Press release
09.10.2009 - Wedermark/Germany
Beyoncé Flies High with Sennheiser and Neumann
 The stage for Beyoncé’s “I Am…” world tour 2009 is full of Sennheiser and Neumann wired and wireless mics with the famous diva using here favorite Sennheiser SKM 5200 wireless with the MD 5325 capsule.(Photo Credit: © 2009 Getty Images) |
Beyoncé’s spectacular “I Am…” world tour 2009, featuring Suga Mama — her ten-piece, all-female band, The Mamas — her trio of background singers, plus dancers, has been thrilling audiences worldwide since it began in late March. Currently on its second leg, the “I Am…” world tour is making extensive use of Sennheiser wireless microphone and personal monitoring equipment, and in a first for Beyoncé, Neumann and Sennheiser wired microphones. As always, Beyoncé is singing through a Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld mic with an MD 5235 capsule, as are the three background vocalists. Horace Ward, front-of-house engineer with Beyoncé since she began touring solo, recalls that she initially used the Neumann KK 104 capsule. “Then Sennheiser came out with the 5235 capsule. I tried it out and I said, ‘that’s it!’ That’s the one we’re going to use.” Ward applies minimal EQ. “It’s pretty smooth. All I do is roll off a high-pass at 200 Hz and dip 200 Hz on the console channel about 5 dB, because she has unusual power in the low range of her voice.” |
Band monitor engineer James Berry, a veteran of previous tours by Beyoncé, and as front-of-house engineer for her younger sister, Solange, reports that the wireless systems include sixteen channels of Sennheiser’s new EM 3732 receiver, with a combination of SKM 5200 wireless handheld and SK 5212 ultra-miniature bodypack transmitters. The band, singers, dancers and produc-tion crew all benefit from nineteen channels of evolution wireless G2 personal monitor systems. A multi-channel Sennheiser NET 1 frequency management rig controlled from laptop computers coordinates the wireless equipment setup.
“I have my NET 1 on a wireless network, because we have a B stage,” Berry explains. “I can walk a hundred feet out onto the floor and check the RF. I’ve always been the biggest fan of NET 1. But that’s old news!”
What is new on this world tour (Beyoncé’s third) are the many wired Senn-heiser and Neumann microphones, which were requested by Ward and are positioned on the drums and percussion. “You use them in the studio, so why not use the highest quality mics that you can on the road, too?” asks Ward. “It’s Sennheiser all the way, except for the DIs.”
Suga Mama’s dual drummers and sole percussionist are miked using a variety of Neumann models, including small diaphragm KM 183 and KM 184 con-densers as well as large diaphragm TLM 103s. Sennheiser evolution series e 901, e 904 and e 914 wired mics are also used to capture the beat behind Beyoncé.
Berry continues, “The RF on the new transmitters is solid. There are SK 5212s on the guitars and the horns. We’re using e 908s on the three horns. It’s kind of overkill, but the decision for going with all the 3732s and 5200s was for RF purposes.”
“We were looking for the cleanest, best sounding RF we could for this run,” says Ramon Morales, monitor engineer for Beyoncé. “That was one of the reasons we went with all the Sennheiser mics.”
Beyoncé, and the band, singers and dancers make full use of a multi-tiered stage setup combined with video backdrops and multiple costume changes throughout the two-hour, action-packed show. The benefit of Sennheiser’s wireless equipment becomes apparent midway through the performance when Beyoncé flies on wires out to a smaller B stage in the audience for a rendition of “Baby Boy.” The non-stop action certainly keeps the crew on their toes. “It’s pretty intense!” laughs Berry.
The “I Am…” tour, in support of Beyoncé’s third studio album, “I Am… Sasha Fierce,” started in Canada on March 26, making a brief stop in Seattle before heading to Europe for over thirty shows. Now on the second leg — more than two-dozen shows that included two nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden — the “I Am…” world tour will return to Europe for shows throughout November followed by dates in Japan and Australia.
