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Sennheiser MKE 1 Propels Les Misérables to New Heights
Directed by Frédéric Dubois and staged in the recently renovated Capitol Theatre, Quebec City's new production of Les Misérables has broken new ground in terms of its simple and direct staging, and audio quality. With 32 live microphones on stage, the new Sennheiser MKE 1 lavaliere mic proved tobe an invaluable asset.
Richard Lachance, Vice-President of International Development at Solotech, oversaw audio production and managed the selection of the required clip-on microphones and wireless systems for the show.
"One of the main sound challenges for Les Mis was that the audio had to be 5dB to 6dB louder than the average Broadway-type show," he explained, "resulting in an average level of 88 dB to 90 dB SPL. And for such a small theatre like the Capitole de Québec, this was a real challenge. So, we turned to Sennheiser and their latest innovation, the MKE 1 lavaliere microphone. Due to their super-small size, we were able to attach the MKE 1 directly onto performers' cheeks with make-up and skin tape, resulting in excellent gain before feedback.
"With a cast covering a wide range of ages along with different singing and speaking styles, the microphone had to showcase these differences. The actors could not all sound the same. The MKE 1 did a beautiful job of rendering these subtle shades and characterizations. The sound was just crystal-clear. Musicians and critics alike paid notice. The entire production was performed in French and the intelligibility was a hundred percent. You could hear every word, every nuance."
In addition, the combination of the mic's miniature size, make-up and skin tape made them virtually invisible to the audience. And despite the considerable potential for the microphones to sweat out in the demanding conditions posed by Les Misérables, especially by the intense lighting system, Lachance was impressed with the MKE 1's imperviousness to moisture.
"We didn't lose a single microphone to moisture even through many weeks of performances," he insisted. "You always hope to get a certain number of performances out of a lav before replacement. To date, the MKE 1s have 'out sweat' other brands and are still going strong!
"We knew we had a winner with the MKE 1 during the joint Montréal/Quebec rock opera production of Starmania earlier this year, so we placed our order for 40 pieces to be used for Les Mis. We used the new microphone with Sennheiser SK 5212 transmitters and EM 3732 receivers. Simply put, it is a fantastic microphone and an outstanding, rock-solid wireless system. I honestly believe the MKE 1 to be the most interesting engineering breakthrough for the audio market in 2008. It sounds crystal-clear and natural, just like un-amplified opera singers but louder. Nobody could believe how clean and present the sound was, including the musicians."
The Sennheiser MKE 1 omni-directional lavaliere microphone features an ultra-small 3.3 mm diameter capsule with a flexible, moulded cable. Frequency response is 20 to 20 kHz (±2.5 dB), with a sensitivity of 5 mV/Pa and an A-weighted self-noise of 27 dB. The MKE 1 is fitted with a three-pin special plug for the SK 5212, SK 5012, SK 250, SK 50 and SK 3063 bodypack transmitters or available in a version with unterminated cable.
16th September 2008
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