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Leading Cellist Chooses DPA Microphones
Uitti, who has pioneered a transformation of the cello into a polyphonic instrument by using two bows in one hand, has spent many years amplifying a beautiful old Italian cello. Over this time she has experienced a great deal of difficulty in replicating the cello’s complex overtones.
"Often the instrument came out boomy on the lower strings, or nasal and sharp on the A string," she says. "Many of the well known high quality microphones weren’t suitable for high volume concerts and had feedback problems, while the smaller ones mounted on stalks near to the cello body produced a metallic nasty sound."
Salvation was at hand when Uitti was introduced to a DPA 4022 compact cardioid microphone by composer and soundman Ean White while on a residency at Harvard University in 2004. "Not only could it withstand the feedback dangers of an extremely loud composition with monitors nearby, it was a faithful representation of my cello’s gorgeous voice," she says. "This was a revelation, as was the mic mount which fits on the strings near the tuners and holds the mic in a flexible rubber holder which eliminates all external vibrations. As the holder is clamped on the strings there is no danger of damaging the varnish on the instrument."
Ever since, Uitti has come to rely on DPA microphones for amplification in concerts and for recording in situations where feedback is a problem. Having purchased the DPA 4023 she has used it to record the amplified cello concerto of Dutch composer Willem Jeths. During April she will again be using it for the German television recording of Visconti’s Fall of the Gods, at a festival in Tashkent and for a concert tour through Russia. Uitti will also use it for her work with composer David Wessel at CNMAT, a music facility which is part of UC Berkeley.
Apart from her classical work, Uitti is also active in the electronic music scene, working with artists such as Joel Ryan, Mark Dresser, Michel Waisvicz and Elliott Sharpe. "This means volume!" she says. "The DPA blends these twin needs of function and highest quality to perfection.
30th March 2005
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