Says guitarist and composer Massimo Stefanizzi in a letter to DPA Microphones:
The gorgeous sound of my ten-string guitar was never captured better before!
Besides sheer musical production, recording means for me the opportunity to verify my work. As classical musician I have to practise and record almost every day. After a recording session I always have to face myself and listen to what I’ve really done, or better what has gone on the tape. Has the ‘vibrato’ the amount I wanted? Has the ‘legato’ the effect that I was searching for? Should I put more energy in the trills?... and so on.
In my career I have learned to require the very best recording devices and to trust only my ears, not the opinion of the engineers or producers. I have also noticed that once the signal has passed through the microphones NOTHING can restore it. Actually, I think that the decisive factor for a recording studio is its ability to convey and fix on the tape the subtle nuances an acoustic instrument can produce. When I listen to new recordings now I discover that they sound more and more like real music, not mere reproduction.
Unlike other omnis that I’ve used, the A-B set-up with 4006 – at any distance – can fully reproduce the warmth and width of my instrument with its assortment of accents and fine shades. I think that a microphone should not add any coloration to the sound: it’s a musician’s duty - NOT the mic’s duty - to shape the timbre of his instrument. The 4006 is very neutral, therefore it does a very good job.
4006-TLX
With this upgrade the accuracy, dynamic and transparency of the 4006s have definitely reached a higher degree. The noise level has reduced, maybe because the preamplifier (Millennia HV-3C) is not so stressed as before. The detail, so impressive, and the absolute lack of coloration are now better conditions to get nearer my aims. After all, a recording chain is like a white canvas for a painter: there he can convey his ideas without any preordered corruption. No other surface is more adequate to express his inner landscape.
Acoustic Pressure Equalizers
The APEs are something different. For me, it is a very useful tool in order to recall suggestion of time and space. Sometimes I use it according to different musical styles. I call it “the time-machine” E.g., for baroque I like to use the L30B, for romantic age the L50B. The L40B?... in all honesty I don’t know maybe with more experience I’ll figure out. The Nose Cone seems to be a great device too, but I didn’t have time to test it in-depth.
Special thanks to the austrian agent Mr. Reinhold Fliedl, for his thoughtful advice. The people at STUDER Austria are very skillful and friendly. Also the Microphone University is a great help: I have learned so much from it.
Visit Massimo's website:www.massimostefanizzi.comPhotos by: Maria Sturm,
Sturm FotoDesign