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Live Sound

Madix Bangs the Drum for DPA

Diablo Digital co-founder and FOH engineer Brad Madix relies on a range of DPA microphones to help deliver pristine percussion to audiences.

Orinda, CA (September 3, 2019)—In his role as live FOH engineer for Florence + The Machine, Brad Madix relies on a range of DPA microphones to help deliver pristine percussion to audiences. For instance, he depends on the company’s 4099 instrument microphone for the drum kit. The brand’s 2011C compact twin diaphragm cardioid mic for overheads pick up the sound from the band’s various percussion instruments including cowbells, cymbals and a wood block. He also positions a pair of 2011Cs above the drum kit.

“The integration of these two solutions from DPA provides such a clear, natural sound,” says Madix. “There is a great transient response on the drum kit. It’s really amazing the way the mics pick up each beat of the sticks against the drum rather than mashing it all together, which has been an issue with other microphones. The rigidity of the 4099s and their ability to be easily adjusted makes them the ideal solution for large tours and live performances.”

Madix is also a co-founder of Diablo Digital, which provides turnkey live recording systems and services for concert, touring, festival, installation and broadcast applications.

Solving the Devil’s Dilemma: Road Recording, by Steve Harvey, Sep. 14, 2015

In addition to the live sound applications, Madix uses DPA’s 5100 mobile surround microphone for live recordings. “The 5100 mobile surround mic is great for seamlessly picking up both ambiance and audience—it takes care of everything,” he continues. “On the recording side, we have to be aware of all sounds being picked up, whether it’s the audience yelling or the sound of the room, and the 5100 captures it all really well.”

Madix was introduced to DPA’s 4099 instrument microphones while working with Linkin Park during rehearsals. “We had already chosen other mics for the drums, which was unfortunate because, when we tried DPA for the recording and compared it to the recording from the other microphones, DPA definitely sounded better,” he explains. “That’s when I knew that on all future tours, I would rely on DPA. I was able to replace all the overheads with DPAs 2011Cs for the Linkin Park tour, so that helped improve the sound quality a great deal.”

DPA Microphones • www.dpamicrophones.com

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