No room for failure: keeping SXSW's British Music Embassy on air

At SXSW, a monitor engineer has almost no margin for error. Stages run back to back. Artists arrive with different needs and no time for lengthy sound checks. Downtown Austin's dense radio-frequency environment compounds the pressure, with multiple stages operating simultaneously in tight proximity. For Steve Davies, monitor engineer and managing director of Subfrantic, those conditions demanded systems he could trust from the first changeover to the last. 

Davies came to this year's British Music Embassy (BME) showcase with nearly two decades of experience using DPA Microphones products. He welcomed the opportunity to put both DPA and Wisycom solutions through the unrelenting pace of the festival's real-world demands—two stages running at once, multiple wireless microphone channels and in-ear monitor (IEM) mixes all happening at the same time. 

"There were a lot of challenges in central Austin, especially as we were running two stages in very close proximity with multiple sets of radio mics and IEMs happening simultaneously," says Davies. "Using the DPA N-Series and Wisycom IEM system in that environment was fantastic; it really showed how solid and reliable they are."

Cutting through the RF chaos 

For wireless microphone performance, the N-Series Digital Wireless Mic System became a quiet constant in Davies's workflow. What stood out was not just its sound quality, but its consistency from channel to channel—something that mattered enormously when the schedule allowed little time to troubleshoot or adjust. 

"It was very easy to use, and it sounded great. The uniformity of sound across different channels was exactly what I wanted," he says. "There are many great radio mic systems on the market at the moment, and I would say N-Series is right up there in terms of sonic performance. This was further aided by the DPA microphone capsules it was designed to work with."

No dropouts, no drama

Alongside the wireless microphone system, Davies relied on the Wisycom MPR50 IEM Receiver to manage monitoring across the showcase. In an environment where a single dropout can unsettle a performance, the system gave him nothing to worry about. 

"We experienced no dropouts," Davies adds. "They were solid and reliable, and they sounded great." 

While DPA Microphones regional sales manager Nick Mariano handled setup and frequency coordination, the ease of operation the systems offered translated directly into confidence for Davies and his team. "From our end, the DPA N-Series and Wisycom IEM solutions were easy to use and gave us confidence throughout the event," he continues. "That level of reliability and ease of operation is exactly what you want in a festival environment like SXSW."

Ready for the curveballs

At a showcase with as many artists as the BME, not every performance arrives neatly packaged. Davies needed a microphone toolkit flexible enough to handle whatever came next—and the DLK4002 Live Microphone Kit gave him exactly that.

"At the BME, there are so many artists performing that there are always a few curveballs thrown at us," says Davies. "Having the DLK4002 kit meant that nothing took us by surprise. The wide variety of mics and especially the mounting options for the 4099 Instrument Microphone gave us the tools we needed to make sure everything was handled with ease."

Feedback under control on small, loud stages

Festival vocal microphones face a particular challenge: small stages and high volumes make feedback an ever-present threat. Throughout the week, the 2024 Vocal Microphone held its ground night after night—and delivered a result Davies had not fully anticipated.

"DPA has built its reputation on the dependability and uniformity of their sound quality," he says. "It's what I expected to walk into and it's exactly what I got. On small, loud festival stages, feedback can feel like a lurking disaster, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the feedback rejection on some of the newer vocal mics though—the 2024s were spot on.

"The uniformity of each capsule meant I had to do very little with the EQ to get the vocals loud and clear. That consistency makes a massive difference when you're moving that quickly. We are very grateful to DPA and Nick for their help and support this year."

BME production director Ant Forbes watched the week from a wider vantage point. The showcase had previously worked with other microphone partners, but the move to DPA Microphones marked a shift in what the production team expected. "We were very excited to work with DPA this year," he says. "They truly excelled in every department."