
FOH Engineer Turns to the Brand's d:facto 4018VL Vocal Microphone to Reproduce Lead Singer Justin Vernon's Voice Honestly and Transparently.
DENVER For the past 10 years, Xandy Whitesel has worked as FOH engineer for the popular American indie folk band, Bon Iver. During that time, Whitesel has been on the lookout for a microphone that would reproduce the clearest and truest sound of lead singer Justin Vernon's one-of-a-kind vocals. Whitesel found the solution he has been looking for with DPA Microphones' renowned d:facto 4018VL Vocal Microphone.
Hearing first-hand feedback from his friends and industry colleagues was what drew Whitesel to try out the microphone. I have been eager to test out DPA's 4018VL after hearing about the pristine sound quality from people around the industry, says Whitesel. As a FOH engineer, Xandy prides himself on implementing high-quality solutions and is constantly looking to get his hands on the latest and greatest gear available. After giving the 4018VL a try, I was immediately impressed by the results.
Whitesel initially tried the 4018VL during a rehearsal at one of the band's live performances and found that there was a substantial increase in clarity from what they were previously using. This gave us an accurate idea of what to expect during the show, he says. Justin has a fantastic voice and we needed to present his voice as if he isn't using a microphone at all. He uses chest voice, head voice and falsetto, and I want all of that to be presented honestly whether he is whispering or shouting. I found that the DPA 4018VL achieves this better than any other mic I've used in the past.
According to Whitesel, Vernon has also expressed an appreciation for the new microphone and the team has found several benefits to using the 4018VL to capture his full vocal range. They are able to sculpt the low-end of Justin's voice in a way that is specifically beneficial in a live setting. It never sounds muddy, explains Whitesel. The upper-mids are smooth and the highs are un-hyped, which is something I always look for in a microphone. The 4018VL is the most clear and natural sounding mic I have had the opportunity to use.
The d:facto 4018VL brings true studio sound to the live stage. Engineered especially for vocal performances on stage, the d:facto 4018VL holds a supercardioid capsule that is designed to reproduce every nuance of the human voice. In addition to its unrivaled sound clarity, Whitesel finds the 4018VL's ruggedness to be especially beneficial while touring. The 4018VL is built very well, he concludes. I haven't thrown it off the stage yet, but I'm pretty sure it would survive. I'm very happy with DPA's 4018VL Vocal Microphone.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
19/03/2026
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, is pleased to announce the appointment of Rob Stanley as Regional Sales Manager - UK & Northern Euro...
19/03/2026
The recently announced joint venture between Accedo One and Magine Pro has been officially launched as Leyra. The new company will combine the two complementary...
19/03/2026
Budapest, Hungary, March 2026 - Demand for traditional matrix switching remains strong across live events, rental and staging markets. With a reputation for rel...
19/03/2026
DPA Microphones adds to its CORE microphone selection with the 4097 CORE Micro Shotgun, which delivers a new level of clarity, headroom and sonic transparency...
19/03/2026
Starfish Technologies will present the latest releases of its TS Splicer (Win) and TS Splicer (K8) at NAB Show 2026, together with a new Monitoring Dashboard de...
19/03/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming solutions, has announced that TrueVisions NOW, a leading streaming platform in Thailand, and part of the TrueVis...
19/03/2026
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced significant enhancements to its XOS Advanced Media Processor that lower the cost of broadcast distribution while enablin...
19/03/2026
Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of award-winning signal processing products, and a founding partner in the openGear initiative has announ...
19/03/2026
Magewell a developer of innovative, high-performance video I/O and IP workflow solutions will be at the 2026 NAB Show on booth C6113. In addition to several...
19/03/2026
Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting and quality assurance solutions, today announced it will showcase...
19/03/2026
2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Preview
April 19 22
Las Vegas
Booth N.1328
Summary:
At the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Imagine Communications will showcase the lat...
19/03/2026
Broadcast playout leader highlights innovation and industry collaboration
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist...
19/03/2026
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking technologies, is highlighting remarkable advances in performance at NAB Show (booth N1...
19/03/2026
Intinor will showcase several new developments to the Direkt platform at NAB 2026, including enhanced SRT monitoring, expanded HDR transport capabilities and su...
19/03/2026
Broadcasters are rebuilding live operations workflows around IP delivery as satellite and dedicated fibre distribution decline, according to new research from C...
19/03/2026
Berklee Popular Music Institute's 24th Showcase Channels '80s Prom Nosta...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
How Chris Bolte Builds the Sound of PlayStation Games Chris Bolte '16 is a technical sound designer at Sucker Punch Productions, where he helps create the...
19/03/2026
Real-time 9:16 AI-Generated Autocropping; Software-Defined Station in a Box; and...
19/03/2026
Other Voices presents a legendary night of music as Foo Fighters bring their stadium anthems to St James' Church, An Daingean. The surprise performance teas...
19/03/2026
***Issued by RT on behalf of RTS Ireland Awards / Gradaim RTS 2026...
19/03/2026
It's a double feature on GFN Thursday. This week, GeForce NOW offers smoother sights in virtual reality (VR) and a sprawling new land to conquer.
Streaming...
18/03/2026
Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4.
Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...
18/03/2026
SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...
18/03/2026
The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...
18/03/2026
(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...
18/03/2026
Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville
Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...
18/03/2026
Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded
Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...
18/03/2026
Mix-reference plug-in overhauled
iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...
18/03/2026
Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives
Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...
18/03/2026
Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture
18 March, 2026
Media releases
New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...
18/03/2026
Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...
18/03/2026
London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...
18/03/2026
SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations
Brie Clayton March 18, 2026
0 Comments
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...
18/03/2026
Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K
Brie Clayton March 18, 2026
0 Comments
LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...
18/03/2026
Brainstorm transforms productivity and sustainability with Suite 7 at NAB Show 2...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...