Live sound engineer, sound designer and producer Dirk Schulz is encouraging all the singers he works with to use DPA d:facto Vocal Microphones. Based in South West Germany, Schulz is currently at FOH for Swedish band Mando Diao, who are undertaking a series of European showcase gigs to promote their new album, Good Times. ‘Right now I am in love with the d:facto Vocal Microphone for lead vocals,’ he says.

‘Lead singer Björn Dixgård switched to the d:facto Vocal Microphone last summer after we conducted a blind A/B test with another microphone to see which he preferred. He loved the microphone and was amazed by how natural and rich his voice sounded through his in-ear monitors.

‘What I really like is the smooth but precise studio quality sound the d:facto delivers on a big PA system. I find it much easier to place the vocals into the mix and it also makes my vocal effect chain sound much more detailed. I can even imagine using the d:facto in a studio recording situation where a vocalist might feel more comfortable singing into a handheld microphone. I am sure that it would deliver equally great results.’

Schulz is also working with singer Michael Patrick Kelly, and has moved him to a d:facto Vocal Microphone, too. ‘It works equally well for Michael, even though he has a very different voice with much higher range,’ Schulz says.

‘In my opinion this microphone is a game changer because it delivers a very smooth response at all frequencies, including off-axis. This means there is virtually no distortion – and any spill that the microphone does pick up is not overbearing, so it fits in well with the overall mix. Quite frankly, it is unlike anything I have ever heard before when it comes to a live vocal microphone.’

Alongside the d:facto Vocal Microphone, Schulz also uses d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphone to amplify musical instruments on stage: ‘I have used these microphones many times in the past and have always found them to be the most convincing sonic solution for classical string instruments in a live sound environment,’ he says.

‘The d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones sound very natural and precise to my ears. When Mando Diao was recording an MTV Unplugged session, we used d:vote 4099s on strings and acoustic guitar because we needed a microphone that wouldn’t pick up too much spill from the drums. The fact that these microphones can be positioned very close to the sound source makes them ideal on stage – and of course I trust them to deliver exceptional sound quality.’

Both d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones and a d:facto Vocal Microphone were recently used by Schulz to ensure perfect audio at Berlin’s Tempordrom where actor and director Matthias Schweighöfer was delivering his first ever concert as a solo musician. Best known for his film roles, Schweighöfer was appearing in Berlin to promote his début album, Lachen Weinen Tanzen. ‘The string section of about 20 musicians from the Babelsberger Film Orchestra were all amplified using DPA d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones,’ Schulz reports. ‘It was a really successful concert and thanks to DPA the strings sounded the way they should.’

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