The arrival of the Sennheiser ew 500 G3 wireless receiver, paired with new SKM 935 and SKM 945 microphones, has already caused a stir in the production world. As soon as the product was launched a number of prominent British acts took delivery of the new equipment and used it throughout the summer festival season.
“When we heard that a new product was on the way we were eagerly waiting for it,” admits Jon Burton, front of house engineer for The Prodigy, one of the first professionals to receive an ew 500 G3 and the new SKM 935 mics. “And once G3 arrived it exceeded our expectations.
“Our ease of setting up each day has been greatly improved. Even if we have to reassign all the frequencies at the drop of a hat we can do so in minutes using the infra-red sync system. Using it has proved to be very intuitive. Very handy as monitor engineer Joe Campbell and I both have a casual disregard for manuals.
“We have been happy with the audio side of the new system too. The mic capsules are the same as our existing systems but they seem more transparent and less coloured. And we have noticed less handling noise when Keith and Maxim are careering around the stage bumping into things. They’ve been delighted with the new mics.”
Dave Mcdonald, front of house engineer for Florence and The Machine has been particularly impressed by the audio quality of his new ew 500 G3 and SKM 945s.
“The audio quality is in a league of its own,” he insists. “I don’t know how they have done this. Honestly, it’s the most stable radio mic I’ve ever used. Ten out of ten. Florence loves it for the freedom it gives her on stage. The Machine love it for its clarity. And the crew love it because they have no cables to tidy up.
“I’ve been using Sennheiser for the last year and a half on a few projects I was working on. When I started to work with Florence and the Machine I was amazed at how much running around and climbing happens on stage. I told the guys at Sennheiser about the band and when they saw her half way up a truss with a mic cable hanging from a mic, they suggested using the new ew 500 G3 receiver and an SKM 945 mic. Working with Sennheiser has been great. Whenever I need some audio advice they always seem to have the info and a solution close to hand.”
Mcdonald was also impressed with the ew 500 G3’s simplicity of use.
“When the new equipment arrived I spent more time getting the packaging off than it took to set up the mic,” he continues. “I managed to get it working without looking at the manual, although I had a good read later on to check if I missed anything. Both the receiver and the mic are very straightforward in their layout.”
Those sentiments were echoed by monitor engineer Francoise Le Moignan, who took the G3 receiver and SKM945s on tour with Lily Allen.
“It must be intuitive,” she laughs, “I haven’t had to look at the manual yet! The features seem quite straightforward. Any changes in tuning, sensitivity and other functions were easy to find. I think there has been an improvement in the audio quality too. The overall tone of the mic seems to have more weight to it.
“Sennheiser is a great company to work with,” she continues. “I always feel I have back up with them and they have always managed to supply the right mic for the particular gig I’m working on. I was already using the G2 system with Lily with the SKM 945 capsules. We’ve been touring a monitor package and line system for the festivals this summer so switching to G3 was a good way to upgrade the mic package.”
Front of house engineer Shan Hira originally became a Sennheiser enthusiast while touring with Lily Allen and he has transferred his enthusiasm for the Company’s equipment and service commitment to his long term charges, The Streets.
“I spoke to Sennheiser UK’s Artist Relations Manager Mark Saunders about the possibility of using the system with The Streets,” he explains, “And he was very accommodating and agreed to let us try out an ew 500 G3 with the SKM 945s to see how we got on with it.
“Personally, I find the shape of the new mic to be an improvement as it is now weighted in the middle rather than at the capsule end. That encourages the singer not to hold it so close to the capsule. I’m very happy with it and Mike Skinner seems very happy on stage with it too.
“All through the Lily Allen tour and The Streets tour Sennheiser’s backup and service has been fantastic. I hope to keep working closely with them in the future.”
G3 systems feature even better evolution sound, with an audio range that now extends down as far as 25Hz.
In addition, the G3 operating menu is even more user-friendly than the acclaimed G2: the separation into a User Level and an Advanced Level means that the most important functions can be accessed more quickly. The Advanced Level is reserved for more specialised programming, such as direct frequency selection, reset to factory settings and synchronisation and warning settings, and have been fitted with an Ethernet interface. Via a standard Ethernet switch, the rack-mount devices can be directly connected to a PC with Sennheiser’s ‘Wireless Systems Manager’ software.
Combined with the new G3 range’s wider tuning range and its ability to quickly transfer settings via the infrared sync features, the new system is already shaping up to be a popular and perfect replacement for Sennheiser’s highly successful G2 systems.
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