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Alex (left) and Stephen (right) Kendrick, on the set of Fireproof |
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In this edition of Church Production Magazine Online Update, we speak with Stephen Kendrick at Sherwood Baptist Church. Stephen co-wrote Fireproof with his brother Alex, and is the producer for the movie. Stephen provides some fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpses into how Sherwood Baptist has progressed from producing their first locally-shown movie Flywheel, through the nationally shown Facing the Giants, to the movie Fireproof, that debuted in over800 theaters nationwide on September 26th.
www.fireproofthemovie.com | www.fireproofmymarriage.com
Technical support for this Podcast courtesy of D&M Professional (www.d-mpro.com), Audio-Technica (www.audio-technica.com) and Blue Sky (www.abluesky.com).
Evolution Wireless Supports the Growth of Lake Pointe Church
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Lake Pointe Church now serves three satellite campuses as well as its 5,000-seat facility in Rockwall, Texas. One of pastor Wes Harley's strong beliefs is in the reliability and superior performance of Sennheiser's cost-effective, evolution 100 wireless systems and 300 Series IEMs. |
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Lake Pointe Church was established in the late 1970s in the outskirts of Dallas when seven families gathered together in an abandoned bait shop to hold a worship service. With friends inviting friends and neighbors inviting neighbors over the decades that followed, the church has grown into what some would consider a mega-church. Lake Pointe Church now serves three satellite campuses within a half hour's drive of its main Rockwall campus, which seats 5,000.
It was in the 200-seat children's room on the Rockwall campus where media pastor Wes Hartley struggled to find a cost-effective, yet reliable, wireless microphone system that could be successfully run by an all-volunteer staff of technicians. His quest proved challenging because the walls and ceiling are full of metal and many of the adjacent rooms also use wireless systems.
"We could test things all week long, but when the weekend rolled around and everything in the building was live, the mics in that room would inevitably cut out," Hartley reported. "The poor volunteers had no way to troubleshoot the problem and so they'd have to put the mics down and yell. Worse, they'd often leave the faders up so you'd have someone yelling from the stage and hits coming over the PA. It was truly ugly." Perhaps even worse, it was demoralizing for the members who volunteered their time and energy to make the children's service special.
Because of budgetary constraints, Hartley was forced to try inexpensive wireless systems for the children's room. They suffered through the entry-level systems of three manufacturers before Hartley stumbled upon Sennheiser's cost-effective evolution series of wireless mics. "I remember thinking, 'it's really bad right now so we've got nothing to lose,'" he laughed. "Having been burned three times previous I was pretty pessimistic."
To Hartley's surprise, however, the new system was, in his words, "so stable it was ridiculous." To the dedicated group of volunteers who ran them, the new mics worked like they were supposed to (surprise!) and, importantly, rewarded, instead of frustrated, their efforts with consistently clear audio. With that good experience, Hartley started specifying Sennheiser evolution microphones and personal monitors whenever the church built a new room.
To date, twenty-five Sennheiser ew 100 G2 series systems, four ew 300 G2 series systems, eight ew 500 G2 series systems, and eight ew 300 IEM G2 personal monitors deliver solid wireless performance throughout the Rockwall campus. In addition, several Sennheiser handheld transmitters pepper the campus for musical performances, while Sennheiser lavalieres are used for spoken word, as well as for violins. The satellite campuses boast nearly another thirty Sennheiser wireless channels between them.
Hartley also travels a great deal on behalf of Lake Pointe and has come to rely on ten channels of Sennheiser ENG wireless camera mics for bulletproof performance under any circumstance.
"My favorite wireless moment involved a shoot we were doing in New York City," Hartley recalled. "I was shooting my pastor near the Apple store kitty-corner from where CBS morning news was shooting. They had the lights, the crowds, everything. I powered on my Sennheiser ENG system and without touching anything we were up and running. I remember thinking, 'I bet those CBS people worked their tails off to find open frequencies in the middle of New York!' That was a very nice moment!"
