Amber Technology Blog

April 2017 marks an auspicious moment in Amber Technology history with the 30th anniversary of our opening in April 1987.

DPA d:vote™ Instrument Microphones Deliver Big, Beautiful Sound in a Small, Easily Hidden Package

For over the last five decades, Al Schmitt, accomplished engineer and producer, has worked closely with an incredible list of music royalty including Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Paul McCartney and Michael Bublé. For Schmitt, equipment selection is a critical component to the success of his projects. When he had a chance to try out DPA Microphones’ d:vote™ 4099P Instrument Microphone for Piano, the results were nothing short of spectacular.

Sound engineer Tom Meyer turned to DPA when Norwegian folk artist, Pål Moddi Knutsen asked him to mic up an old Philips cassette player that played a key role in two of his songs.

“When Moddi turned up with the cassette player I was a bit surprised,” explains Meyer, who runs TM Tour Productions in Bardu, North Norway. “My solution was to use a DPA d:screet™ 4060 Omnidirectional Microphone so that we could get the best possible sound and still keep the stage tidy and free from unwanted mic stands. Moddi never uses monitors, so we had more than enough headroom for the PA. We used a DPA Universal Surface Mount to position the microphone on top of the cassette player so that we could capture sound from the internal speaker. It worked really well and allowed us to incorporate the cassette player into his live performance.”

d:facto™, d:screet™ and d:vote™ Microphones deliver natural, transparent sound

As audio consultant and sound mixer for the popular PBS series, Live From Lincoln Center, Paul Bevan is given the enviable task of capturing the amazing live audio of some of the world’s greatest performing artists in concert. As a specialist in mixing and amplifying orchestras in large venues, Bevan understands the need to use microphones that capture the natural sound of the instruments. In order to achieve that sound, he relies on a selection of DPA Microphones for his amplification needs.

The range of clip mounts available for d:vote™ Instrument Microphones makes it easy for Skratt to amplify unusual instruments like bagpipes and the hurdy-gurdy.

After experimenting with a number of different microphones, Belgian folk group Skratt has opted for DPA’s d:vote™ Instrument Microphones to capture the sound of a variety of unusual instruments, including accordion, bagpipes and nyckelharpa.

When sound recordist David Kamp was putting together audio for a new sound library collection entitled Insects & Swarms, DPA’s d:screet™ 4060 Miniature Microphones proved the perfect choice for capturing the sound of thousands and thousands of flies, bees, mosquitos and locusts , both individually and in swarms.

When a sound professional's equipment has a problem, and there's sessions booked in the studio, technical support is a vital part of the product mix. We recently received some feedback about the technical support Amber Technology can supply in partnership with our brand suppliers, from one of our Professional Products customers, Dr Stuart James, (Producer/Engineer at The Soundfield Studio; Lecturer in Music Composition and Sound Design at West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University; Pianist/Percussionist/Programmer/Electronics at Decibel New Music).