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DPA Microphones Play Major Role in Portuguese Jazz Release

DPA Microphones’ Portuguese distributor AudioPro has played a major role in the recording of an album for Rodrigo Gonçalves one of Portugal¹s leading jazz pianists. The Lisbon-based company providing funding, technical knowledge and equipment, including a range of DPA microphones, for the sessions.

‘Tribology’, released on CD by Portuguese jazz label Capella Blue Series, was recorded at MB Studios in Oporto, in the North of Portugal. The recording was co-produced by the artist together with AudioPro co-owner and former sound engineer Paulo Ferreira, who supervised all technical aspects relating to the recording, with Gonçalves handling musical supervision.

"MB Studios is the country’s best commercial facility," says Ferreira. "It has lots of space and good acoustical characteristics. There is a large control room, a huge main recording area where the piano and saxophones were recorded, one live room where we put the drums, and two other rooms which we used for double bass and guitar. All of the rooms are visually connected which was fundamental given the characteristics of this type of music.

“After making many comparisons with other microphone brands, we ended up using DPA microphones for the entire recording. A pair of 4003 omni-directional mics were used as overhead drum mics because of the brightness of the room, complemented by a 4007 hi-SPL omni for the bass drum and a pair of 4012 cardioids which were used sparingly to emphasise the toms.”

The double bass was initially miked with an expensive large diaphragm mic, the typical setup for the studio owner - an experienced producer and musician - and the bass player was quite happy with its sound. Nevertheless, Ferreira placed a 4061 miniature mic under the bridge using DPA’s microphone holder for strings. Initially, possibly because of the mic¹s small size and the proximity of its positioning, he wasn¹t very happy with the idea. However Ferreira reassured him that it was just an experiment and the microphone to be used would be the large diaphragm one ... until he’d listened to both. "It was with a mix of disbelief and amazement that he wrote down the DPA microphone’s references," says Ferreira.

A similar situation happened with the guitarist. "I was instructed by Mário Delgado, a versatile and knowledgeable musician, and the best guitar player in Portugal, to use a certain pair of mics in front of the two cabinets," Ferreira goes on to explain. "The studio owner prepared these mics and respective stands while I hung a 4061 miniature in front of each speaker. After we’d let him listen to the two alternatives, not only did he select the 4061s over the mics he’d initially chosen, he’s adopted them as his first choice when recording and is planning to buy some for himself."

The piano was miked with a pair of 4041 omnis. Owing to the proximity of the two saxophonists - Perico Sambeat playing sax alto and Mark Turner on sax - Ferreira placed the mics slightly closer than he normally would, around one meter from the hammers.

Following tests made with seven different brands of microphones, the DPA 4006 omni stood out as a clear winner for the saxophones. "This was absolutely unanimous, and chosen for its open, clear and powerful sound," says Ferreira. "These leading jazz musicians play music which can, at times, be very delicate or really energetic, and the fact they never do more than two or three takes means there¹s little margin for error. With DPA you can't go wrong. The sound of the mics is superb - open and crystal clear. Every detail is captured and with the dynamic range they guarantee, you can relax on sessions such as these. And this recording has definitely contributed to further DPA sales for AudioPro. As we own the original recordings, they make first class material to demonstrate the excellence of the microphones."

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DPA Microphones Play Major Role in Portuguese Jazz Release

16th August 2004

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