With the impending February 2009 frequency sell-off, Hartley is confident that he'll enjoy continued flexibility and agility with Sennheiser products, despite the impending restrictions. By mid-fall 2008, he will have switched all of its remaining ninety-five wireless channels in twenty rooms throughout the Lake Pointe Church campuses to Sennheiser products.
For more information, please visit www.sennheiserusa.com
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Aviom: Six Years of Digital Audio Networking Technologies
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Eagle Brook Church, Spring Lake Park |
This month marks six years since Aviom shipped its first Personal Mixers, the monitor mixing solution that has become the industry standard. With its A-16II and A-16R Personal Mixers, Aviom revolutionized monitor mixing in houses of worship and profoundly changed the worship experience.
SIMFLEXIDELIBILITY: The Power of A-Net
The same technology and design philosophy that has made the Personal Mixers the choice of churches and performers around the world also powers Aviom's digital snakes and audio networks. A-Net, Aviom's digital audio transport protocol, was designed to SIMPLIFY connectivity and streamline production with an unprecedented combination of FLEXIBILITY, FIDELITY, and RELIABILITY.
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A-16II Personal Mixer |
Aviom is the personal mixing solution of choice because it is so easy to use and still so powerful. With plug-and-play connectivity that's uniquely scalable and reconfigurable, designing, installing, and using an Aviom digital snake is just as simple-even as a church's needs change over time.
When Eagle Brook Church renovated an existing building for its third campus at Spring Lake Park in Minnesota, they chose Aviom as the backbone for the audio system. The church uses two Pro64 6416Y2 A-Net Interface Cards to network audio between its sanctuary and its video broadcast room. They also use Aviom's Pro16 Y1 cards as part of a 48-channel digital snake between the stage and the front-of-house mix position with a Personal Mixer system on stage.
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6416Y2 A-Net Interface Card |
Many churches today are considering making their core signal pathway a digital snake. But many digital systems offer only limited benefits while introducing significant complexity. With the power of A-Net, Aviom digital systems deliver unparalleled fidelity, while improving reliability and removing artificial restrictions on system design and use.
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All-Electro-Voice Sound for Camelback SDA Church, Phoenix
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Camelback SDA in Phoenix is one of the latest churches to enjoy the sonic control and intelligibility of EV's super-compact XLD line array system, thanks to a recent installation by House of Worship audio experts GJM for Sound Advice of Placerville, CA. Greg Mace of GJM spec'd an input-to-output EV system, also featuring P3000RL amplifiers (running IRIS-Net control and supervision software) and REV wireless microphone systems.
"The church wanted to upgrade their system to accommodate larger touring Christian acts," says Mace, "and to improve their in-house production facilities in general. We suggested line array as a solution, and visited the church with Skip Godwin (EV rep) to demonstrate that line array is not just for touring or rock 'n' roll; it can provide exceptionally precise and even coverage at lower SPLs for installations like this. In particular we recommended the XLD, which combines small format size with plenty of headroom, while keeping intact that very warm, intelligible vocal sound for which EV is renowned in its larger line arrays. Educating the customer about the available solutions is an essential part of what we do, and in this case the XLD made the most sense--especially after the customer heard the system in action."
"EV makes products that are very useable in House of Worship applications," Mace continues; "they've proven themselves on the biggest tours and in the most critical installations, and we can bring that same level of flexibility and performance to church installs like this. Modern churches often run the gamut from normal services to concerts to seminars to praise teams and season productions, all in a matter of days. This system is designed to deliver optimal sound quality for all. EV is a known quantity in that regard."
A total of four XS212 subs provide low end reinforcement, with two flown tidily behind each main array. In addition to the main hangs, GJM installed ten channels of user-friendly REV wireless (with N/D767a handheld capsules and RE97 headworn mics), ensuring high-end audio performance at the input end of the equation. The system is powered by seven P3000RL amplifiers running IRIS-Net software, with easy-to-use presets dialed in by Mace, according to the church's specifications, allowing the entire speaker system to be simply controlled and supervised from a single position at FOH by a non-professional operator. EV T221M monitors ensure superb sound on stage. A new Midas Verona 480 brings high-end sound quality to the right frame size, feature set, and footprint for their needs. Klark Teknik Square One EQs and Dynamics complete the picture, offering a remarkable performance to price point ratio.
