pair of e 906s on the electric guitar. ‘We are using Sennheiser because Horst [Hartmann, monitor engineer] and I both get on very well with the equipment and how it sounds,’ says FOH engineer, Chris Madden. ‘It enables us to have clean RF every day and we don’t have any problems.’

The stage set-up uses a Sennheiser SKM 5200 with MD 5235 capsule for Anastacia’s vocal and female backing vocalist Maria Quintile, with male backing vocalist DeeRal using an MMD 945 head on a 2000 series wireless system.

‘I’ve used the 5235 a lot with female singers and get on really well with it. It’s always worked. I used it with Jessie J and really like it,’ Madden says. ‘It’s meant for loud stages and has really good rejection. Anastacia’s previous guitarist wasn’t using an amp and the drummer played behind a screen. I think drum screens look awful, so I wanted to get rid of it, plus we wanted to move full-time to in-ear monitors to make the stage look much cleaner. I thought the 5235 would help reduce spill down her mic, which would make using IEMs less of an issue, and it has worked really well.’

The wireless set-up is eight channels of EM 3732-II receivers and eight 5000-series handheld transmitters. ‘We’ve also got a 2000 series with 945 head for the guitarist’s backing vocals, because he’s so close to the drum kit. That has also helped an awful lot in reducing the amount of spill from the (incredibly loud!) drummer,’ Madden says.

An unusual aspect of the tour is the pair of mirror-image microphone trees, located one each side of the stage. Each supports three ambient microphones. ‘We tried lots of different combinations and settled on each tree having a 914 pointing 45° outwards towards the side, a long MKH 70 rifle mic in the middle, pointing straight down the back, and a shorter MKH 60 rifle pointing at the pit. The combination of the open 914 and highly directional shotguns gives us scale without picking up everything,’ Madden explains. ‘Horst is riding that all the time to get the effect of the crowd between songs, while I use some of it if I need to send a broadcast mix.’

‘I like the sound of Sennheiser mics, particularly the 5000 Series. I think it’s the best vocal mic they make, particularly for female artists,’ adds Horst. ‘The 184MHz bandwidth gives me a lot of channels to choose from, meaning I can go all over the world with just one system and still find the frequencies I need.

‘The G3 wireless IEMs are the same. People like the sound and so do I. We use them along with an AC 3200-II antenna combiner. I think they’re the right choice for rock music and their 40MHz bandwidth means that, again, it’s easy to find frequencies – which is always an issue these days. Overall Sennheiser wireless systems are a very reliable product, they sound good and are easy to use.’

‘It has been a pleasure to support Chris and Horst, both long-time users of our product, on the Anastacia tour,’ says Phil Cummings, Artist Relations for Sennheiser. ‘Everything has worked perfectly and it’s great to see Anastacia back out on tour in 2016.’

More: www.sennheiser.com

Close to London’s central venues, Ritz Rehearsal Studios has assisted artists big and small to prepare their songs and live sets for public performance. A recent upgrade to the facilities has seen a major investment in Sennheiser equipment.

During its 40-year history, Ritzhas played host to the likes of The Stranglers, Blur, The Clash, Led Zeppelin and Amy Winehouse. It was acquired last year by 24/7 Productions, which provides services to the music touring, event production and TV production industries.

‘We were rehearsing at Ritz with one of our artists,’ explains 24/7 Head Production Manager, Andrew Thornton. ‘They wanted to upgrade the facility and were looking for some investment. John Pryer, who owns 24/7, was interested in helping them and, as a result, Ritz was incorporated into the 24/7 group.’

Ritz continues to operate independently, but the new ownership made it possible to undertake a substantial refurbishment of the studios, including a new package of Sennheiser microphones and in-ear monitor systems: ‘We needed audio equipment for the stage, so I contacted Phil Cummings at Sennheiser,’ Thornton says. ‘He was keen to join in and supplied a great package of live microphones for both studios, in return for which they can use us as a product demonstration facility. We also offer Sennheiser IEMs and Radio Mics as a separate rental item, which Phil supports as and when required.’

The Sennheiser equipment now available at Ritz includes the entire range of wired microphones from the evolution 900 Series for both instrument and vocal as standard, plus 24/7’s own stock of G3 and 2000 Series IEMs and 2000 and 5000 Series radio microphones. Recent artists to use the new equipment at Ritz have included Shawn Mendes and Nathan Sykes.

