One of the world's best drummers, Steve Gadd, has been wowing audiences in Hong Kong recently on his 70 Strong world tour.
Gadd has been thumping skins for decades across a string of genres, and has provided some signature grooves on records including Paul Simon's 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover, and Steely Dan's Aja, on which he provided a stonking drum solo.
When Gadd and co. headed to Hong Kong City Hall for a particularly high-profile show, concert promoter, Clarence Chang, called upon an array of DPA microphones to help capture the musicality and nuances behind each crack of the snare, roll on the toms, and cymbal crescendo.
Chang had used DPA kit for a number of shows prior to Gadd's, including Ivan Rutherford and guitarist, Robben Ford, so approached Francis Lai, who looks after market development for DPA's APAC office, to aid with mic specs. This resulted in a DPA d:dicate 4011C on the snare, a 2011C on the kick, and d:vote 4099s on the toms, with a pair of super cardioids (4018As) for the overheads. Furthermore, Lai suggested 2011Cs for the guitar and the Leslie speaker, and a 4011A and 4099 for the trumpet.
So how did it all sound, Mr. Chang?
“The clarity of sound is so important in Jazz music, especially in concert situations," Mr. Chang explains. "And in the case of the Steve Gadd Band concert, DPA really helped to reproduce this legendary drummer's dynamic performance; from light brushes to the hard driving crashes and snares, every little detail was heard perfectly."
Follow Steve on Twitter, and to find out more about the microphones used on his drum kit, head to DPA's website HERE.