"When the system was first installed, the pastor looked at it and thought that it would be too loud," Mace adds, "after all, it is a larger system--albeit carrying much more dynamic headroom and controlled coverage--replacing a smaller but seriously inadequate system. That said, the XLD maximizes the effect of the air it moves, with performance that belies its relatively compact footprint; when we turned the system on with the church praise team, the pastor was amazed: the volume was the same from the front row to the last row, as clear as a bell. The XLD's dual 8-inch driver configuration is so smooth. It really is impressive--it was effortless to tune in a nice warm sound. When we rang the room out, we couldn't find a bad note. We tried the same with the choir mics and headsets. The FOH engineer ran out of faders; we were done! These boxes simply sound good. And, whether for speech or choir, the headroom is there for maximum resolution at any volume they choose."
Once the church was comfortable with the system, GJM and Skip Godwin visited for a final tune and tweak, along with a training seminar on all the EV, Midas, and KT products. "This demonstrates the advantages of working with Bosch Communications Systems," adds Mace, "All these products come from a single vendor, and the quality of customer support that comes with these products is as uniformly high as the sound quality. There's no weak link anywhere in this system, and the end-user has complete confidenc--they can't stop talking about it!"
WFX Announces Solomon Awards Entrants
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Worship Facilities Conference & Expo (WFX) introduces the entrants for the third annual WFX Solomon Awards, presented by Church Production Magazine and Worship Facilities Magazine. This prestigious awards program will recognize church teams and individuals who have been instrumental in achieving excellence with their facilities design, management, marketing, usage and audio visual production.
The following churches have nominated the entrants listed below for recognition through the awards program. Descriptions and categories entered are listed online.
Audio System Design, Installation or Operation
First Baptist Church, Design 2020, www.fbcsimpsonville.org
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, www.rzim.org
Resurrection Life Church, Resurrection Life Church Team, www.reslife.org
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Building Contractor
First Baptist Church, Warren Design-Build, www.fbcsimpsonville.org
First Baptist Church of Dallas - Criswell Center, The Beck Group, www.criswellcenter.com/
Rock Bridge Community Church, Cogun, Inc., www.rockbridge.cc
Church Architect
12Stone Church, Phil Laney at Lyman Davidson Dooley, Inc., www.12stone.com
Central Christian Church, Visioneering Studios, www.centralwired.com
Fellowship of The Woodlands, Studio RED Architects, www.fotw.org
Field Street Baptist Church, H. H. Architects, www.fieldstreet.com
First Baptist Church, Neal-Prince and Partners (Scott May and Spencer Dixon), www.fbcsimpsonville.org
Lakewood Church, Studio RED Architects, www.lakewood.cc
Lutheran Church of St. Andrew, BGW Services, www.mystandrew.org
Second Baptist Church, Houston, Studio RED Architects, www.second.org
Church Design: Expansion Project
Canyon Ridge Christian Church, Canyon Ridge Christian Church, www.canyonridge.org
Hamilton Hills Baptist, Hamilton Hills Baptist Church, www.hamiltonhills.org
Church Design: New Construction Project
12Stone Church, Development Team: 12Stone Leadership & LDDI (Architect), www.12stone.com
Bright Side Baptist Church, Bright Side Baptist Church, www.brightsidebc.org/index.html
Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, www.calvaryftl.org
Central Christian Church, Central Christian Church, www.centralwired.com
Chase Oaks Church, Chase Oaks Church, www.chaseoaks.org
Clay Church, Clay Church, www.claychurch.com
FBC Glenarden, FBC Glenarden, www.fbcglenarden.org
Hamilton Hills Baptist, Hamilton Hills Baptist Church, www.hamiltonhills.org
McGregor Baptist Church, McGregor Baptist Church, www.mcgregor.net
