Shure takes to the stage with Hairspray

Currently playing at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre, the musical Hairspray has seen a number of Shure products employed for use onstage.

Jands Production Services supplied audio equipment for the show, including 26 Shure UHF-R Micro Bodypack Transmitters (UR1M) and Shure UHF UR4D Dual Receivers.

James Kohler, deputy head of sound, has been extremely impressed by the lightweight and discreet Micro Bodypacks:

“I’ve been using the Shure Micro Bodypacks for the past eighteen months and they have been rock-solid,” he stated. “In fact they’ve been really good. Packs that I have used in the past have been too sensitive to heat problems and obviously with the packs strapped to the dancer’s bodies, heat can become a bit of an issue. Other packs in the past have sometimes lost audio due to the pack over heating and I haven’t experienced that once with the Shure Micro Bodypacks.”

In Hairspray some of the costumes are fairly tight, meaning that the size of the pack can become quite an issue. “If the size of the pack is too big it’s difficult to hide,” said Kohler. “The size of the Shure Micro Bodypack is a big advantage as they are very small plus they take AAA batteries instead of AA which cuts down on the size. They’re much easier to hide in fact you can easily hide the pack in a wig.”

Kohler also noted that their audio quality is a big improvement on the packs that he has previously used: “They sound really good and there’s a very low noise floor on them with no background noise on them,” he explained. “They do what they do and they’re true to how the microphone sounds itself. I’ve also found that the RF radio reception has been amazingly good. Some of the best I’ve ever used.”