DPA deployed on delayed Jonas Brothers tour
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Deployed primarily for percussion and vocals, the large collection of DPA mics on the tour included the 4011 Cardioid, 4099 Core Instrument and 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid microphones for drums and percussion, as well as the d:facto 4018V Vocal microphone for backup and the d:facto 4018VL Vocal microphone for Kevin Jonas.
“There’s a lot of mics; we use two 4011As for percussion overheads, above the cymbals and chimes, another as a direct source for shakers and tambourine, and a fourth on snare bottom on the drum kit,” explains Kooren. “Then, we have 4099s on high and low congas, the bongos, two toms and two timbales, and the 2011Cs on smaller trashcan-style snares. The d:factos for Kevin and backup are very natural sounding, with great-off axis rejection that decreases the bleed from other instruments on-stage compared to other mics we’ve used in the past.”
Originally implemented on the Jonas Brothers’ previous arena tour, the DPA’s were selected on recommendation from Kooren’s friend and fellow monitor engineer Eddie Caipo. “It started with the d:facto VL [for Nick Jonas], and those were great, and then I added the 4099s and we’ve just expanded from there,” Kooren says. “When we added the percussion section, I took the opportunity to fill in with some more of the DPA mics. We have a lot of open mics for percussion.
“It’s a big set up and the percussionist, Demien [Arriaga], has a lot of movement to the way he plays. So, it helps to have DPA to cover all those open mic’ing applications. The mics give us a crisp, clean, natural-sounding solution that can handle the high SPLs of percussion while still sounding exactly like the source with minimal EQing.”
The mics have proven essential at front-of-house as well. “They deliver a crystal clear and sonically neutral representation of the source,” says FOH Engineer Brian Pomp. “The mics stand up to the insane SPL that the artists deliver and, when EQing, I find that the DPAs are far less drastic than other mics in similar applications.”
As the tour wraps, the Jonas Brothers will soon head out on the road again on the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, which kicks off in Dallas on 30 November.