Parkway United Methodist Church, Parkway United Methodist Church, www.parkwayumc.org/
The Salvation Army, Hope Chapel
Watermark Community Church, Watermark Community Church, www.watermark.org/
Church Design: Renovation Project
LaGrange Bible Church, La Grange Bible Church, www.lagrangebible.org
Loma Linda University Church, Loma Linda University Church, www.lluc.org
Moraine Valley Church, Moraine Valley Church, www.morainevalleychurch.org
Richland Hills Church of Christ, Richland Hills Church of Christ, www.rhchurch.org
Special Project
Bright Side Baptist Church, Bright Side Baptist Church, www.brightsidebc.org/index.html
Catholic Community of St. Paul, Catholic Community Television Network, www.ccstpaul.com
First Baptist Church Orlando, First Baptist Orlando and Corcoran Companies, www.firstorlando.com
Sight & Sound Ministries, Branson, MO, Sight & Sound Ministries, Branson, MO, www.sight-sound.com/
Willow Creek Community Church, Chris Gille, Dave Cooke, www.willowcreek.org
Tech Consultant
First Baptist Church, Design 2020, www.fbcsimpsonville.org
Rock Bridge Community Church, Design 2020, www.rockbridge.cc
WestHills Church, Don Allensworth and New Ground Group, www.westhillschurch.org
Tech Contractor
First Baptist Church, MusiCraft (audio-video-lighting installation), www.fbcsimpsonville.org
Technical Director
Van Buren First Assembly of God, Ryan Hodges, www.vbfaonline.com
Technical Production Team
First Baptist Church Simpsonville, Media Ministry, www.fbcsimpsonville.org
Forestville Baptist Chuch, Forestville Multi-Media Ministry, www.forestville.org
Hope Community Church, Multimedia Ministry, www.gethope.net
Spring Place Church of God of Prophecy, Spring Place Media
Westover Church, WAV Technologies, www.westoverchurch.com
Video System Design, Installation or Operation
Temple of Greater Beth-EL, Temple of Greater Beth-EL (Isaac Newman), www.tgblive.org
Innovative Church Facility
12Stone, Development Team: 12Stone Executive Team & LDDI (Architect), www.12Stone.com
Bright Side Baptist Church, Bright Side Baptist Church, www.brightsidebc.org/index.html
Fellowship Bible Church, Fellowship Bible Church, www.fbclr.org
First Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Simpsonville, SC, www.fbcsimpsonville.org
Mount Paran Church of God, Mount Paran Church - Children's Facility - Designed by Richard Carver of Little Mountain Productions, www.mountparan.com or www.TurnOnThePower.org or www.newlmp.com
Watermark Community Church, Watermark Community Church, www.watermark.org
Innovative Production
Faith Church, KidzStuff, www.faithchurchct.com
Mt. Bethel UMC, Mt. Bethel's Live It Live!, www.mtbethel.org
Sight & Sound Ministries, Branson, MO, Sight & Sound Ministries - Branson, MO, www.sight-sound.com/
Victory LIfe Outreach, Sherman Texas, Victory LIfe Media Team, www.dsheriff.org
Construction Management: New Construction
Lutheran Church of St. Andrew, Hammen Contracting, Inc., www.mystandrew.org
Award winners will be announced on-site at WFX. For more information on the entrants, please visit www.wfxweb.com/houston/programming/sawards.html
For more information visit www.wfxweb.com
TLS is Offering the "Carpool Bus" for Travel to WFX Fall 2008
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Theatrical Lighting Systems, Inc. (TLS,Inc.) is inviting everyone to get on the bus . . . and head to Houston, Texas for the Fall 2008 Worship Facilities Conference & Expo (WFX), November 5-7, 2008. Rusty Scafidel, Project Manager in our TLS, Inc./
Mississippi office realized that many of our customers in the area were not going to be able to attend this year's conference because of tightened budgets. Rusty saw a need and came up with the idea of carpooling - on a big scale.
The "Carpool Bus", a 56 passenger tour bus from Cline Tours in Jackson, Mississippi, will load up in Jackson on November 5, 2008, with two more pick-up points: Hattiesburg, Mississippi. and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. From there, the bus will head to Houston, Texas. By riding the bus, you will also be eligible for a discounted rate for the conference and group-rate hotel pricing. The return trip will be on November 7, 2008.
If you are in the area of any of the pick-up locations and would like to sign up to ride, please contact Jennifer or Rusty in the TLS,Inc./Mississippi office, (601) 352-1755. Deadline is October 15, 2008. To learn more about the WFX Conference visit www.wfxweb.com.
Meyer Sound Names Espinosa to VP of Research and Development
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| Pablo Espinosa |
Meyer Sound of Berkeley, California announces the promotion of industry veteran Pablo Espinosa to Vice President of Research and Development. A long-time Meyer Sound associate, he comes to the role from his previous position as the company's director of loudspeaker R&D.
In his new position, Espinosa will work closely with company CEO and co-founder John Meyer to drive the strategic technological direction to expand the company's dynamic growth in recent years. With an abundance of experience in the trenches of live sound and by careful evaluation of customers' needs, Espinosa will lead the engineering and R&D departments to create audio solutions that are truly useful to sound professionals. Espinosa will also continue to oversee the operations of the technical writing and service personnel.
"Pablo has long been a driving force in Meyer Sound's product development and he has made significant contributions to so many other areas within the company," says John Meyer. "He has proven himself to be a leader and an innovator. In his new post as VP of R&D, Pablo will be positioned to take on an even stronger role in Meyer Sound's future."
An accomplished live sound engineer with a master's degree in engineering, Espinosa brings real-world experience to the position. During his tenure at Meyer Sound, Espinosa has played an active role in its highly acclaimed educational programs, and has been instrumental in the development of some of the company's most successful products, including the 700-HP subwoofer as well as the mipa Award-winning M'elodie line array loudspeaker.
"Meyer Sound has always been a company that has welcomed and encouraged talent and new ideas," adds Espinosa. "It's a challenging and rewarding environment that acknowledges people's efforts. I'm thrilled to take on the challenges of this new phase of my career."
In addition to Espinosa, Meyer Sound has also announced several key leadership promotions within the engineering and R&D departments at the company's headquarters in Berkeley: Alex Garcia Rubio has been promoted to Director of Loudspeaker Development, Dean Marshall has been named Director of Project Management, and Alexander "Thorny" Yuill-Thornton II has been promoted to Director of Digital Development.
More information is available at www.meyersound.com.
A new online, self-paced class explains how to effectively install sound systems the first time. Audio for Sound Reinforcement: Levels, Metering and Gain Structure focuses on how to correctly set levels.
"We're excited to partner with industry expert John Murray for this exciting, new educational opportunity," said NSCA's Senior Director of Professional Development, Norah Hammond. "Not only will technicians gain invaluable training, but the online aspect also makes it easier for technicians to learn at their own pace, on their own schedule."
Apart from trade shows, Murray said there weren't many industry opportunities for technicians to learn gain structure. An always-on, year-round class is the perfect solution for technicians.
He said "Levels, Metering and Gain Structure" is really aimed at those who have to make a sound system work.
"Every sound system needs its gain structure properly set and, unfortunately, a lot of people don't know how to do it correctly," he said.
To learn more about the class, listen to Murray's online vodcast at www.nsca.org/video/johnmurray.htm. To register for the class, please visit elearning.nsca.org.
FSR MAS-6100 Video Switcher/Scaler
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The new MAS-6100, a multi-purpose video switcher/scaler with optional audio is now shipping from FSR. The MAS-6100 provides high quality scaling and switching plus a built-in keyer to allow computer generated text to be superimposed upon a video background. With six inputs, automatic incoming resolution detection and computer resolutions to 2048x2048, the MAS-6100 is perfect for boardroom and house of worship presentation systems. This high definition compatible unit has one 3-RCA Component and one HD-15 configurable Computer/Component output for maximum versatility. If audio is required, the MAS-6100A has a built in 4x1 stereo audio switcher.
For more information, call 1-800-332-FSR1, or visit www.fsrinc.com.
Furman Announces Line of Power/Light Module Solutions
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| PL-8C |
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| PL-PLUS DMC |
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| PL-PLUS C |
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| PL-PRO DMC |
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| PL-PRO C |
Furman of Petaluma, California announced its new Classic Series of rugged single-rack-space power management/light modules. With modules offered in 15-amp and 20-amp versions, the Classic Series offers a new industrial design and full feature set engineered specifically for the A/V professional.
"Twenty-five years ago, Furman developed its first rack-mountable power/light module, the PL-8, followed by the advanced technology of our Series II product line," said Dave Keller, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Furman and Panamax. "Building on the innovations of its predecessors, the new Classic Series brings together superior protection and outstanding performance for instrument rigs, studio recording, professional audio, broadcasting, or anywhere zero-downtime protection and maximum A/V performance are critical.
"In addition to the technologies that our customers have come to rely on, the Classic Series features comprehensive power monitoring indicators, 'Smooth Track' retractable LED lights, wall-wart spacing, and 20-amp Pro options that provide USB chargers and Furman's innovative 'Secure Straps' wall-wart locking system. Our engineers have been hard at work developing this new line dedicated to the A/V professional, and we are proud to announce that it has arrived."
Furman's new Classic Series offers all of the technologies that made the Series II line so popular, including Linear Filtering Technology (LiFT) for unequaled audio and video clarity, Series Multi-Stage Protection (SMP) for the highest level of surge protection available, and automatic Extreme Voltage Shutdown (EVS) to protect connected equipment from dangerous overvoltage conditions. For rack illumination, the units feature "Smooth Track" LED rack lights and a rear-panel BNC connector to power any standard gooseneck lamp.
The Classic Series includes three 15-amp models, the PL-8C, PL-PLUS C, and PL-PLUS DMC, along with the two 20-amp "Pro" models, the PL-PRO C and PL-PRO DMC. All units in the Classic Series feature nine outlets with two rear-panel isolated outlet banks to lower intercomponent noise interference, along with a "Protection OK" indicator on the front panel to alert users to the operational status of the unit. To accommodate bulky transformers, the power management solutions feature wall-wart spacing.
The PL-PLUS C and PL-PRO C feature multi-segmented, colored LED voltmeters to monitor the incoming line voltage while the PL-PLUS DMC and PL-PRO DMC offer laboratory-precision-grade digital voltmeters/ammeters to monitor the incoming line voltage and true RMS current. Both 20-amp Pro units feature front-panel chargers for small USB-powered electronics, as well as Furman's Velcro "Secure Straps" wall-wart locking system to provide additional support for racks that must travel.
The Classic Series will be available in November at the following MSRPs: $209 (PL-8C), $269 (PL-PLUS C), $369 (PL-PLUS DMC), $429 (PL-PRO C), and $499 (PL-PRO DMC).
More information is available at www.furmansound.com.
DPA Announces The 4099 Performance Series
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DPA Microphones announces a new range of instrument microphones known as the 4099 series. The 4099 Guitar, 4099 Sax, 4099 Trumpet and 4099 Violin are multipurpose microphones. The mounts for the 4099's are designed and optimized for each of the four instrument families. The 4099 series of condenser microphones feature super-cardioid polar patterns for superior gain-before-feedback. Fully capable of handling extremely high SPLs - particularly important for trumpet players - these microphones live up to their pedigree with sound as accurate as DPA's other world-class microphones.
The 4099 models are extremely rugged with a discreet size and elegant, lightweight design. The versatile gooseneck provides stable positioning to ensure the microphone will never stray from the instrument's sweet spot. The mics can be easily unclipped and repositioned or moved to another instrument with only one hand, while the mounting system is designed never to mar or scratch the finish of your valuable instrument.
With its flexible design for a wide variety of mounting and positioning possibilities along with its natural sound, the 4099 is truly a musician's mic without equal. Continuing DPA's legacy and heritage of sonic excellence, this microphone achieves the purest reproduction of your instrument and your full range of expression.
For more information on DPA Microphones, please visit www.dpamicrophones.com.
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