Katy Perry relies on DPA for California Dreams tour
Published: ASIA
ASIA: DPA Microphones’ 4088 cardioid headset microphones were recently used for Katy Perry’s California Dreams tour, which last week went to Jakarta, Indonesia and Pasay, Philippines.
‘When selecting a microphone, I wanted something that would provide a well-balanced, open and airy sound for Katy,’ said FOH engineer, Peter Keppler. ‘She's a strong singer with a great voice and I thought finding a good headset mic would be a challenge. But from the moment we tried the DPA 4088, I knew the sound was no longer going to be a problem.’
For one segment in the show, Ms Perry ‘flies’ over the crowd, and during this performance, she is in front of the main PA, which Mr Keppler highlights can be a ‘potentially disastrous sonic scenario’ regarding feedback.
‘The off axis rejection performance of the DPA was a lot better than anything else I'd ever heard,’ he said. ‘All the headset mics I'd previously used sounded very unnatural – either muffled or very thin and boxy – and feedback problems were terrible. The DPA 4088 solved all of these issues,’ he asserted.
‘Her audience shows her a lot of appreciation, and they get especially loud when she flies over the crowd during the quietest song in the show. The DPA 4088 has come through time and time again when I really needed to get Katy’s voice above the level of the audience. The gain before feedback is excellent,’ he enthused.
Mr Keppler stated that Ms Perry uses the DPA 4088 exclusively as her headset vocal microphone, and it is said to be particularly useful during a performance where she changes her outfit seven times during a song. ‘Since these actions would be impossible with a handheld, I needed a robust headset system and selected the DPA 4088 because it could withstand the abuse, while allowing her the freedom to move about the stage,’ he said. ‘For Katy, the requirements were that the mic sounded great and was as small, lightweight and inconspicuous as possible. We selected the beige-coloured version so it’s even less noticeable when she wears it.’
Mr Keppler also used an Avid Profile console and stage package with an active XTA splitter, along with full- and multi-band compression plugins for Ms Perry’s voice.
‘The 4088 has held up amazingly well,’ Mr Keppler concluded. ‘Sonically, it always delivers. The hardware and wiring are both surprisingly robust, especially considering the abuse they take on a nightly basis.’