‘Shawn is a new 24/7 Productions client, who I’m production manager for,’ Thornton says. ‘He was at Ritz for a week, using all the in-house Sennheiser equipment, after which we went out on a European tour with him using vocal microphone, guitar and in-ear systems.

‘When Nathan went solo after The Wanted went on hiatus, he came to us for his production needs. Phil put together a package of Sennheiser 5200 radio mics and an in-ear system that have travelled with him on his support shows with Little Mix, TV shows, festivals and one-off promos.’

Thornton’s work with Sennheiser goes back a long way as both an audio engineer and production manager: ‘I’ve had a relationship with everyone that’s worked there for many years and was one of the engineers who beta-tested the evolution series with lots of different bands. As a sound engineer, I’ve been touring for about 18 years and Sennheiser has always been very supportive and helpful.

‘It’s a very constructive, two-way relationship; buying kit and getting great support from them and, in turn, giving them feedback which helps to develop the product. This recent investment means we now have consistency between the rehearsal studio and our touring productions, which is ideal.’

Held at Microsoft Theater and broadcast to more than eight million viewers on the ABC network, the recent AMA Awards featured a live performances from a string of high-profile artists – many using Sennheiser wireless systems

From a technical standpoint, the Sennheiser 5000 series wireless microphone combination was used by Bruno Mars, The Weekend, Ariana Grande, Nicki Menaj and several other artists. In particular, the Sennheiser SKM 5200 transmitter and MD 5235 capsule proved to be the go-to set-up solution for several FOH and monitor engineers, including Chris Rabold, Ramon Morales, Derek Brener and Vish Wadi.

‘It boils down to this – there are a million things in play at an awards show such as this, and the most important thing is my vocal,’ says Brener, who handles FOH for The Weeknd (nominated for Artist of the Year and performing‘Starboy’ at the event). Brener chose the SKM 5200/MD 5235 combo for the duration: ‘On a live show, concert or broadcast situation, I take comfort in the fact that I can pull up that fader on the vocal and never hear a drop out, whisping or any other audio anomaly. This is huge for me, especially in an environment where there is so much RF and so many potential conflicts.’

Ramon Morales, who is responsible for Bruno Mars’ monitors, agrees: ‘There is always more pressure on everybody at the broadcast events, but when you have the right gear, everything tends to go really well. We had four vocals on the SKM 5200/MD 5235s and it all sounded great. For Bruno, who is such a consistent performer, the quality and clarity has got to be there every night.’

Ariana Grande performed her single ‘Side to Side’ alongside Nicki Menaj, and also picked up Artist of the Year. Her monitor engineer Vish Wadi first came across Sennheiser wireless microphones while doing sound for Sting in the 1990s, and the 5000 series with Mariah Carey in the late 1990s: ‘I used that MD 5235 capsule when it first came out, and since then, I’ve referred to it as “the rock”,’ he says. ‘It is really great for loud stages and has excellent rejection. For Ariana, and many other female artists, it is fantastic because it can accommodate a broad range of dynamics – whether they are singing loudly or softly.’

‘The main challenge for me is managing spill into the microphone,’ observes Chris Rabold, FOH engineer for Bruno Mars. ‘Whether it is for a television show or live performance of any sort, we need to get a mix that we really like and that takes a great mic capsule. Bruno has been using the MD 5235 for several years now, and we have found that that mic works best for his vocal while minimising unwanted noise coming back in.’

Rabold adds that Bruno Mars is very particular about the audio quality in his performances: ‘We do rehearsals, soundchecks and he gets the broadcast videos and sends notes if he has any comments,’ he says. ‘I think for him it is about familiarity and comfort – he has been on the SKM 5200/MD 5235 for so long that he is used to it and knows it. For me, it brings predictability and consistency.’

Sennheiser wireless monitoring systems were also used at the event: ‘For in-ears, everybody was on Sennheiser wireless,’ comments Morales. ‘We had 16 channels of the 2000 series transmitters, combined with G3 belt pack receivers. Everything holds up well and the RF is rock solid.’

