When global music superstars Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull hit the road in 2014-2015
for their first co-headlining tour, it was a huge success. So much so, that they decided
to do it again. This time, when the two multi-platinum selling, Grammy Award-winning
artists set out for their 2017 Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull Live! tour, they were joined
onstage by DPA microphones.

While both singers use an abundance of DPA mics for each of their performances, the
decision to use DPA was made separately by each of the singers’ sound engineers.
Enrique’s Monitor Engineer Eddie “El Brujo’ Caipo and FOH Engineer Brad Divens
chose DPA because it solved their need for a roadworthy, high-quality and natural
sounding microphone. Pitbull’s FOH Engineer Will (Chilly Willy) Madera was also
impressed when he heard DPA’s sound quality and knew he had to have them on tour
as well. In total, there are close to 60 DPA microphones in use during any show on the
tour.

“We’ve been with DPA for a little over a year and realised right away how amazing
they were,’ says Caipo. “With DPA, we found that natural sound we were looking for.
For that reason, we only use a minimal amount of equalisation to tailor the sound of
the instrument, not the microphone.’

For Enrique’s show, Caipo and Divens rely on 28 DPA mics. The team deploys seven
d:dicate™ 2011C Compact Twin Diaphragm Cardioid mics, 16 d:vote™ 4099
Instrument mics, one d:screet™ 4061 Omnidirectional mic and four d:facto™ 4018V
Supercardiod mic capsules on Shure wireless transmitters.

“On the previous tour, we introduced the d:dicate 2011C and d:vote 4099 on
percussion with incredible results,’ adds Caipo. “Then, we tried the d:facto 4018
capsule on our background singers, and Brad and I were blown away. It eliminated
about 40 percent of the percussion leakage. On this tour, we were determined to have
Enrique try it as well. The results could not have been better. Enrique loved the mic,
and so did we. From a monitor mix standpoint, it cleaned up his mix considerably, as
well as made his vocal balance in his mix more focused. From a FOH standpoint, it
removed the ambient noise and allowed Brad to have Enrique’s vocal sit in the mix
without a lot of extra processing involved.’

Madera was turned on to DPA after a visit from company sales director Leonardo
Romero at his studio. For Madera, it was truly indescribable how transparent each
microphone was in representing the true sound of each instrument.