VOX was founded by four classically-trained musicians; reinterpreting rock classics from artists as diverse as Muse, The Rolling Stones and Adele. Finding the right mics to capture all that has been a difficult journey, but with DPA Microphones‘ d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphone the band members think that they have finally arrived at their desired destination.
Recent mashup experiments fuse classical and rock pieces together, such as ‘Smoke Symphony’ that couples Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke on the Water’ together with Beethoven’s ‘Fifth Symphony.’ The band’s recent concerts have covered an entire gamut of musical styles; from Electronica to Grunge Rock, Urban Funk to Hip Hop, the band members say their latest stylings are “sprinkled with a good amount of 90s cheese and power girl bands.
“When we first got started, VOX was pretty much at the mercy of the sound equipment that was used by the hire company our clients chose,” says cellist Tow Huiwen. “Instead of giving us wireless instrument microphones, they would give us lapel mics that were more suitable for speech and not to picking up the sound of our strings. This caused us to sound more metallic and sharp, which was not what we were looking for, at all.” Then, by chance, one of the venues at which they were performing fitted the band with DPA’s d:vote Microphones.
“The pick-up of the microphones and the ease at which they fit to our instruments was fantastic,” says violinist Justine Loh. “We could finally hear the warmth and the natural acoustic of our instruments. After that gig, DPA was always at the top of our minds. We have had the opportunity to use many other instrument mics, but the DPA d:vote stands out from the rest.”
Violinist Lester Kong adds that a mic has to do several things for VOX. “As our instruments are acoustic, a mic has to make us sound soft and natural, rather than metallic and hard,” he explains. “It has to provide enough room for the strings and the instrument to vibrate freely. It needs to be easy to fit, but we also need to ensure that the way the microphone is fitted does not cause any damage to our instrument, such as scratching the varnish. And lastly it must not get in our way during a performance.”
VOX was supplied with its DPA microphones by the company’s Singaporean distributor Uni-DK. The close collaboration between VOX and DPA is win-win situation for both sides: VOX is now using mics that best reflect the acoustic qualities of their instruments, while DPA benefits because this group of incredibly talented musicians is highlighting the capabilities of the d:votes in a demanding live setting.
“We are truly delighted to be using DPA,” says violinist Melissa Liew. “These microphones mean that in whatever musical direction we move, we can have the utmost confidence that the sound heard by audiences is exactly the one that we want to deliver.”