Press

12.11.2009 - Wedemark

Step right up for Pink! With Sennheiser on the Funhouse Tour

Breathtaking (vocal) acrobatics: Pink is currently touring with her “Funhouse” album (Photo credit: Luke Green)    Horst Hartmann in “monitor land” (Photo credit: Horst Hartmann)    The A 5000-CP  circularly polarised antennas ensure perfect monitoring sound on stage (Photo credit: Horst Hartmann)     Front-of-house engineer Chris Madden with the MKH 8040s and MKH 800 Twin he used for recording the ambience for the Funhouse live DVD (Photo credit: Chris Madden) On her Funhouse tour, Pink uses a Sennheiser SKM 2000 radio microphone with a customised e 935 capsule (Photo credit: Baz Halpin)

This young rocker may not want to be a ‘stupid girl,’ but she certainly hasn’t lost her love for the magic of the circus ring and the funfair. This would explain the colourful nature of the pop spectacle that is Pink’s worldwide ‘Funhouse Tour.’ The ‘Funhouse’ theme is self-evident thanks to the stage design, a blend of elements borrowed from the funfair and the world of variety theatre. It has a fun side and a scary side, making it the perfect metaphor for life and love in Pink’s opinion. The ‘ring’ also provides an ideal setting for the singer’s acrobatic interludes. Indeed, the performer has already proven to amazed audiences in numerous cities in Europe, North America and Australia, that she is just as great a singer upside down as she is on her feet. Sennheiser’s microphones and monitoring equipment have been playing a key role here.    When it comes to microphones and monitoring, Pink relies on the German manufacturer’s 2000 and evolution wireless series and also benefits from a few special variants. “Pink uses her SKM 2000 with a special e 935 capsule in silver,” explains monitoring engineer Horst Hartmann. Front of house engineer Chris Madden continues: “The handheld has been trouble-free, it sounds fantastic with hardly any EQ. The gain before feedback attributes have been outstanding considering she sings in front of the PA for most of the show!”    Not one to be denied the pleasure of singing whilst hanging from trapezes and ropes, a second, ‘hands-free’ microphone solution had to be found for the athletic pop star. Pierre Morant, Relations Manager EMEA at Sennheiser, comments: “A normal headset was out of the question, so Pink became a VIP ‘test pilot’ for our new ear set microphone combined with the SK 2000 bodypack transmitter. She is the first artist to use this single-sided ear set and, if the acrobatic interludes on this tour are anything to go by, it has definitely withstood its baptism of fire!”   Chris Madden uses the SKM 2000 with the standard 935 capsule for the background vocals and the sound engineers have also remained faithful to the 2000 Series for the instrument transmitters. “As far as sound quality is concerned, the low end is fantastic especially on guitars and bass guitars,” states Horst Hartmann. He uses the proven evolution wireless ew 300 IEM system for monitoring, together with A 5000-CP circularly polarised antennas. “RF is absolutely rock solid especially considering the distances involved on the show,” explains Chris Madden.   The microphone inventory for the Funhouse Tour also includes wired evolution models such as those used on the drumkit. The kick drum beats are picked up by two e 902s, while the snares and the rack toms are picked up by dynamic e 904s with a cardioid polar pattern. e 902s are used for the floor toms and two e 914s are utilised as overheads. A further model, the e 906, ensures the sound produced by Justin Derrico’s guitar amp is heard loud and clear.   Chris Madden’s box of tricks also contains RF condenser microphones for the live DVD of the Funhouse Tour: two MKH 8040s and an MKH 800 Twin double-capsule microphone. “I used them for recording ambience at FOH. The MKH 800 was recording Front/Back and the 8040s were doing L/R and were pointing slightly backwards, away from the stage. The handling of the pattern on the Twin works really well. Both microphones deliver excellent sound quality with no wind noise. Overall they performed brilliantly and I was hugely impressed with their overall quality, I will be trying them out for different applications once we've finished using them for the tour.” Both sound engineers were also impressed by the support they received from Sennheiser: “Getting the same kind of support wherever you land is like having a safety net.”    So far, around two million concert-goers have sampled the breathtaking performances and superb sound quality of Pink’s gigs for themselves. And Pierre Morant can confirm that the Sennheiser brand now has a very special friend indeed: “During rehearsals for the Funhouse Tour, Pink was so impressed with the test microphone that she simply didn’t want to give it back!”

  
The Sennheiser Group, with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. The family-owned company, which was established in 1945, recorded sales of over €385 million in 2008. Sennheiser employs more than 2,100 people worldwide, around 55% of whom are in Germany. Sennheiser has manufacturing plants in Germany, Ireland and the USA, and is represented worldwide by subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark (Nordic), Russia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Japan, China, Canada, Mexico and the USA, as well as by long-term trading partners in many other countries. Also part of the Sennheiser Group are Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin (studio microphones), K + H Vertriebs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (Klein + Hummel studio monitors, installed sound) and the joint venture Sennheiser Communications A/S (headsets for PCs, offices and call centres).
   

Download press release:
press_release_121109_en.zip (3,8 MB)

You can find all the latest information on Sennheiser by visiting our website at www.sennheiser.com, or by contacting: