“DPA microphones provide a fantastic balance of sonic excellence with practical, physical utility. Many of the DPA miniature microphones occupy a unique place in the audio industry, being so small and versatile while still maintaining excellent sonic quality.”
Audio Engineer/Designer Jody Elff recently wrapped up a world tour with The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma, which formed under the artistic direction of renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 2000.
The Silk Road Ensemble brings distinguished performers and composers from more than 20 countries together, to explore contemporary multicultural musical crossroads, creating an international musical journey.
A long-time user of DPA Microphones, Elff included an input list of 13 DPA mics on all the strings, as well as on a gaita, shakuhachi, sheng, pipa and piano.
“A great example where DPA microphones excelled was for miking the shakuhachi - a Japanese bamboo flute with The Silk Road Ensemble,” says Elff. “Our shakuhachi player travels with several instruments for playing in different keys and will sometimes even switch instruments in the middle of one piece. Playing the shakuhachi is a physically dynamic act, so the performer is in motion while he is playing. If I were to use a conventional stand-mounted mic, either the performer would have to modify his playing style to stay on-axis of the microphone or I would lose his instrument as he moved in and out of the pickup pattern of the mic, neither of which is desirable. By putting a DPA d:fine™ 4088 Directional Headset Microphone on the performer, he is able to switch instruments freely and move comfortably during his performance and I always have an excellent sounding mic in a perfect position.”
There is an added benefit also, when the arm of the headset mic is placed on the upstage side of the player’s head, the microphone is virtually invisible to the audience.
“One of the greatest advantages of DPA mics, aside from their fidelity, is that they are nearly invisible from the audiences point of view,” adds Elff. “This allows the audience to enjoy the music rather than be distracted by the technology, and frees the artist from feeling “trapped” by a physical relationship to a microphone on a stand. For a live performance situation this is enormously liberating.”
Elff relies on a selection of DPA microphones as part of his day-to-day operations, including the d:screet™ 4061 Omnidirectional Microphone, d:vote™ Instrument Microphone, d:fine™ 4088 Directional Headset Microphone, d:fine™ 4066 Omnidirectional Headset Microphone and d:dicate™ 4006 for a variety of applications, including studio recording, field recording and concert reinforcement.
Elff works frequently with artists who bridge the worlds of classical and modern/commercial music — such as The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma. They have two GRAMMY nominations - Best World Music Album for "Sing Me Home" and Best Music Film for The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble . You can check out a preview of the music film documentary here.
All photographs © Max Whittaker. Supplied by DPA Microphones
