Peter Maffay and his band’s We love Rock’n’Roll Farewell Tour filled Germany’s largest open-air arenas in the summer of 2024, with digital and analogue Sennheiser wireless systems for the performances. In addition to Sennheiser Digital 6000 systems and other proven wireless solutions, the new Sennheiser EW-DX series was also used for the shows, including the new four-channel EW-DX EM 4 Dante receiver.
Celebrating their premiere on a Peter Maffay tour were two EW-DX EM 4 Dante four-channel receivers, which were used with EW-DX SK 3-PIN bodypack transmitters on the woodwind and brass, for Pascal Kravetz’s accordion and guitars, and for show guests such as Wolfgang Niedecken of BAP.
Previous Peter Maffay tours used one EM 6000 two-channel receiver (Maffay’s vocals and spare), but the Farewell Tour concerts were equipped with three EM 6000 receivers, providing US star Anastacia (vocals and spare) and a variety of guest stars (Johannes Oerding, Joy Denalane, Rea Garvey, Wolfgang Niedecken, Bülent Ceylan, Hartmut Engler) with digital audio.
While Maffay and the backing vocalists used cardioid Sennheiser MM 435 microphone modules on their handheld transmitters, Anastacia and other guests were equipped with super-cardioid MM 445 capsules. The battery packs for their SKM 6000 handheld transmitters were recharged in the network-compatible L 6000 charging station.
The backline sound engineers also had eight channels at their disposal, which they used to listen to their own performer’s mix. They were also able to communicate with each other on these channels without disturbing the performers. Two A 5000-CP passive antennae with circular polarisation were used as antenne for the IEM systems, and these were installed together with an oversized dummy carrot that stage designer Michael Haufe had created some years ago for a Tabaluga tour. At that time, the ‘carrot microphone’ concealed a Sennheiser SKM 2000 handheld transmitter.
Guitarists Peter Keller and Pascal Kravetz and bass player Ken Taylor used wireless channels from the evolution wireless series. Multi-instrumentalist Charlie Klauser wore as many as three beltpacks: an in-ear receiver as well as two SK 500 transmitters, which transmitted the percussion signals from Sennheiser MKE 2 clip-on microphones attached to her hands. The sound of the violin that Charlie Klauser played was also transmitted via an ew 500 wireless system.
The MM 435 dynamic high-end microphone capsule from Sennheiser was highly praised by all sides on the tour, including FOH mixer Timo Hollmann. The MM 435 has a cardioid pick-up pattern and is characterised by a detailed sound and a high degree of transparency. The dynamic range is greater than 146dBA, and the maximum sound pressure level is impressively high at 163dB.
‘I suggested using this capsule for the vocals long before the start of the Farewell Tour,’ Hollmann says. ‘‘I put the MM 435 through its paces with numerous newcomer bands in various clubs and I was really impressed right from the start – and I still am to this day. It’s a dynamic capsule that is robust enough for touring use but still sounds like a condenser capsule. I like the really tight low mids, which can sometimes be pretty annoying with other capsules and make you want to reach for the EQ to get rid of them. But with the MM 435, I don’t have to intervene in this frequency range and I actually only use gain and low cut in the relevant channel.’
For communication on the Farewell Tour, Hollmann used a modified Sennheiser e 835 S microphone. Its on-off switch was replaced by a non-latching version, enabling it to be used according to the push-to-talk (PTT) principle. During the show, Hollmann could often be seen wearing closed Neumann NDH 20 headphones. ‘I use Neumann headphones in my studio, and the NDH 20 works really well at the FOH console, especially because it has an impedance of 150Ω and lets me listen at high volumes if I need to,’ he says. ‘During rehearsals, I set up the entire mix using the NDH 20 on my digital console. I’ve already recommended these headphones to lots of colleagues simply because they work fantastically well at live shows.’
Maffay couldn’t resist the opportunity to start the show by riding onto the stage in full leathers on a black Harley-Davidson. To make the best of the acoustics of a legendary ride, wireless specialist Florian Keinert attached an MCM KK 14 miniature condenser capsule above the exhaust with a Sennheiser EW-DX SK 3-PIN bodypack.
To protect it from the rain, the capsule was covered by plastic foil, and the transmitter was housed in a protective case. There were also more conventional applications for the Neumann Miniature Clip Mic system, with KK 14 capsules used to mike the woodwind and brass instruments and an accordion.Keinert used WiNRADiO hardware and software for the scans of the RF environment. In addition, the Sennheiser Wireless Systems Manager was employed for continuous real-time control and monitoring of all relevant parameters.
