Press release
24.04.2006 - Sennheiser UK
Pussycat Dolls Fall For Sennheiser & Fritz
Stationed at front-of-house, Fritz is one of the most important members of the production crew on the Pussycat Dolls' US tour. Fritz, otherwise known as the Neumann KU 100 dummy head, is helping Bryan Cross, live sound engineer and production manager for the Pussycat Dolls, monitor the sound from the audience perspective.
Cross mixes the girls' Sennheiser evolution wireless G2 microphone and wireless monitor systems from a mixing console at the side of the stage. "I'm doing monitors and front-of-house for the girls off the monitor desk," he explains, "I have the dummy head sitting out at front-of-house and it's returning two lines back to 'monitor world'. I'm sending all my monitor mixes pre-fader from the console, using the internal effects, and mixing left/right on the faders and sending it to the house."
Cross says of the KU 100 model human head, which features microphone elements located inside its replica ears for highly realistic binaural stereo, "I've always wanted to own a KU 100, and this justified me buying it! I also have a split from the head going to my laptop running SmaartLive(tm), so I'm able to hear those microphones out front, while being able to visualize it on SmaartLive. "In addition, I'm using a pair of Neumann 184s for my audience mic."
Cross chose Sennheiser ew 300 IEM G2 wireless monitor systems and SKM 935 G2 handheld wireless microphones for the Pussycat Dolls, who have had three chart-topping singles released off their debut album, which has gone platinum around the world. Noted Cross, "Sennheiser's compact ear monitor body-packs are the perfect size. I have six very petite women on stage doing high-energy choreography.
The Sennheiser monitor system is about half the size of other systems. There are parts of the show where the girls have hardly anything on, but I can fit the EK 300 IEM G2 body-pack receivers into the most minimal wardrobe. That ear pack hides in almost anything and is very comfortable as they do their dance numbers."The autoscan feature of Sennheiser's second generation wireless microphone and wireless monitor systems is a real time saver, according to Cross. "I not only do the audio side of things but I also tour manage the girls. That autoscan feature frees up about thirty minutes of my workday searching for clean frequencies to use. When you're multi-tasking, that thirty minutes is indispensable."The task of mixing front-of-house and monitors is not too onerous, he says. "I have two channels of track coming from Pro Tools and six wireless mics on stage. That's eight channels on the console. There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to do it from one desk!"
Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is the acknowledged world leader in microphone technology, RF-wireless and infrared sound transmission, headphone transducer technology, and most recently, in the development of active noise-cancellation. Neumann's award winning line of microphones has set the standard in the industry since 1928. In 1999, Neumann received the prestigious Technical Grammy(r) for their 70 years of innovation in microphone design and contribution to the music industry. A continuing commitment to provide innovative, technically refined products and engineering solutions of proven quality ensures that Neumann's stature will remain unassailable.
For more information about Sennheiser please visit www.sennheiser.co.uk or call:
Robert Collins, Sennheiser Pro PR
T: 07966 294 877
E-mail: Robert.collins180@virgin.net