Lindsay Jones, principal of Unique Music and Sound Design, was tasked with figuring out a sound system for 11 actors who also play musical instruments in Wonderland, Alice’s Rock & Roll Adventure.
He chose Point Source Audio‘s CR-8S cardioid earworn and CR-8L cardioid lavalier microphones for the family musical that premiered last April.
Jones’ first experience with Point Source Audio mics was a delight.
“The PSA mics sounded great out of the box. We only had to do a minimum amount of EQ-ing—if any—on the actors to get them up and running. That was a huge time-saver and a real relief for me.”
Jones loved the accuracy of the mics, explaining, “The PSA sound is very transparent and warm. When you’re working in theatre, there is a huge emphasis on the mic sound seeming as natural as possible in order to not distract from the performance. Point Source does an excellent job of amplifying without changing the tonal color of the voice.”
According to the Chicago Children’s Theatre’s technical director, Brian Maschka, “The most complicated part of Wonderland was the sound design and equipment.”
Jones chose cardioid mics because the actors would be getting their instrument and vocal monitoring from wedges and side fills around the stage. He wanted to ensure that they could get as much monitoring as they needed without feeding back because the actors frequently ventured into the audience located in front of the main PA.
Jones explained, “I went with the cardioid mics for my production because I needed to control mic bleed from the monitoring of rock and roll instruments around the actors. All of the actors were on earset mics; however, we had a number of acoustic instruments (ukulele, banjo, violin) that needed to be amplified, and that’s where we used the lavs.”
Point Source Audio’s SERIES8 collection of miniature headset, earworn and lavalier microphones are offered in cardioid and omnidirectional patterns. All the headworn microphone styles include their durable 360° bendable boom; the CR-8 cardioid versions can handle up to 135dB max SPL, and include one interchangeable X-Connector with each mic for swapping wireless terminations, or fast on-site repair.
Maschka further added, “The mics held up to all the stress we put them through and sounded great. I’ll be using them again next year and for many seasons to come.”
Jones is equally complimentary, stating “The Point Source Audio team was so great to work with, really knowledgeable and enthusiastic. It mattered that we got what we needed when we needed it. I would absolutely recommend PSA mics to any of my colleagues. As a freelance designer, there’s usually a lot of pressure to deliver a great sound within a reasonable budget, and in a very short amount of time. Point Source’s mics do all of that.”