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DPA at the Edinburgh Tattoo

In recent years DPA microphones have a played a key part in delivering great sound at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and 2018’s performances were no exception. Sound designer Sebastian Frost, specified a vast selection of d:vote™ 4099 Instrument Microphones, d:screet™ 4061 Miniature Microphones and d:fine™ 4066 Headset Microphones incorporating the new CORE by DPA amplifier technology. In total, more than 110 DPA microphones were deployed across the show.

“My main task is to amplify lots of different elements and not just the musicians,” Sebastian says. “It’s all about time management and making sure that all the sounds produced by the various performers in different locations (marching, choir stage, moat stage, castle ramparts) arrive at each audience member’s ears at the correct time. Getting all those performers to play at the same time, even though they can be 100 meters apart, is complex. There are up to 1300 performers taking part in the Tattoo, and we need to mic up a few hundred of them at various points in the show.”

Sound equipment for the show was supplied by Wigwam Acoustics, which has been supporting this event for many years.For the Tattoo, Frost used d:vote CORE 4099 Instrument Microphones for all the stringed instruments including a 40-piece fiddle group and 18 piece string orchestra.

“They are perfect for strings and the clips are so easy to use,” he says. “The bulk of the radio mic capsules are d:screet 4061s, while for the choirs we used d:fine 4066 Headset Microphones, which have long been my first choice as a headset. I used the omnidirectional version because the cardioid mics were too sensitive in the wind, plus I love the open sound of the new d:fine CORE 4066 microphones. All of our mics have to be durable because they get very rough handling in all weather conditions – shows never get cancelled so the mics have to go out regardless of the weather.”

With the Tattoo over for another year, Sebastian Frost is getting ready for a new project in Macau and preparing to take ‘The Last Ship’ to Toronto in the New Year. As ever, DPA will play a key role in both of these productions.
 
 

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