Responsible for supplying the PA system for musical performances for Point Loma Nazarene University’s chapel services, music department concerts and other campus events, the PLNU Media Services Department has purchased a stereo pair of DPA d:vote 4099P Instrument Mics for piano miking.

With the school’s existing microphone options presenting problems – one set was failing and another did not fit under the lid of the grand piano – PLNU Media Supervisor Bryan Pridmore was confident that d:vote was the solution. Already in use at the church he attends, he reckoned that the mikes’ audio quality and miniature size would be a perfect fit for the university.

‘Our previous mics had a lot of hissing and buzzing, and were way past usable,’ he says ‘The DPA d:vote microphones are well isolated from vibration and highlight the quality sound of the instrument – they not only provides impressive audio reproduction, but also very good isolation and gain before feedback, especially when the piano lid is closed.’

An essential part of the school’s many jazz performances is a 12-ft Steinway grand – the Media Services department mics this instrument most frequently – where the size of the DPA d:vote mics enables Pridmore to keep them out of sight beneath the lid.

‘We had a solo pianist in recently who I fitted with the d:vote, and the performance highlighted just how phenomenal the microphone is,’ Pridmore reports. ‘He played the full range of the piano and the audience was not only able to hear and feel the music, but also got a true sense of the awe of the piano and the performer’s musical talents. We weren’t thinking about how the mic was picking up the sound, but rather about the music itself. The d:vote was completely transparent, and that is what I want in a microphone.’

While the DPA d:votes have proven to be an ideal pairing with the piano, Pridmore also relies on them for other instrumental performances: ‘When we’re not using the piano, the stereo pair of d:votes also enable me to separate the mics for other musicians on stage,’ he explains. ‘This is especially great for instances when a performer prefers to hear only the high-end audio through the monitor wedges. The low end also fills out the PA and makes the instruments sound full and big. The microphone has been really fantastic with subwoofers.’

Founded in 1902 in Pasadena, California, and offers more than 60 undergraduate areas of study and graduate programme regional centres in Bakersfield, Mission Valley and the Inland Empire.

More: www.dpamicrophones.com