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Double Bass DPA 4099 Bass vs. Audio-Technica ATM350

Maxschwartz17

Maxschwartz17

Guest
Jul 29, 2013
2
1
Berkeley, CA
#1
Hey y'all,

This is my first time posting on Talkbass.

I'm trying to decide on a clip mic to purchase for my upright. I am a jazz and bluegrass/old-time player, so I'm mainly concerned about having a mic that will capture my pizz and bow tones cleanly. I'd probably be blending the sound with my pickup, which is a Realist. Thinking about investing in a Felix dual-preamp system to EQ the two of them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
 
#2
Maxschwartz17 said:
Hey y'all,

This is my first time posting on Talkbass.

I'm trying to decide on a clip mic to purchase for my upright. I am a jazz and bluegrass/old-time player, so I'm mainly concerned about having a mic that will capture my pizz and bow tones cleanly. I'd probably be blending the sound with my pickup, which is a Realist. Thinking about investing in a Felix dual-preamp system to EQ the two of them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
Click to expand...

Max,
While both the DPA and The ATM 350 are fine microphones. The DPA 4099 Dvote, is a minature shotgun design, that's got amazing of axis rejection. I have the Grace Felix and The DPA 4099B and have used them on several gigs.
It's a winning combination. That said, you should take a look at the Ischell Contact Mic threads as many TBer's love this little mic.

Ric
 
#4
lrhbass said:
Try either the Troll, and or the Ischell, these two have been the most successful choices for good pizz and arco work.
Click to expand...

As a FOH device the DPA 4099 has done remarkably well with my bass and a Grace Felix, into an amplifier it's a tricky proposition, so if you're looking for a Mic that will go to your
backline amp and FOH then their are better choices. For this I use a Ehrlund EAP, which sounds remarkable on my 5/8 Mirecourt Double Bass, running into the Grace Felix, through a M700
using a Audiokinesis TC-112. I found that my particular setup, was incompatable with the Ischell, likely due to the horn on the Thunderchild. Others have used the Ischell with great results.
Just my experience.

Ric
 
#5
Thanks for your responses, guys.

I think I would be plugging my pickup and a mic into the Felix, using only the amp sound onstage but feeding both to FOH. Not sure if I would use the mic with the amp at all, but I'm just wanting to try out some different solutions once I get the Felix and a decent mic.

Of the equipment you all listed above, what are the sound comparisons with arco and pizz tones with these mics? I think I'd really like something with a bright, though not harsh-sounding arco tone and a pizz tone with some sizzle.
 
#6
I've used the DPA 4099 and the AMT 26i (not the ATM350 so I cannot comment there). I used the DPA 4099 into my Grace Felix, which as someone stated above is a winning combination... however, I ended up selling it because there was too much unusable high end that I couldn't notch out. Don't get me wrong—the microphone sounds great, especially in a studio setting. Live, however, there was SO much sound in my signal that I didn't need, and I couldn't find a way to get rid of it... I referred to it as having too much "air" in the sound. This made my treble knob on the Grace a deadly weapon.

The AMT is rolled off above 5 or 6k; I miss some of the high end but it ended up being much more usable for me right out of the box. It can be a bit midrange heavy ("throaty"), but it has enough of the meat of the sound and gets rid of the unnecessary high end. Plus having a 9" gooseneck is great if I want to position the mic closer to the F hole.

Just a side note, my microphone triggered officials in the Singapore airport to check my baggage after finishing a weekend tour... it looked like a weapon on the xray screen! Had to try and explain my way out of that one... :)
 
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#7
I am using a Crown GLM100, looking forward to buying a Countryman Isomax 2 hypercardoid this december. The "baddest" sounding mic will then be used as the backup. Perhaps off topic, but about rolling off highs: Recently I have found that I get a more effective sound rolling off a lot of highs on my mic (all the way down on my WW), and then adjusting bass and volume according to the room and acoustics. I have speculated that it is because the treble attack of the note (the finger touching/plucking the string) comes earlier than the core attack of the note itself. So in that way, ironically the sound gets clearer with the treble rolled down.
 
#8
Povl Carstensen said:
I am using a Crown GLM100, looking forward to buying a Countryman Isomax 2 hypercardoid this december. The "baddest" sounding mic will then be used as the backup. Perhaps off topic, but about rolling off highs: Recently I have found that I get a more effective sound rolling off a lot of highs on my mic (all the way down on my WW), and then adjusting bass and volume according to the room and acoustics. I have speculated that it is because the treble attack of the note (the finger touching/plucking the string) comes earlier than the core attack of the note itself. So in that way, ironically the sound gets clearer with the treble rolled down.
Click to expand...

Fishman used the Crown GLM 200 as the microphone for their Fishman Bass Blender. As I recall, the GLM 200 Fishman provided with the Bass Blender was modified to run off a lower voltage (6-9 Volts?), so the Bass Blender could power it. Using
it in conjunction with an Underwood pickup into the Bass, Blender made me realize just how great a Double Bass could sound with a close proximity condenser. I kept turning the Underwood channel on the blender
down, and the Crown GLM 200up. Since I was a novice, I positioned the mic over the F Hole at first , but eventually I put it over the top, where it sounded infinitely better. I think the DPA 4099 B, Troll and Remic Red are vast improvements, over the Crown GLM 100 it was a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, the Crown GLM 200 is no longer avaliable. I hope the Countryman works well for you.

Ric
 
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#9
I use a DPA (mixed the a full circle) though a felix and love it. I have never personally used a ATM350 but I know a few people who use them with great results. I think the best thing for you to do would be to try both and see what is more pleasing to your ear. Maybe some folks you know have them even if if they play fiddle or mandolin, or another instrument that people commonly use either of those mics for.

I think either way you can't loose and it all comes down to preference. Also depends on how much you want to spend, last time I checked the ATM350 was about half the price of the DPA, I only got a DPA because I found one used on here for roughly the same price as the ATM350.
 
#10
Ric Vice said:
Unfortunately, the Crown GLM 100 is no longer avaliable. I hope the Countryman works well for you.

Ric
Click to expand...
Thanks. Part of the reason I choose Countryman is that it is a well reputed company, and the physical design allows the mic to to directly be interchanged with the Crown, which at the moment is mounted like this:

IMG_20161115_114001.jpg
 
#11
Povl Carstensen said:
Thanks. Part of the reason I choose Countryman is that it is a well reputed company, and the physical design allows the mic to to directly be interchanged with the Crown, which at the moment is mounted like this:

View attachment 988928
Click to expand...

How true. The design of the Countryman is very similar to the Crown GLM 200. I also tried the ATM35 with the Fishman Blender. The ATM definitely had a fuller, more detailed sound, but the Crown GLM had far better feedback rejection. Just my take.

Ric
 

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