Schoeps on a Live Stage

Being able to offer the very best audio experience has always been the goal. Recently, some Schoeps microphones have been purchased in order to help realise that.

Schoeps microphones are crafted in Germany, and are world-renowned for being one of the top choices for high-end microphones. In a word, they sound like music.

So far, I have a CMC141 and CMC68, which I use as a compact mid-side setup for a range of uses, and occasionally the CMC141 individually, if stereo is not required.

The first time I used the CMC141, I was amazed. It was a simple job for such a high-end mic: miscellaneous shakers and percussion. When a shaker was used, it seemed like you could count the beads inside individually. The detail retrieval was fantastic. The stereo capture of drum kits also proved excellent, with the pattern control of the mics resulting in relatively little spill. What spill was picked up, sounded natural and uncoloured - excellent.

A recent show with a well-known folk artist required many DI boxes for all of the different instruments, and the DI'd feeds were used for the stage monitors. In the FOH mix, though, I used the Schoeps mics, bringing in just a touch of the MK8 for a little bit of stereo width. The sound was excellent throughout, with minimal adjustments needed for the wide range of instruments.

I also have an MK41V on the way, which I plan to use alongside the M/S capture of the drum kit, but the MK41V will face at 90-degrees: out towards the audience. That way, the figure-of-8 MK8 capsule can be utilised twice: once by combining with the MK41 pointing down at the drum kit, and again with the MK41V for a stereo room capture!

As far as I know, this is a unique deployment of such mics, and I'm looking forward to hearing the result.