Singer/songwriter Mike Rosenberg, better known by his professional moniker Passenger, is currently touring the U.S. where he and front of house engineer Simon Kemp are utilizing a Harman’s AKG DMS700 V2 wireless microphone system for his acoustic guitars, along with a D7 vocal microphone plus an AKG wireless stomp microphone for his unique brand of percussion.
As a sound engineer who also has a strong relationship with his artist, Kemp is in tune with Rosenberg’s unique requirements of his audio setup. “He is very thorough, knows exactly what he wants and he has the ears to make sure he gets it,” Kemp says. “We are constantly improving and critiquing the sound.”
He notes the most daunting challenge of Passenger concerts is translating a folk singer with an acoustic guitar into a sound that can reach up to 6,000 people per night. “The sound needs to be very gentle for the quiet songs and a massive ‘in-your-face’ sound for the big songs,” he notes. “It’s a great challenge.
To meet this challenge, Passenger uses a DMS700 V2 wireless microphone system for acoustic guitars. “We had a test with all the other wireless options available and we were not sold on the quality with any of them until we got to the DMS700 V2,” Kemp says. “We tried the DMS700 V2 and [Rosenberg] thought he was plugged in. I would be amazed if anybody could actually tell the difference—it sounds incredible and is very easy to use.”
Kemp chose the AKG D7 as Passenger’s vocal microphone for several reasons. “The main factor is that it sounds incredible because I can get so much gain before feedback,” Kemp states. “He’s amazingly dynamic so I need the gain, and this microphone is dynamic with the sonic quality of a condenser.”
“The tour has been amazing so far,” he concludes. “We started off with festivals in the summer and are now in the middle of our US tour. Europe and Australia are next. We have been getting amazing reviews.”