When a Delta Rocket streaked into space to place a Global Positioning System satellite, freelance audio engineer Gary Faller relied on a stereo pair of DPA 4041S mics to capture all of the sonic nuances.
“I wanted to capture the sound of the rocket after the initial blast-off and it roaring up through the sky by using these large-diaphragm omni mics on a [DPA-provided] A/B stereo bar,” he said. Faller mounted the bar on top of the historic U.S. Air Force Hangar AE (the site of the first Apollo launch) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, about a mile away from the launch pad. “The mics I used were rated at up to 144 dB SPL, so the mics and the preamps [DPA HMA4000] won't overload.
“The hardest thing is to keep the recording clean, because the rocket is making all different noises and harmonics and the airwaves are smashing — what I call ‘vortex smashing of the air’ — but the mics had more than enough headroom to let me capture the sound accurately with the right balance and impact.”
|
