‘The horn section for Kool & The Gang is a franchise sound’
USA - Kool & The Gang’s production manager and FOH engineer Ed Irons uses DPA’s 4099 Instrument, 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid, 4011 Cardioid and d:facto 4018 Vocal Mic to deliver Kool & The Gang’s signature sound to live audiences around the world.
“Once we heard the DPA mics, we were hooked,” he says. “The horn section for Kool & The Gang is a franchise sound. With the 4099s, it is so easy to dial in on the fullness of the group. Most notable is the ease with which I capture the true character of each instrument; whether it’s a sax, trumpet or trombone - they all sound awesome with DPA.”
Kool & The Gang utilises three 4099 Loud Instrument Mics and one 4099 Extreme on their horns section, along with two 4011s for mic’ing the percussion rig. Most recently, they began using the 4099 Instrument mic on bass. “Although the 4099s sound great on all of the band’s instruments, we were especially blown away when we used them on the bass cabinet - as it’s typically quite difficult to capture clear sound in this application,” adds Irons. “The ability to deliver truth across the full low-end spectrum is amazing.”
For Irons, authenticity is the standout feature of their collection of DPA microphones. “Whether mic’ing a trumpet, alto or tenor sax, trombone or even bass guitar, I am able to deliver exactly what is coming from the stage to audiences large and small - all while EQing less,” he explains.
Additionally, Jack McDonald, monitor engineer for Kool & The Gang, appreciates the DPA sound when feeding audio to the band’s in-ear monitors. “The microphones do the work of delivering what they are being fed, and I simply pass it on directly to the band, without coloring,” he says. “Every member of Kool & The Gang is on in-ear monitors, so their capacity to hear exactly what they are doing is a huge benefit; we thank our DPAs for that.”
(Jim Evans)

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