OLD LYME, Conn. — With set lists that drew on their newest hits and beloved classics, 311 and Snoop Dogg used Sennheiser personal monitors and mics on their 30-stop Unity Tour.
Snoop took the stage with his wireless, gem-encrusted handheld that displayed his moniker, while 311’s vocalists opted for the Sennheiser SKM 5200 wireless handheld with Neumann KK 104 capsule. A number of Sennheiser instrument mics backed up the performers on-stage night after night.
Snoop Dogg’s mic has a metal shield that spells the rapper’s name in gems wraps around Snoop’s fist when he grips the mic body, which is covered with a solid layer of bling. Hiding beneath the glitz is a Sennheiser SKM 935 G2 series wireless microphone.
“It’s a little bit trickier to ring out Snoop’s mic than a stock Sennheiser wireless due to all the reflective surfaces,” said Jeff Kaplan, Snoop Dogg’s monitor engineer. “But on the upside, Snoop can’t ever cup this mic, which makes for higher fidelity and perfectly-consistent vocals.”
Snoop Dogg’s three backup MCs also use Sennheiser SKM 935 G2 wireless mic systems, albeit without all the rhinestones. For the Unity Tour, Kaplan purchased an additional mic for guest vocalists.
“Snoop has worked with a lot of people,” he explained, “so there’s always somebody popping up in every city that will join him on stage for a song or two.” In Ventura, Everlast played acoustic guitar on the rapper’s latest borderline-country number before hopping up for a rousing rendition of House of Pain’s “Jump Around.”
A combination of Sennheiser EM 550 G2 and EM 3732 receivers complemented the wireless mics as well as Sennheiser ew 372 G2 wireless instrument transmitters for guitar, bass and saxophone (coupled with an e 908 B mic).
Both bands relied on Sennheiser ew 300 IEM G2 wireless personal monitors and Sennheiser instrument mics. Snoop Dogg’s drummer used an e 901 on kick, e 908 Ds on high toms, an e 604 on the floor tom, and an e 614 for hats, whereas his counterpart used a combination of e 609s and MD 421 IIs all around the rack. Kaplan used an e 906 for guitars, and was happy to have the optional tone control.
“I normally use the e 906 with its ‘normal’ character,” Kaplan says, “but our amp was coming off as too dark. The simple and wonderfully effective solution was to use the ‘bright’ character. The e 906 is a versatile mic.”
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