Sennheiser UK Powers the 2014 MTV EMAs at Glasgow

Sennheiser backs up the 2014 MTV EMAs, one of biggest night events in the music industry. Held in Glasgow’s The SSE Hyrdo, the 2014 MTV EMAs happened in the start of November. And for the 12^th consecutive year, Sennheiser UK was responsible for the audio equipment used in the event, supporting Britannia Row Productions. Hosted by Nicki Minaj, the two-hour event was filled with performances from excellent artists, including:

• Ariana Grande
• Ed Sheeran
• Charli XCX

Some of the awardees in the event are the following:

• ‘Global Icon’: Ozzy Osbourne
• Best Song and Best Female: Ariana Grande
• Best Male: Justin Bieber
• Best Newcomer and Best Push Act: 5 Seconds of Summer

In addition to that, One Direction got a total of three awards.

Sennheiser Ensemble Used in the Event

The entire event used Sennheiser’s audio equipment, including the host and presenters as well as the performers. A rundown of some of the Sennheiser audio products used in the event are:

• All presenters (including Nicki Minaj): Sennheiser’s flagship 9000 series handheld microphones
• All performers and presenter IEMs (with the exception of one act): Sennheiser 2000 Series
• Ed Sheeran: SKM 2000 with MD 9235 capsule and SK 2000 guitar radio pack
• Ariana Grande and Charli XCX: SKM 5200s with MD 5235 capsules
• Kiesza: SKM 2000 with 935 capsule
• Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro: 945 wired mic
• Nicki Minaj: HSP 4 headworn mic with SK 5212 transmitter

Interested in Sennheiser audio products? Visit our store.

Filling in for Derrick Zieba, Live Sound Supervisor Colin Pink admits that the Hydro has a tricky acoustic due to its circular structure. Furthermore he said, “With this in mind, the entire set design was in the round, with the PA following suit instead of using traditional left/right hang. We had six hangs around the edge of the stage so that we could distribute the sound in a more even way. We also encouraged the artists to go in-ear, because when staging in the round, there is always the fear of the reflections off the walls making wedge monitoring very difficult.”

He also praised the Sennheiser UK team for their excellent support saying, “They provided all required IEM systems, which were very well received by the artists, both for their sound quality and their RF coverage. They also provided us with a number of SKM 5200 handheld mics. These worked very well, even when a singer was flown within metres of the front of a PA hang. The Presenters all used the fantastic 9000 Series handhelds. These mics have amazing clarity and their rejection of handling noise is second to none. The show was a big success. My thanks goes to Sennheiser’s Mark Saunders and the rest of the team for their help in making it run smoothly and sounding great.”