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Rihanna Circles the Globe with Sennheiser
It’s been a busy year for Rihanna. The Barbados-born R&B singer climbed to the top of charts around the world with her global hit, ‘Umbrella’, and picked up two MTV Video Music Awards, plus an MTV Europe Music Award, for the song and its accompanying video.
Her success inspired a totally new live show, both artistically and technically, with the addition of a new band and the adoption of Sennheiser evolution wireless G2 personal monitoring systems and a Sennheiser SKM 5200 wireless handheld mic outfitted with an MD 5235 capsule.
“That microphone she sings on is fantastic,” enthuses Rihanna’s monitor engineer, Ricky ‘Bongos’ Galecki. “It’s one of the best mics I’ve ever heard in my life.”
The combination of Sennheiser handheld transmitter and capsule is perfectly suited to Rihanna’s current show, which features the singer fronting a full-on rock band and dancers.
“It works really well,” reckons front-of-house engineer Davie Kirkwood, who has over 30 years of experience working with names like Joss Stone, Jewel, Mötley Crüe, Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones. “Rihanna is dancing a lot, but then at one point sits down and sings a couple of ballads positioned four feet from the drums. The MD 5235 capsule handles everything.”
Until this year Rihanna was used to singing to a track rather than a live band, so it was important to quickly establish continuity in terms of her monitor mix.
“She’s used to just having a DJ,” continues Galecki. “The idea was to try and make the transition as easy as possible and make it sound as much like a CD in her ears as we could. The Sennheiser evolution wireless G2 personal monitors did the trick and she loves them and the mix!”
Rihanna has been all over the world this year in support of her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, with performances in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. Galecki reports that the Sennheiser wireless products have been rock-solid and exceptionally easy to operate.
“Sennheiser is way ahead of the game with their wireless technology,” he explains. “Changing the frequencies on the body-packs and the microphones is very, very easy, and really quick — it’s just one button.
“The band’s evolution 900 Series mics are quite robust,” he reveals. “Those e904 dynamic drum mics are incredibly durable. The drummer is one of the hardest hitters around. He goes through a snare drum head and breaks about six sticks every show. He’s whacked those mics a couple of times and they’re still going strong.”
Plus, notes Galecki, the e914 condenser microphones on the hi-hat and overheads present a distinct advantage over some competing products, offering three-position switching of sensitivity and bass roll-off.
“They’re awesome,” he explains. “They have the switches on them and you can dial them in.”
Galecki has discovered another advantage to using Sennheiser equipment with Rihanna, who performs with a troupe of four dancers, as well as two background singers, who both use evolution wireless handheld mics with MMD 945 super-cardioid dynamic capsules.
“The singers also dance, and they’re all over the stage. The personal monitor packs are really small — nobody else has a small pack like that — and they clip on really tight. These Sennheiser packs stay on, and we can hide them easily.”
In picture: 2007’s hottest newcomer, Rihanna, uses a Sennheiser SKM 5200 wireless microphone with an MD 5235 capsule for her colourful “Good Girl Gone Bad” world tour. Photo: Getty Images.
6th December 2007
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