Rivera, together with Monitor Engineer Eric Ramey, currently uses DPA
d:vote™ 4099D Instrument Microphones for Drum and
d:dicate™ 2011C Cardioid Microphones to mic the full percussion section, which includes the toms, snare, timbals, congas, djembe and bongos. “The first time that we used the d:vote™ 4099Ds, we immediately noticed that the off-axis sound rejection didn’t sacrifice the audio quality of what was directly in front of the mic,” says Rivera. “We were able to hear clarity and definition in the drum and percussion section both at the front of house and on stage. We only use the high-pass filter, and still enjoy the natural sound of the instrument. The d:dicate™ 2011Cs are placed as overheads for the timbals and fully complement the sound from the d:vote™ 4099Ds.”
According to Rivera, the DPA mics have also eliminated clutter, making the production crew very happy. “In switching to the d:vote™ 4099Ds, we eliminated twenty microphone stands and one microphone pelican. This cleans up the stage, cuts down on setup time and ultimately lowers the weight and case count when traveling around the world.”