Ariana Grande relied on Sennheiser wireless with monitor engineer Vish Wadi opting for an SR 2050 transmitter and EK 2000 belt pack receivers. ‘Ariana was really happy and Sennheiser delivered, just as I would expect,’ he says. Morales adds that equipment choice is a balancing act, and this has to translate across the entire signal chain – from microphones to wireless monitoring systems. ‘The clarity has got to be there, and there has to be a good balance of everything for it to sound right. And for Bruno, it has got to sound right.’

Rabold, Morales, Brener and Wadi all agree that every show has to be flawless from a technical perspective: ‘Every time I go to these awards shows, I see Sennheiser transmitters and capsules all over the place,’ says Brener. ‘Why do they pick that? Because they have faith in it and can trust it. That main vocal is so important and cannot falter.’

‘The Sennheiser wireless platform is as rock solid as it gets, and we may be moving to the 9000 series very soon,’ Rabold says. ‘You see the Sennheiser SKM 5200/MD 5235 combination everywhere, and I think there is a reason for that. It just works.’

More: www.sennheiser.com

Sennheiser is expanding its range of business products with the TeamConnect Wireless Set Tray M and SL Boundary 114-S DW microphone.

Where the offers Sennheiser’s innovative wireless conferencing solution in a new smaller configuration, the SL Boundary 114-S DW increases the flexibility and ease-of-use of thw SpeechLine family of speech-dedicated microphones.

TeamConnect Wireless Set Tray M reckons to turn any room into a meeting venue using two (rather than four satellites) that can be charged with its stationary charging and docking tray for dedicated meeting rooms and conferences for up to 12 participants. The portable wireless system supports multiple connectivity options with any smartphone, laptop or PC via Bluetooth, USB, or 3.5mm jack to cater for a wide range of Unified Communications demands.

Dedicated to speech, the SL Boundary 114-S DW extends the capability of the TeamConnect conferencing system with a wireless solution. The cable free microphone is easily adapted to any conference setting, while its wide coverage ensures that conference participants don’t need to speak directly into or even sit close to the microphone as it automatically picks up and enhances the voices of speakers’ in the room.

The SL Boundary 114-S DW also offers the simplicity of wireless charging and can be charged with the recently-launched CHG QI 2 wireless charging system. The CHG QI 2 uses the most commonly used wireless Qi Charging standard to provide convenient wireless charging for two mobile devices simultaneously. The SL Boundary 114-S DW can also be charged via USB.

The microphone itself provides clear battery life indication via dedicated battery status LEDs, while intuitive and easy set-up and detailed monitoring and control is possible with Sennheiser’s comprehensive Control Cockpit software suite.

More: www.sennheiser.com

SGAudio Aps’ has released v2.6 software for its 10EaZy sound level measurement system, available via the 10EaZy website as well as its automatic update system. 

For users of the full 10EaZy system (excluding RT and SW versions), the new software introduces a number of key new features. These include a measurement résumé in an email body that makes it easy to review measurements at a glance – a sentence will state if a limit violation was recorded in the set measurement or not. Creating a mail rule that checks this sentence will make it easy to choose different actions for log files with and without limit violations. An ‘at-a-glance’ measurements summary will be attached to e-mail in the form of a PNG. This image file will have all the key metrics listed with their maximum values, as well as a clear text in either green or red stating if there was a limit violation. 

Version 2.6 also provides support for user’s own mail servers. For systems that are not connected to the internet at runtime, it is now possible to use a local mail server. This is mainly relevant for cruise ships and facilities with high security demands on data flow.

The new software also provides access to XML measurement results. This supports customised views and third-party development, as it is now possible to read the XML stream from 10EaZy directly from a browser on the network. The XML stream contains virtually all internal measurements from 10EaZy and enables a multitude of customised views or indicators to be developed and integrated into existing structures.

In addition to the new features there have been updates to the engine room and 10EaZy now also remembers the display status of the RTA display, the secondary Leq screen and the LCeq display.

‘SGAudio Aps’ is extremely responsive to user feedback and, with time, it incorporates such feedback into upgrades like the useful features we see in v2.6, says Andy Huffer of 10EaZy UK main dealer, HD Pro Audio. ‘Through listening to users, 10EaZy has developed into the great product it is today, based genuinely on what sound engineers need.’

With his ÷ album having dominated the international album charts since its release and the accompanying ÷ Tour selling out as dates were announced, Ed Sheeran is on a roll. The tour began in Europe in Italy’s Turin, travelling to Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain before heading to the arenas of the UK and Ireland. It has worked its way round South America, Central America and Mexico, then back to the UK before heading to the US.

