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Double Bass bass mic choice with aside on cabling

Ken Lloyd

Ken Lloyd

Dec 22, 2004
462
460
Portland, Maine
www.kennylloyd.com
#1
So I've been reading all I can in this forum (and the stickies) on the features of mics and trying to align to my needs: high noise rejection (loud drummers always right next to me), small, easy to mount, can remain mounted when I put my bass in the bag, excellent sound quality that blends well with a pickup (RSII), and as low cost as possible.

The DPA4099 keeps coming up as well as the AMT S25B and the ATM 350. I want to mix the mic and pickup into my Clarus head to Wizzy 12 cab. So I'll need two cables from the bass to the amp, one for pickup and one for the mic. So I see this new cable on the DPA site: DOA4099 Double Cable. Two cables wrapped in a sleeve. Great idea, though pricey at $199. Seems like this should be $79.

Anyway, I'm leaning toward the 4099. Before I leap, anyone like to opine about their experience with these 3 mics and my needs?

Thanks
Ken
 
#2
Ken Lloyd said:
So I've been reading all I can in this forum (and the stickies) on the features of mics and trying to align to my needs: high noise rejection (loud drummers always right next to me), small, easy to mount, can remain mounted when I put my bass in the bag, excellent sound quality that blends well with a pickup (RSII), and as low cost as possible.

The DPA4099 keeps coming up as well as the AMT S25B and the ATM 350. I want to mix the mic and pickup into my Clarus head to Wizzy 12 cab. So I'll need two cables from the bass to the amp, one for pickup and one for the mic. So I see this new cable on the DPA site: DOA4099 Double Cable. Two cables wrapped in a sleeve. Great idea, though pricey at $199. Seems like this should be $79.

Anyway, I'm leaning toward the 4099. Before I leap, anyone like to opine about their experience with these 3 mics and my needs?

Thanks
Ken
Click to expand...

Since I sell two of the mics you are considering, I'll leave others to opine on their virtues.

The double cable is a nice idea, and it looks like the materials DPA is using and the labor necessary could justify its cost. I have made similar cables for my own use, though my project was for a pair of 1/4" cables for use with a pedal board for bass guitar.

If you have a talent for soldering it's not a big deal; I used lengths of black shrink wrap, but to economize, placed an approx one foot length about every 2-3 feet. You may wish to vary that to something that works best for you. In order to do this it is necessary to make your own cables or cut the ends off cables and then resolder them.

I've also seen guys simply wrap some electrical tape around cables every foot or so. None of these approaches are as neat as what appears to be single cable; one could invest in enough shrink wrap to do the entire length of the cable.

I don't know how common this need is, but it seems that it may be a frequent need. I'll have to ask our custom cable manufacturer to quote us a neat solution for this problem.
 
#3
the dpa is amazing. get your amp/speaker/whatever up and ear level and you're good to go. technically, i'm mixing a planet with mine, but practically, i'm finding i'm never mixing any of the planet ... it's all dpa.

jeff.



Ken Lloyd said:
So I've been reading all I can in this forum (and the stickies) on the features of mics and trying to align to my needs: high noise rejection (loud drummers always right next to me), small, easy to mount, can remain mounted when I put my bass in the bag, excellent sound quality that blends well with a pickup (RSII), and as low cost as possible.

The DPA4099 keeps coming up as well as the AMT S25B and the ATM 350. I want to mix the mic and pickup into my Clarus head to Wizzy 12 cab. So I'll need two cables from the bass to the amp, one for pickup and one for the mic. So I see this new cable on the DPA site: DOA4099 Double Cable. Two cables wrapped in a sleeve. Great idea, though pricey at $199. Seems like this should be $79.

Anyway, I'm leaning toward the 4099. Before I leap, anyone like to opine about their experience with these 3 mics and my needs?

Thanks
Ken
Click to expand...
 
#4
I'm now using a discontinued ATM 35 which is working nicely, especially at the price. Dropping over $500 on a mic isn't something I can do right now and the ATM sounds good to me.
Regarding the cable situation, I made up a mic cable the same length as my 1/4" and secured them about every 6" with a black zip tie.
 
#5
I've thought about making my own cable using canare star quad. Canare Corp.: Star Quad Series: Star Quad Microphone cable(L-4E6S / L-4E5C)
The ATM 35 cable terminates with a female mini xlr. I would tie two wires to a 1/4" and the other two to a male xlr on one end and a mini male xlr on the other. The shield would need to be split and it would involve some creative shrink wrapping but what might be the pitfalls of this?
 
#6
hey that cable from DPA looks like just the ticket. I can't stand too much cable running around its dangerous and it looks a mess. I made a cable using two standard cables (xlr and 1/4) and bought a length of snake sheath (from an audio supply house) and made a 2 cord snake. It works great makes blending much easier and loops easily for storage. I think this solution is expensive but if I had a DPA i'd probably spring for it just for the convenience and options.
 

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