One thing that didn’t change between Williams’ headline tour and the Drive-In Tour was his use of the DPA
d:facto™ 4018 VL Vocal Microphone. “What I really love about the 4018 is that I don't have to process it nearly as much to get the tone that Zach is looking for,” adds Brannock. “It has great low-mid detail, but it doesn’t sound muddy; you get all the nuances of the vocal without having to add in a bunch of high frequency. Zach is also very dynamic. He wants to be able to hear all the breathy details and the d:facto™ just naturally has that clarity. I don’t find myself cutting or adding frequencies the way I did with other microphones.”
In addition to the
d:facto™ 4018 VL, the Williams team also selected the company’s new
2028 Vocal Microphone for background vocals. “The thing that I notice at FOH, and what I like most about both of the mics, is that there is a very similar perceived tonal response across different SPLs,” says Matthew Floyd, production manager and front of house engineer for Zach Williams. “Whether our guys are getting louder or softer, the frequency response doesn’t change much, and that gives me more freedom to create. Zach likes that the mic sounds similar to a large diaphragm condenser and it gives him the feeling of being back in the studio. DPA has the detail in the low- and mid-range, which any other microphone would kind of blur and smother. He connects better emotionally when he can hear his voice well in his monitor. He can get all of that growl and grit that’s naturally in his vocal and he can hear all these little details. It gives me a really easy time at front of house, too.”