Throughout, Sheeran is again using Sennheiser’s flagship Digital 9000 Series microphone system and 2000 series wireless monitors, supplied by production company Major Tom.

Production Manager and front-of-house and monitor engineer Chris Marsh has been with the singer for six years and has an intimate understanding of what he wants and needs. Ed has been using Sennheiser microphones from the very start and switched to Digital 9000 during his 2014 US tour for his vocal, loop vocal and guitar.

‘We had Ed’s guitar on a cable and DI for four years, because I simply couldn’t find a wireless system that gave us the sound that we needed to deliver his performance,’ Marsh explains. ‘On first listening to the 9000 system, we discovered it was the most transparent sounding system we had ever heard. We were only meant to be checking it out on a soundcheck, but Ed and I both agreed we had to use it that night, and we have ever since.’

Four mic channels are dedicated to Sheeran’s acoustic guitars, one channel for electric guitar and three channels for vocals – main, spare and loop vocal. ‘For the loop vocal I use an MMD 945 super-cardioid capsule,” Marsh says. “As this vocal gets looped and repeated throughout the songs I can’t risk there being too much background noise, so the tight pickup of the 945 is perfect.

‘Ed’s main vocal is a cardioid MD 9235 dynamic capsule which captures a lot of detail. Importantly, it copes very well with being handled heavily and cupped a lot, which is Ed’s style. I use the Sennheiser 2050 wireless in ear monitors as they are rock solid, which is all that really matters to Ed.’

‘Sennheiser has a long-standing relationship with both Chris and Ed,” says Jack Drury, Artist Relations Manager for Sennheiser. “We’re delighted that Digital 9000 has proved to be the perfect choice for him, both in its performance and its robustness for his demanding tours.’

‘Sennheiser has been very supportive of us,’ Marsh concludes. ‘There have been times where we could not ship our rig, or were flying in to perform one-offs and they have always helped me source the equipment I need and been on hand for technical support 24/7.’

Currently on a three-continent, 108-show ÷ Tour, Ed Sheeran hits the stage with his acoustic guitar and a custom loop pedal set-up.

His offstage crew, meanwhile, is headed by production manager and FOH engineer Chris Marsh, who has held both posts since the earliest arena-touring days. Also onboard, at Marsh’s behest and for the fifth consecutive year, is a Meyer Sound Leo Family linear reinforcement system supplied by UK-based Major Tom Ltd.

‘Ed pretty much entrusted production to me since the beginning of our relationship, and one thing that we’ve proven over the past four years is that the Meyer Sound Leo Family is the way forward,’ Marsh says.

Having worked with Norway’s Madcon rap duo Madcon for a number of years, supplying both crew and kit, production company Showlab is using a new console set-up for both FOH and monitors on their current European tour.

‘I first saw the DiGiCo S21 in 2015, and I thought that it would be a great console for Madcon,’ confirms FOH engineer Borre Leinebo. ‘Touring everything from small venues to large festivals, a console with a small footprint was what we needed. Despite its small size, the S21´s two touchscreens make it really easy to figure out and navigate, and the sound quality is huge.’

Monitor duties for Madcon are split between Fredrik Mindnes and Stian Sagholen: ‘A lot of the functions, such as the Aux Send buttons on the screen and the multi-touch EQ, makes operating the console fast and accurate,’ Sagholen says. ‘I really like the built-in UB-Madi interface which, combined with the macro ‘Listen’ buttons, makes it easy to record, play back and make any final touches after the band has left the soundcheck. 

‘The monitor desk handles 36 inputs and 30 busses, including talkback/shout and internal routing, and a custom cue buss with ducked shout has been created from FOH. The small footprint and light weight are key features for using this console in a tour set-up.’

‘When we first got the S21s we didn’t have very much time for preproduction,’ Mindnes adds. ‘Normally, I prefer to spend a bit of time getting to know a new console, especially when it comes with brand new software. Luckily, setting up the console was remarkably easy. All its features are accessible without having to dig through multiple pages and menus. The dual touchscreens gives me a total overview and control of the show, and I can mix easily without my attention being taken away from the band on stage.

