HOUSTON ― As a drummer, Monitor Engineer Travon Snipes always had an interest in live productions, which ultimately led to him traveling the world with major artists like Jaden Smith, Fantasia, Megan Thee Stallion and Brandy, among many others. Most recently, Snipes was out on the road for Post Malone’s “F-1 Trillion Tour,” running monitors alongside Kevin Brown at front of house. While in the midst of this latest run, the tour’s audio team looked to enhance the quality of sound and replaced the show’s existing microphones with a selection from DPA Microphones.
Among the microphones to grace the stage were several of DPA’s newest live performance microphones, including the 2017 Shotgun and 2015 Wide Cardioid. “We made a great connection with the DPA team and, after hearing more about the brand, we knew the mics could take our sound to the next level,” says Snipes. “We wanted to capture more of the audience while also maintaining that great rejection, and that’s exactly what we found in DPA’s 2015 and 2017. These mics provide more audience reaction without the noisiness that typically comes with the deployment of an audience mic. Instead, the sound was very direct. The mics gave us the crowd noise and hand clapping, which was everything Post was looking for in terms of crowd reaction. Since testing them during our first soundcheck, we haven’t looked back.”
One standout feature of the audience mics for this tour was the rejection they provided. “Most of the time, we’re at amphitheaters where the PA is on the stage,” Snipes explains of the setup. “We don’t have a lot of real estate to mess around with placement of the audience mics, and they are oftentimes very close to the PA. So, rejection was a crucial component, which the DPA mics really helped address. They also brought forth a great clarity and dynamic that our initial mics were falling short on.”
After making the switch, the team also discovered the benefits of the brand’s mics for the drum kit and deployed the DPA 4055 Kick Drum Mic, along with the 2012 Compact Cardioid on the snare. “When we made the swap, both sources instantly came alive,” he says. “We could really hear and feel the difference those mics made on the kick and snare. The sound just became more open, bigger; it was very real and organic and simultaneously enhanced the experience. Since then, both mics have been crucial for our drum sound. Going forward, I don’t foresee us ever moving away from those.”
Snipes says that Brown, a longtime DPA user, also appreciated the upgraded microphones. “Kevin pointed out how the snare mic was able to cut through a lot more and gave a lot more body,” says Snipes. “One thing we both noticed was that we were able to shift back the previous EQ that we used with the original mics. Once we put on the snare mic, less became more; we were able to put back a lot of the frequencies that were previously problematic. The sound overall didn’t need as much processing, and this applied to the kick drum and audience mics as well. The kick mic gave us a rounder sound and low distortion, but also clarity, and it produced the organic sound we were trying to capture. With all the mics, we can leave the sound flat and contour it slightly, whereas with our previous mics, we really had to dig in and shape it to portray the sound that we intended.”
While artists tend to avoid changing their microphones in the middle of a tour, Snipes says there were no concerns with swapping to DPA. “My job is to keep the sound as consistent as possible, especially mid-tour,” he explains. “The transition was very seamless; it didn’t affect anything negatively and we didn’t have to readjust across the board.” Furthermore, Snipes adds: “I have nothing but great things to say about DPA. Not only does the company make quality microphones, but the team is always supportive, helpful and open to all feedback.”
A graduate of The Art Institute of Houston, Snipes got his start in the industry as an intern at Mathew Knowles’ renowned Music World Entertainment. From there, he began picking up gigs at various local venues and has since made quite the name for himself. Snipes first connected with Post Malone in 2019 for the artist’s “Runaway Tour” and has been touring with him ever since.