Sennheiser microphones were everywhere at this September’s MTV Video Music Awards at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, from the red carpet arrival area to the main stage, with spectacular set pieces by Sennheiser artists including Rihanna, Leona Lewis, the Jonas Brothers and Paramore.

Greeting the arriving stars on the red carpet, MTV hosts Tim Kash, Kim Stolz, Taylor Swift and John Norris, as well as Jim Cantiello, wielded Sennheiser SKM 5000 handheld mics with Neumann KK 104 S capsules, supplied by RF specialists Soundtronics and Wireless First, along with four HMD 280 boom headsets. Three EM 3032 and eighteen EM 1031 true diversity receivers combined with four ASA 3000 antenna splitters and three A 5000 CP antennas ensured uninterrupted coverage throughout the arrivals area.

Inside, VMA show host Russell Brand courted controversy courtesy of his SKM 5200. All of the show’s presenters were on SKM 5200 mics, including Britney Spears, Jamie Foxx, Demi Moore and swimmer Michael Phelps. A total of six SKM 5200 handhelds with KK 104 S capsules and six EM 3032 receivers were dedicated for use on the main stage. In addition, thirty-six Sennheiser and Neumann mics covered the audience, including MKH 416 shotguns onstage in an XY configuration plus KM 184s for the crowd.

Veteran television production mixer Klaus Landsberg generated a 5.1 mix in MTV Networks’ Pegasus remote HD broadcast truck.

“I had thirty production RFs, all Sennheiser,” he explained. “We had RFs that worked from the stage where Pink played all the way to Stage 16, probably a quarter of a mile away. It sounded fabulous, and it was all live. You could hear Britney Spears walking and talking from the dressing room all the way to the stage. We didn’t have one RF hit all night, and everything sounded so solid and so clean.”

Creative Sound Solutions’ Butch McKarge, mixing monitors for the main stage as well as outdoor performances by the Jonas Brothers and Pink on the New York street sets and Kanye West at the B-Tank, had sixteen Sennheiser ew 300 IEM G2 transmitters at his disposal plus approximately forty SK 5212 belt-packs.

“Everybody wore in-ears,” he enthused. “And everybody except Kid Rock wore Sennheiser in-ears.”

The biggest challenge, he recalls, involved rapper T.I., who entered from the back of the house underneath the delay speaker cluster and had to keep in sync with Rihanna and the backing track despite a 50 to 70 millisecond delay. “If he didn’t have Sennheiser in-ears it would have been impossible,” says McKarge.

Rihanna, who made two appearances on the show, appeared in a black leather outfit that matched her personal Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld wireless mic with MD 5235 and KK 104 S capsules. Also on the main stage, in a medley with Lil Wayne and T-Pain, Leona Lewis sang using the SKM 5200/KK 104 S combination.

Outside, the Jonas Brothers performed using one e 935 and two SKM 935 G2 vocal mics paired with EM 550 G2 receivers and A 2003 passive antennas, with a range of 900 Series mics, including e 901, e 902, e 904 and e 905 models, across the backline.

Paramore front-woman Hayley Williams rocked an e 935 vocal mic with the same model also used by lead guitar player, Josh Farro, for backing vocals. Sennheiser MD 421s handled guitars for both Farro and bass player Jeremy Davis, with e 914s for hats and an e 904 on toms for drummer, Zac Farro.

House band TRV$DJAM, former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM, made use of wired evolution series e 604 mics on the toms plus an e 602 on the kick drum. TRV$DJAM jammed with a string of guests including The Ting Tings, who sang through their e 935 vocal mics.
 
 
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