‘I was also really impressed with the sonic quality of the S21. It sounds every bit as good as the SD series. After the first night the show was tuned in and I haven’t changed it since.’

‘The console worked faultlessly, even when we were touring during the Scandinavia winter with temperatures far below freezing and then in highly humid in the venues,’ Leinebo concludes. ‘There’s nothing else I can say about it, other than this is a really great console.

More: www.digico.org

Audiovisual equipment supply company LSH Events (part of the London Speaker Hire family) has been closely involved with testing the Shure’s dual-diaphragm KSM8 even prior to its official launch in 2016. Throughout the microphone’s launch, LSH supplied KSM8s to many high-profile artists and engineers, and helped it to play a part in setting a new world record…

‘Since we opened our event and band rehearsal facilities in East London, LSH Spaces, we’ve been involved with a lot of current high-profile bands and their technical support staff,’ explains MD Grant Turner from LSH’s London HQ. ‘We put some KSM8s in one of the rehearsal rooms there alongside the usual SM58s, and people soon started to ask us about the new mic.’

Early adopters of the KSM8 were up-and-coming Essex-based Arcaves, who had previously been using Shure SM58 and Beta 87As as live vocal mics. The band auditioned prototype versions of the mic at the 2015 V Festival, and progressed to using two KSM8s as their main live vocal mics by mid-2016: the black edition for their female vocalist Bekile, and the brushed nickel version for lead vocalist Billy Wright. Both mics feature clearly in the video shot to accompany the band’s most recent single, ‘Out Of The Blue’, which was one of the first videos shot in the UK using a high-resolution 8K sensor.

‘Everyone who used the KSM8 gave us very positive feedback,’ Turner says. ‘It took off very fast. Matt Lewis, the live sound engineer for Nick Mulvey and Jamie Woon, was keen to audition it, and the next thing we knew, it went from Nick’s trying it out to Jamie would like the KSM8 for his summer tour… In the end, we supplied KSM8s and other Shure mics for that tour, along with PSM1000 in-ears. We gave LeAnn Rimes a black KSM8 to use when she was promoting her new album Remnants with a live ‘unplugged’ session in the piano room at the Yamaha Music London Showroom in Soho in August.

The KSM8 was the vocal mic used for what was subsequently certified as the World’s Highest Ever Stand-up Gig. Stand Up On Everest involved UK comedians Tom Wrigglesworth and Martin Mor, together with Australians Wayne Deakin and Mickey D, performing on a temporary stage erected solely for the purpose at Mount Everest South Base Camp in the Nepalese Himalayas, 5,365m above sea level.

‘We got involved through our work with Save The Children, which sponsored the event,’ explains Turner. ‘They asked us to spec a PA for the gig, and we brought Shure and Martin Audio on board. We have a great relationship with both companies and that really stood us in good stead for this event; we had to be sure that the mics and speakers would still work at the temperature and pressure extremes you find at the Everest Base Camp — we made a few calls to the technical support departments of both companies! But as you would expect, everything worked perfectly, the gig went without any problems, and it raised money for Save The Children.’

More: www.shuredistribution.co.uk

Shure has released a line of new accessories for its Microflex Advance series of microphones, including the A910 Hard Ceiling Mount for the MXA910, and A310 Flush Mount for the MXA310.

Microflex Advance microphones and audio interfaces address conferencing for meeting rooms in corporate, education and hospitality spaces, with the accessories designed with system integrators and existing Microflex Advance users in mind. The A910 and A310 feature a streamlined look for the table and ceiling array microphones with the ability to support the microphones in any meeting location. In addition to improving room aesthetics, the accessories reduce installation time and overall cost.

The A910 Hard Ceiling Mount for MXA910 allows the ceiling array to be easily installed into any surface, including drywall and cement, creating an invisible audio experience in any setting. The A310 Flush Mount for MXA310 reduces the visual footprint of the table array by creating an even lower profile installation, allowing the microphones to be in-the-table rather than on top. This reduces height and improves appearance, while maintaining acoustic performance as well as easy access to mute buttons. The A910 is white and the A310 is available in two colour options, black and aluminium. Both products can be painted to match the table or ceiling colour and will be available in summer 2017.

