When cellist, recording artist, and composer Tina Guo needs to amplify her acoustic cello, she relies on the d:vote 4099C instrument microphone for cello from DPA Microphones.
Guo began studying the cello at the age of 7 under the instruction of her father, Lu-Yan Guo. Guo continued her professional cello studies with Eleonore Schoenfeld at the the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music on full scholarship. As a classical solo cellist, Guo has appeared as a guest artist with the San Diego Symphony, the State of Mexico National Symphony, the Thessaloniki State Symphony in Greece, the Petrobras Symphony in Brazil, and the Vancouver Island Symphony in British Columbia.
Known for her distinctive sound and mastery in a wide range of genres in film, television and game scores, Guo first used DPA’s d:vote 4099C while on tour with Baroque-Rock group Vivaldianno’s “City of Mirrors” Tour in 2015.
“We played in arenas, including the O2 Arena in Prague and the sound quality from the d:vote 4099C was amazing,” says Guo. “I also used the mic on my recent tour with Blues legend Joe Bonamassa. The d:vote 4099C has the best sound quality out of any on-body microphone I’ve tried on my acoustic cello, from small halls to arenas.”
She was not happy with any of the other mic brands she had tried before choosing the d:vote 4099C. “I had major issues with feedback and getting the sound loud enough and of acceptable quality, even in smaller venues,” adds Guo. The portability, ease of use and design of the d:vote 4099C, with its clip attachment, allows for movement without endangering the fragile strings of her 1880 Gand & Bernardel cello. “Every front of house engineer I’ve worked with has said the on-body DPA’s are the best for acoustic strings,” says Guo.
Guo plans to use the d:vote 4099C on all of her future projects that require her acoustic cello to be miked, including seven upcoming shows with 11-time Grammy-nominated pianist Peter Kater, with whom she will release a new album on February 24 entitled “Inner Passion.” She will join Hans Zimmer on his arena tour in Europe later this year. “Although I’m not sure yet if I’ll be using my electric cello or acoustic cello on that tour, if there is acoustic cello involved, then the d:vote 4099C will be my go-to mic, for sure,” she says.
