The renowned musician who performs regularly at Vienna’s Burgtheater is using a d:vice™ and his phone as a field recorder to capture ideas and demos. Alleroed, Denmark. December 15th 2017: DPA’s new pocket-sized d:vice™ MMA-A Digital Audio Interface is helping to free renowned musician Nikolai Tunkowitsch from the confines of the recording studio by allowing him to record demos and capture musical ideas on his iPhone.
Aimed at content makers such as musicians, journalists and bloggers, the d:vice MMA Digital Audio Interface works with any iOS device, Mac ® or PC computer, making it easier than ever to record and broadcast crystal clear sound anywhere in the world.
“If you are really into saving space when traveling around, then the d:vice is great,” Nikolai said. “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 DPA’s Austrian distributor Studer, Nikolai’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 explained. “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 with 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 in conjunction 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 your laptop or iPad so that you have a headphone jack.”
The son of a luthier and a violinist since the age of four, Nikolai 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. Nikolai is no stranger the DPA technology as he has long been using the company’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 10 years ago when I was looking for a close miking solution for my violin,” he explained. “It is not possible for me to use pick-ups (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 loop station to bring my trumpet and flugelhorn on stage in combination with my ‘electric’ violin (which is 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 Nikolai’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 said. “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 pre-amp 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 Nikolai 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 Nikolai 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 said. “This set up 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,” Nikolai said, “and once again it was recorded with DPA.”
About DPA Microphones
Celebrating 25 years in the industry, DPA Microphones is the leading Danish Professional Audio manufacturer of high-quality condenser microphone solutions for professional applications. Over the last two-and- a-half decades, DPA’s goal has been to always provide its customers with the absolute finest possible microphone solutions for all its markets, which include live sound, installation, recording, theatre and broadcast. When it comes to the design process, DPA takes no shortcuts. Nor does the company compromise on its manufacturing process, which is done at the DPA factory in Denmark. As a result, DPA’s products are globally praised for exceptional clarity and transparency, unparalleled specifications, supreme reliability and, above all, pure, uncoloured and undistorted sound. DPA looks forward to the next 25 years and beyond.
For more information, please visit www.dpamicrophones.com.