‘The Microflex Advance accessories enhance the existing series by enabling the microphones to be used in a larger variety of use cases, while also improving appearance and shortening installation time,’ says Shure Global Product Manager, Rob Klegon. ‘We created this line of accessories to provide customers a variety of mounting options so users no longer need to source their own solutions when implementing a Microflex Advance conferencing solution.’

More: www.shure.com

Shure has extended its line of MX395 Microflex Low Profile Boundary Microphones, adding the option of choosing mic colour (white, aluminium, or black) and polar pattern (cardioid, omnidirectional, or bidirectional), with or without an integral bi-colour LED light ring.

MX395 is a table microphone for situations where minimal presence is of high priority. The discreet boundary mic claims exceptional sound quality in multiple colours and coverage patterns. Perfect for meeting rooms, these microphones deliver excellent sound pickup while barely being noticed. The product line extension is intended to provide users with increased flexibility and choice when it comes to colour selection, LED options, and pickup patterns for customized table installations.

With the ability to indicate the microphone’s mute status, the LED light ring is controlled by logic signals from an automatic mixer or room control system.

More: www.shure.com

Shure UK and the Backstage Academy have announced a partnership for students wishing to pursue a career in the touring and live entertainment industry. Under the terms of the deal, Shure will support the West Yorkshire training facility with training events, sharing technical knowledge and experience, and providing the academy’s students with access to the hardware used daily by the UK live industry.

Founded in 2009, the Backstage Academy is based at the Production Park at South Kirkby, midway between Wakefield, Barnsley, Pontefract and Doncaster, and offers its students experience-based technical live industry training centred around access to the world-class live industry facilities and commercial stage and touring design companies at the same location.

The facilities include the LS-Live live production rehearsal arena (Europe’s largest) that is used by many headline acts for full technical rehearsals before their tours begin. Past LS-Live clients include Bring Me The Horizon, X Factor, Ollie Murs, as well as the BBC and ITV, who have used the arena for large-scale broadcast event rehearsals.

The Backstage Academy also has access to five smaller live rehearsal studios based on the Production Park which have been used by Muse, Take That, Foo Fighters and Florence And The Machine prior to recent live tours. Companies based at the Production Park, all of which provide training resources, work-experience placements and in many cases eventual employment for the Backstage Academy students, include Perry Scenic, Litestructures, and Brilliant Stages, who have provided tour stages, scenery and design for everyone from Kylie and Lady Gaga to the Rolling Stones and U2. The Production Park is constantly humming with activity relating to the delivery of some of the very best services the UK live industry can offer, making it the perfect location for the Backstage Academy’s students to train in and gain experience.

Shure UK will also contribute to the curriculum, sending technical staff to deliver lectures on wired and wireless microphone technology and networked audio equipment for live use. Based on the ‘Mastered’ series of audio industry training events Shure has been running for the past three years (Wireless Mastered, Wired Mastered and Networking Mastered), these lectures will give Backstage Academy students a thorough grounding in the latest technology in the sound reinforcement industry. Academy students will also have access to leading, industry-standard live microphone and in-ear monitoring technology as they proceed with their studies, including Shure’s SM and Beta wired microphones, the dual-diaphragm KSM8 and PSM1000 in-ear systems.

‘Shure is the market leader for microphones and wireless systems for live performance,’ says Backstage Academy MD, Glen Rowe. ‘With this in mind, it is imperative our students are using the same equipment that is being used on professional stages across the world. Once the students have completed their studies, they will be ready to face the challenges of live sound with a good grasp of industry-standard products, which can only benefit a potential employer.’

‘Shure is so pleased to be able to partner with an organisation like Backstage Academy,’ adds Tuomo Tolonen, Manager of the Pro Audio Group at Shure UK. ‘Live industry education has been a key focus over the past several years for Shure. Nurturing up-and-coming talent is important; we want to help students to acquire the skillset they need to establish themselves in the industry after they finish their education. I look forward to sharing some of the experience that Shure has gained, and working closely with the staff and students at Backstage Academy for many years to come.’

Shure has made its ULX-D and QLX-D digital wireless systems available in VHF spectrum – options that provide 42MHz of tuning bandwidth in spectrum that is as predictable and as usable as today’s UHF TV band.

