During his career as a producer/engineer, Miles Fulwider has worked with many
GRAMMY® and Emmy®-Award winning artists and helped create several chart-
topping and award-winning albums. As Chair, Program Director and Assistant
Professor of the Music Technology program at the University of Saint Francis,
Fulwider relies on his industry experience to help teach his students about various
products and recording methods. As an avid user of DPA microphones Fulwider
recently welcomed the opportunity to present his students with a detailed product
demonstration from the company’s executives.
DPA’s Christopher Spahr, VP of sales & marketing, USA, and Gabriel Antonini,
national sales support/business development manager, worked with the students
using many different manufacturers’ microphones so they could hear the difference
with DPA and learn how to properly handle the company’s mics.
“I first used DPA in 2008 and that initial introduction showed me DPA’s quality of
microphones on various instruments,’ says Fulwider. “Having known Chris over the
years, I thought it would be a great idea to see if DPA could come to our school and
present the company’s microphones in a product demonstration to our students.
Chris brought Gabriel along and their demonstration of various mics, including the
d:vote™ 4099 instrument mics as well as the bodyworn and headworn mics, really
opened my eyes as far as flexibility of those microphones being used in the field or
real-world applications. I know my students received a lot of useful information and
really enjoyed the entire training.’
The presentation allowed the students to witness first-hand how so many other
microphones’ clarity and intelligibility breaks down compared to the DPA
microphones. “The big takeaway from the demonstration was that off-axis
response and how well that translates,’ says Fulwider. “We were able to blend
different types of microphones in the room without having inherent phase problems
that you find so often. By balancing the different channels to get an appropriate
mix, which is a much more creative approach, we provided the students with real-
world miking and mixing techniques when working with multiple microphones. When
using DPA, the students heard how good sound can be recorded without having to
apply processing. It’s so easy to reach for an equalizer or a compressor, but with
the DPA mics that wasn’t the case. The fact that they could just pull up the faders
and balance between a room mic and a boom mic, and even a creatively placed lav
mic, was amazing. The microphones were all working in a natural sense based on
their relationship.’
Fulwider was thrilled to be able to expose his students to DPA microphones as he
has been a longtime user. “In addition to their amazing sound, the transparency and
definition is what keeps me coming back to DPA. This was a wonderful opportunity
for the students to see how a truly professional piece of equipment can make such
a difference as they begin their careers in the industry. It was a big success and the
studio was packed with students. I really appreciated the dedication that Gabriel
and Chris had for our students. They tailored their presentation specifically for our
students and it ended up being a special day.’