Austrian violin/viola/trumpet player Nikolai Tunkowitsch has revised his approach to recording with DPA Microphones’ new pocket-sized d:vice MMA-A Digital Audio Interface and his iPhone, allowing him unprecedented freedom to capture musical ideas and make demos.

Aimed at content musicians, journalists and bloggers, the d:vice MMA Digital Audio Interface works with any iOS device, Mac or PC computer. ‘If you are really into saving space when traveling around, then the d:vice is great,’ Tunkowitsch says. ‘It is so small that it fits into my violin case and, apart from an extra microphone, I don’t need to carry any other equipment. It is also aesthetically really pleasing – I sometimes just open the box to look at it.’

Supplied by Austrian distributor Studer, Tunkowitsch’s d:vice has already proved invaluable as a field recorder, enabling him to capture an entire run through rehearsal for Wien ohne Wiener, a new project at the Volkstheater in Vienna. ‘As well as being a musician signed to Vienna’s Burgtheater and Volkstheater, I am also a member of the Musikbanda Franui and we play numerous concerts in German speaking countries,’ he explains. ‘Markus Kraler and Andreas Schett compose the music, which is taken from old masters like Brahms, Schubert and Bartok, but mixed up and turned upside down to create something very new and different.

‘The project we are doing at the Volkstheater Vienna involves six actors on stage and six musicians. I wanted to record the run through rehearsal as a document and to see where we might want to make changes. I used the d:vice with my phone and a d:dicate 4011 Cardioid Microphone. It was surprisingly easy to use and the recording was very good. The great thing about the d:vice is that you can record stereo audio – which is why I am buying another d:dicate 4011 – and combine it with the video camera on your phone to capture high-quality sound and pictures. If you want to overdub, connect the d:vice to a laptop or iPad so that you have a headphone jack.’

The son of a luthier and a violinist since the age of four, Tunkowitsch studied at the University of Arts and Music in Vienna and went on to play for the RSO (Radio Symphony Orchestra) Vienna. He now tackles contemporary as well as classical music and, alongside Musikbanda Franui, he also plays in a band called Neue Wiener Concert Schrammeln that mixes old Viennese music with new compositions and arrangements.

Tunkowitsch has long been using DPA’s d:vote 4099 instrument microphones to amplify the many instruments he plays, which include the violin, viola, guitar, trumpet and flugelhorn.

‘My decision to invest in a DPA microphone was taken ten years ago when I was looking for a close miking solution for my violin,’ he says. ‘It is not possible for me to use pickups – except on my electric violin – so, when I was advised to try the d:vote 4099, I was pleasantly surprised because it was exactly what I wanted.

‘I am now experimenting with delay and my Loopstation to bring my trumpet and flugelhorn on stage in combination with my “electric” violin – actually a normal classic violin with a Yamaha Violin Pickup mounted into the bridge. This will allow me to use my normal violin as the lead instrument. All of this is a job for my d:vote 4099s because they are very lightweight and very resistant to acoustic outside influences, making them the ideal microphone choice if I want to switch to different instruments during a live performance. They also give me the close miking I need for the loop station.’

While the d:vote 4099 is now Tunkowitsch’s standard mic for live performances, he also owns a d:dicate 4011 Cardioid Microphone that he uses for important gigs in large concert halls – for example the Konzerthaus Vienna, the Philharmonie in Köln or the State Opera Berlin.

‘I discovered the d:dicate 4011 when I was looking for a miking solution that allowed me to combine live and studio use,’ he says. ‘The 4011 with a MMP-G preamp mounted in a GSM Gooseneck Shock Mount is ideal for both scenarios because I can use a gooseneck to close mic my violin or I can change the preamp and use it on a mic stand for recording. The modular system is brilliant, and in combination with the sound quality it is awesome. The sound I get from this microphone is more natural than natural – what I hear while playing is exactly what I get on the recording.’

The next project on the horizon for Tunkowitsch is recording his new band that includes cello player Gabriel Hopfmüller, who also plays the tuba, piano player Helmut Stippich, who switches to the accordion; whistler Nikolaus Habjan and Tunkowitsch on violin.

‘I think DPA Microphones were born for that recording and I plan to use two d:dicate 4011s, a d:dicate 4006 Omnidirectional Microphone and a d:vote 4099 as backup,’ he says. ‘This setup will allow me to be very flexible and record high quality audio from almost any instrument, anywhere.’

He has also recently completed a CD for a Jazz play along book, which will be released in December 2017 by German publisher Schott Music. ‘I had help from Dorian Cenko at Studer Austria for that project,’ Tunkowitsch says. ‘Once again, it was recorded with DPA.’

More: www.dpamicrophones.com