The ULX-D and QLX-D VHF systems and accessories have the same features and benefits that the UHF systems offer, including spectrum efficiency, powerful recharging accessories, networking options, and rugged construction for everyday use. ULX-D Digital Wireless offers extremely efficient RF performance, networked control, Dante digital audio (on ULXD4D and ULXD4Q dual and quad receivers), and AES-256 encryption for professional sound reinforcement. QLX-D delivers defined, streamlined performance with transparent 24-bit digital audio. Combining professional features with simplified setup and operation, QLX-D offers outstanding wireless functionality for live sound events and installations.

A variety of new VHF-ready accessories are available with the VHF versions of ULX-D and QLX-D, including the UA844+V antenna distribution system, UA834V in-line amplifier, UA874V active directional antenna, and UA860V passive, ground-referenced omni-directional antenna. The UA845UWB antenna distribution system is switchable for UHF/VHF.

‘Our customers are using more wireless than ever before and available spectrum has become increasingly limited, so we’ve committed ourselves to providing spectrally-efficient solutions,’ says Wireless Products Product Manager, Mike Nagel. ‘Shure has developed a  portfolio of products that now includes VHF digital wireless systems, which professionals depend on for user-friendly features and reliable performance.’

The ULX-D and QLX-D Digital Wireless VHF versions will begin shipping in Q2 2016.

More: www.shure.com

Shure is previewing the latest version of its Wireless Workbench System Control Software.

Version 6.12 sees the addition of features designed to help wireless users better manage and monitor wireless system performance over the network, from pre-show planning through post-performance analysis.

A new logging utility will capture channel status information over time. Information recorded includes RF Level, Antenna Status, Audio Level, Interference, ShowLink, and Battery Level. With optimised data storage, the utility records data from all networked channels for an indefinite amount of time, given sufficient system resources. Capturing and viewing the recorded data enables users to troubleshoot wireless system operation and determine the source of issues, should any arise. Wireless Workbench provides ultimate control over the displayed information, enabling complete customisation of the visualized data to best suit user needs.

Connecting to devices from a remote location will now be supported with v6.12. With this update, Wireless Workbench 6 can connect to devices outside of a local network, for environments where devices are managed in separate subnets – separate VLANs, floors of an office building, venues in a park – the feature extends monitoring and control functionality beyond the local network for significantly increased flexibility and control.

‘Wireless Workbench has always been about improving the amount of control available to wireless users,’ says Shure’s Ron Hautzinger. ‘The enhanced features in Wireless Workbench 6.12 offer additional control to meet the needs of today's challenging RF environments. By adding the data logging utility, frequency coordination enhancements, and control of remote devices across subnets, v6.12 is the most empowering version of Workbench we've ever made.’

Wireless Workbench v6.12 will be available for download in Q2 2016.

More: www.shure.eu/support_download/downloads/software-drivers

Sisme has been appointed exclusive distributor of HK Audio in Italy.

With more than 50 years’ experience in the audio industry, Sisme adds the HK Audio portable sound product range to a portfolio of brands that includes Sony, Audio-Technica and L-Acoustics, The company works directly with system integrators and installers in the pro audio sector, as well as partners in the audiovisual and broadcasting fields. Covering the whole of Italy, Sisme offers customers integrated solutions, technical and post-sales support, project design and product training.

‘In recent years, HK Audio has made significant progress in its product and marketing activities,’ says Sisme President, Claudio Bugari. ‘We are convinced that this brand offers a great portfolio for the Italian market.’

‘HK Audio's products are a great fit with our existing portfolio and will allow our partners to offer complete pro audio solutions,’ adds Sisme National Sales Manager, Antonio Sciarrillo. ‘HK Audio offers users the easiest way to the best sound, meaning they can focus on their performance, without worrying about the sound.’

‘By having teamed up with Sisme, we have gained a strong and experienced partner on the Italian market,’ says HK Audio CEO, Nils Stamer. ‘I am convinced that the Sisme staff will be fantastic representatives for HK Audio in Italy.’

Sporting a variety of unusual instruments – including accordion, bagpipes and nyckelharpa – Belgian folk group Skratt have had an interesting time finding microphones to suit. The seven band members have diverse musical backgrounds, covering styles from heavy metal and pop to folk and classical. With music incorporating traditional folk and a wealth of other influences, they have settled on DPA’s d:vote Instrument Microphones.