‘The digital Sennheiser wireless systems work without intermodulation, which is a great advantage because I can accommodate them practically anywhere in a free area of the frequency spectrum,’ Keinert says. ‘I use the equidistant grid – I can fit all the digital channels into the space of one television channel. The analogue in-ear wireless channels operate in the GW and BW frequency ranges, and I have arranged the instrument transmitters of the ew wireless channels in the A range and high up in the E range. Overall, I therefore have quite a large working range for the wireless transmission of audio signals, which is why I can easily use an alternative frequency if the situation at the performance venue requires it. I can cover all the artists’ performance areas without problems with two Sennheiser A 2003-UHF and two A 5000-CP antennas.’
Bertram Engel, also well-known as the drummer for Udo Lindenberg, relied on microphones from the Sennheiser portfolio for the tour. Using two kick drums: the 28-inch was miked with an e 902, an MD 421 and an e 901 condenser boundary plate microphone, while the 24-inch only had a Sennheiser e 902 and an e 901.
The snare was miked from above and below in order to pick up both the attack of the drumhead and the characteristic rustle of the snare carpet in all its nuances. This demanding task was mastered by two dynamic Sennheiser e 905 (cardioid). The small tom-toms were fitted with Sennheiser e 904, and the floor toms with Sennheiser e 902. For overhead miking, drum specialist Benjamin ‘Benji’ Johl used two dual-diaphragm MK 8 condenser microphones. Pre-polarised Sennheiser e 914 condenser microphones fitted with foam windshields were used for the two hi-hats.
The EW-DX EM 4 Dante receivers that were on the tour are the youngest member of the Sennheiser Evolution Wireless Digital family, characterised by easy operation and a variety of features such as Intelligent Switching Diversity, which ensures a stable audio connection without audible artefacts.
Latency, which is a factor inherent in all digital systems, is low at 1.9ms in EW-DX and is not perceivable in practical use. In EW-DX systems, the Sennheiser Performance Audio Codec (SePAC) ensures audio transparency from the capsule input to the signal output. The high dynamic range (134dB) of the transmitters, which are equipped with stacked A/D converters, allows them to be operated without the need to manually set the gain, which can be very helpful when local conditions continually change during long tours.
Thanks to a switching bandwidth of up to 88MHz, EW-DX can transmit up to 146 channels in Standard Mode (equidistant channel spacing of 600kHz) and up to 293 channels in Link Density Mode (LD, with 300kHz spacing) – intermodulation-free with secure AES 256 encryption. The operating time of the rechargeable battery packs is 12 hours, and up to eight hours of operation is possible with standard AA batteries. Depending on the RF environment, the transmitters achieve a range of up to 100m, which is sufficient even for large stages.
The EW-DX transmitters feature persistent, ‘always on’ displays on which the most important transmitter information remains visible even when switched off. In addition, the transmitters are equipped with a switchable low-cut filter (18dB/octave) to reduce noise. All transmitters have charging contacts and a built-in test tone generator.
The EW-DX receivers are equipped with an AutoScan feature that helps in finding the most suitable frequencies. The transmitters are synchronised using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which means that, in contrast to common infrared systems, no line of sight is required between the devices. The receivers are fitted with clearly legible OLED displays and have a selective headphone output with volume control, balanced XLR and unbalanced 6.3mm analogue outputs, and an RJ-45 socket for Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) operation and integration into control and monitoring networks. The DANTE versions have connections for the Audinate digital audio protocol.
Several software tools are available for operating and monitoring the transmission channels. Sennheiser Wireless Systems Manager (WSM) and Sennheiser Control Cockpit are network-based, although the WSM is an independent software tool while the Control Cockpit is browser-based. Firmware updates for receivers and transmitters are supported. A third software tool is the Sennheiser Smart Assist App for Android and iOS, which is already a familiar feature with the Sennheiser EW-D systems. Smart Assist communicates with the receiver via a Bluetooth connection and is particularly suitable for quickly setting up small systems when neither a computer nor a network is available.
In keeping with this farewell, the concerts were emotional and not without melancholy, both for Maffay and his fans who. Adding a special touch to the shows was US star Anastacia, whose latest album Our Songs covers German hits in English, including a duet with Maffay (‘So bist du’).
‘The fans love Peter Maffay, but they surely also understand that, after 55 years on stage, he wants to set new priorities in his life,’ says Sennheiser Relations Manager Thomas Holz. ‘With his We love Rock’n’Roll’ Farewell Tour, he had the opportunity to say a personal farewell to around 250,000 concertgoers throughout Germany and he provided them with unforgettable moments through his special selection of songs. I am pleased that Peter Maffay and his band put their trust in Sennheiser solutions for their big farewell tour, as they always have in the past.’
‘Whether it is as a rock star, the Tabaluga dragon creator or a social role model, we wish him all the very best for this new phase of his life and express our sincere gratitude for the live partnership with Sennheiser that has lasted for decades.’
I’m not saying farewell to music; it’s a farewell to touring and the big stages,’ says the 74-year-old musician. ‘I just have the feeling that enough is enough, and I want to spend more time with my family and friends. I neglected them too much in the past.’
More: www.sennheiser.com
