COMPANY PROFILE
DPA MICROPHONES | Doug Doppler
On the off chance you haven ’ t heard of DPA mics by name , you ’ ve definitely heard them being used by the likes of Jesus Culture ’ s Kim Walker-Smith and Elevation Worship drummer Luke Anderson . In the companion video to this feature , Kim and Luke share what they love about these mics , most notably their ability to capture and deliver the musical nuances that are integral to their respective styles . You ’ ll also hear from Church of the Highlands ’ Chris Griffin ( Worship Creative Director ), Jason Colburn ( Worship Project Manager and Broadcast Audio Engineer ), and Luke Vogel ( Lead Audio Engineer ). Highlands Worship is just about to release the Christmas extravaganza I watched them record using nearly 100 channels of DPA mics .
Outside of the worship world , DPA mics are used by influential artists as diverse as Sting and Metallica ’ s Lars Ulrich . They are also used by symphony orchestras as well as film and TV sets the world over . And herein lies what makes these mics so popular – they ’ re made to capture the essence of the sound source , sans color .
Matching vocalists and instrumentalists with the right mic is an essential part of capturing the nuance and hours of practice they bring to the worship experience . The same holds true for legibility for pastors and presenters . What makes these mics so unique is that where many mics add color , DPA mics accurately capture the essence of the sound source because of their flat response . And while the frequency response is refreshingly flat , the dynamic range is anything but . This enables you to capture the sound and energy of individuals and ensembles that make up a Sunday service , be it in the room or online .
As a general rule , small to medium sized churches tend to buy mics either based on urgency , a special retail offer , or the overly-
Companion Video
emphatic opinion of a sound tech . The resulting purchases tend to reflect a lack of a strategic plan for mic acquisitions , and the best laid plans are based upon key strategies . In the companion video I mention the following things to keep in mind when preparing to purchase a new mic . As you might imagine , DPA mics score high in all of these areas !
FLEXIBILITY For the bass demo I use the same mic that Sting uses in the studio to capture the nuances of his iconic voice . I can ’ t think of another mic I would even consider using on both these markedly different sounds sources .
ACCUARACY AND TRANSPARENCY Both are key to making sure that what goes in is what comes out . Many churches have a drawer full of budget mics that someone thought was a good idea to buy – that no one wants to use . You can only spend a dollar once , and that ’ s especially important when it comes to budgets based on people ’ s tithes .
EASE OF USE Whether it ’ s part of your Sunday service , live stream , or content creation workflow , given the number of volunteers we depend on , it ’ s ideal to
have mics that aren ’ t overly high maintenance , be it proximity to the sound source or due to poor frequency response .
BLEND Accurate mics placed properly will reveal the blend your worship team has so worked hard to create . Cheap vocal mics tend to sound muted and create additional problems when it comes to making their sound source sit properly in the mix . There is nothing more irritating than watching and waiting around while a sound tech EQ mics for ten minutes on a Sunday morning . Again , the right mic should accurately capture the sound source . The ‘ other problems ’ can get addressed with practice and in rehearsal . If someone has a truly bad vocal tone , perhaps they ought not be on the platform – even if they are related to the pastor . Just sayin ’!
VISUALLY INCOSPICUOUS Noting how well DPA is known in the TV and movie production worlds , it should come as no surprise that they are especially conscious of keeping their form factors small and unobtrusive .
Now that we ’ ve established the basis for overall awesomeness of these mics , let ’ s go over a few