Founder Mathias Van de Vliet explains that it was the search for an accordion mic that led tto DPA: ‘To begin with, we tried other microphones but they sounded thin and were terrible on monitoring – we just could not hear the accordion. We also tried a condenser mic on a stand for the violin, but that wasn’t practical.’

The clip mounts available for d:vote microphones have been as helpful as the mics themselves: ‘The clip mounts are great because they are made for a different kinds of instrument shapes, so they fit really well,’ Van de Vliet says. ‘They are super versatile and that’s what I like most. You can use them on just about every instrument because they are so well thought out. With a bit of creativity, you can even fit the clip mounts to instruments they were not originally designed for – for example, I use the piano clips on the accordion with some small metal plates and the guitar clip on the nyckelharpa[a traditional Swedish string instrument played with a bow]. The clip for wind instruments can be used for bagpipe or on drum cymbals and so on. They really are a blessing for bands like ours that use some strange instruments.’

Sound quality was another important factor in the band’s choice: ‘The d:vote 4099s sound incredibly natural and clear and we get very little feedback compared to other microphones we have tried – even when we are using them on stage with very loud monitoring,’ he says.

Alongside his live work with Skratt, Van de Vliet is also an instrument maker. He studied plucked instrument making at the International Lutherie School Antwerp and then went on to learn about instrument restoration.

‘Mostly I make guitars, but I have also made drums and I recently started to make a hurdy-gurdy and a nyckelharpa. It is a passion of mine, from choosing the perfect wood in Italy until I finish the instrument with numerous layers of French polish. It is a long process because I always want to improve the instruments.’

Van de Vliet’s d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones are occasionally used to create sound clips of the instruments he is making, so that he can check the audio quality. ‘The d:dicate 4011 microphone would be a better choice for real measurements but unfortunately I don’t own one of those,’ he says. ‘But when it comes to amplification, my d:vote is always nearby because no pickup can beat its audio quality, practicality or price point.’

Although not signed to a label, Skratt recently released its first CD, which was recorded in Van de Vliet’s living room with a very basic eight-channel set-up.

‘I’ve always been interested in ancient instruments and I get inspiration from the diversity of musical instruments on show at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Brussels,’ he says. ‘The instruments people play today are developed to perfection but they are just a small part of the story. I am also interested in the rough diamonds – the imperfect instruments and the unusual sounds they create.

‘As a band, we are inspired by these instruments and we like to take unusual instruments and mix them into our songs. This allows us to play with different sounds and fit them together so that our music has its own twist. Hurdy-gurdy, glockenspiel, accordion, bagpipe, bouzouki, drums and a samba-whistle in one song… the sky is the limit.’

More: www.dpamicrophones.com

Representing ‘a major expansion’ to its Live mixing console range, Solid State Logic has announced the SSL Live L200 bringing the sonic performance, workflow and feature set of SSL Live available to a wider user-base.

The L200’s characteristic inverted T chassis design is driven by ergonomic considerations. It keeps all essential console controls within easy reach and brings sprung arm mounted external screens/devices closer to the centre of the console. Arms can be mounted on either or both sides of the console. Arms can be specified as screen mounts or laptop/utility trays. External screens can be used to display the Console Overview screen, Automation screen, or other system devices.

The desk features a row of three 12-channel Fader Tiles, providing a total of 38 faders including the Master and Focus Faders in the Master Tile. A centrally-located 17-inch multi-gesture touchscreen gives access to all of the consoles’ functions, and combines with Quick Controls in the central Fader tile to provide intuitive, immediate hands on hardware control. The Master Tile, located alongside the screen also provides Mute Group, Solo/Talkback, Assignable keys, and Automation controls.

L200 supports 144 processing paths all of which have full processing. These paths can be configured as up to 96 input channels, up to 48 aux sends, up to 24 stem groups and six masters. A 4 x 32 input, 24 output Matrix is provided in addition to this. Like all SSL Live consoles L200 has a flexible architecture that allows console configuration and surface layout to be easily configured to suit the demands of each production. Onboard FX processing and FX offers the same wealth of superior quality processing options as the more powerful L300 and L500. 48 instances of FX processors are available at any one time on L200.

L200 features showfile compatibility with L300 and L500 consoles. Showfiles written on any SSL Live console will load directly onto another console in the Live range (within system limitations). SSL’s SOLSA PC app can be used for online control and offline editing.

More: www.solidstatelogic.com