Bill Eickenloff Puts DPA Microphones Centre Stage In Modern Theatre

For veteran sound designer and adjunct professor Bill Eickenloff, intelligibility and consistency in live theatre are non-negotiable. After decades working across university stages, regional productions and professional venues, he has honed a microphone strategy built to withstand the rigours of musical theatre while preserving natural vocal tone — with DPA Microphones at its core.

Eickenloff's affinity with the brand stretches back nearly 20 years, predating his recent move to the DPA 2061 Omnidirectional Lavalier. In academic and professional settings alike, DPA has long set his reference for audio quality. Historically, he prioritised the DPA 4061 Omnidirectional Lavalier for principal cast members, supplementing with budget alternatives for ensembles when necessary.

"I've been using DPA microphones pretty much the entire time I have been teaching in universities," Eickenloff says. "The 4061 has always been my gold standard. At one point, I was told flat out, 'You can't buy any more 4061s.' But I didn't want a mic I had to fight with every night and the fallback options just weren't delivering the sound or reliability I needed."

Budget pressures ultimately prompted him to trial the DPA 2061 — a lower-cost option designed to retain DPA's signature sonic character. Staying true to his process, he evaluated it in the heat of production. "I replaced mics on actors who were already wearing 4061s with the 2061 and listened," he says. "That's the only test that matters."

Early deployments included "All Shook Up," where he fitted principal performers with the 2061 on his existing wireless chain. Integration was straightforward; the mic slotted into his workflow with only minor EQ tweaks while preserving the open, lifelike vocal he expects from DPA. "The timbre was right where it needed to be," he explains. "It sounded like a DPA. I wasn't doing extreme EQ, and it handled belting without falling apart."

Classroom blind tests reinforced his onstage experience. "They could immediately identify other brands," Eickenloff says. "But when it came to the 4061 versus the 2061, they couldn't tell which was which. That was a big moment for me."

Rather than a compromise, his current mic locker reflects a deliberate broadening of DPA coverage. He now fields DPA 2061s across a wide range of roles, reserves DPA 4061s — including select CORE+ units with MicroLock® connectors — for premium applications and turns to DPA 6061 Subminiature Microphones when ultra-discreet placement is essential. "The 2061 lets me put a DPA on more actors," he says. "I'm not reserving it just for ensemble. I'm using it on leads, and I don't feel like I'm giving anything up sonically."

In addition to sound quality, reliability is paramount for Eickenloff given the sweat, movement and repetition intrinsic to theatre. "The mics just behave," he notes. "That's huge in theater. I know what I'm going to get every time I open the fader."

He singles out DPA's MicroLock® connector as a major workflow improvement, addressing a longstanding wear point on lavaliers. "That was always the weak point with lavaliers," he says. "MicroLock® is rock solid. It's one of those things you don't think about until it saves you during a show."

Further productions continue to validate his approach. On "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," he combined DPA lavaliers with a dual-ear headset for a performer cycling rapidly through multiple costumes. "That actor played eight different characters," he explains. "There's no way a single-ear rig survives that. A dual-ear headset is the only solution, and DPA is the only brand I trust to stay in place and sound consistent."

For Eickenloff, the metric that matters most is audience experience. "The audience doesn't care what mic we're using," he says. "They just know they can understand every word and every note. If they're not thinking about sound, then I've done my job."

With resources under pressure, he views the DPA 2061 as key to upholding standards without sacrificing quality. "It has allowed me to keep DPA quality on stage, even when budgets say otherwise," he concludes. "That's not just helpful, it's essential."

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