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Double Bass DPA customer service? Not so much

Tom Baldwin

Tom Baldwin

Aug 3, 2003
1,127
16
MD / DC / VA
tombaldwinbass.com
#1
Hey everybody, it's been forever since I posted...but I'd love to get some thoughts on this. About 8 years ago I purchased the DPA 4099 B. I think it was the original one before the d.vote model. I used it a handful of times, (literally 5 or so) on gigs where I needed to send a signal to the house. Seemed ok at first although I never actually heard it myself. A couple of the sound men told me it was not working for them, I assumed because they either didn't know what they were doing or weren't getting enough isolation. Soon after I started using a Beta 57 with an H-clamp because although it's not a higher end mic, the sound guys were ok with it. So the DPA sat in the case on the shelf for years.

Fast forward to the pandemic. I had to get an interface to do some stuff for teaching and decided record myself using the DPA. Now I could tell why the sound guys didn't care for it. It was not working properly. Anything over a moderate dynamic level and the signal would choke, kind going glug-glug like a double articulation. This was confirmed when I took it to a studio and tested it. So I sent it off to DPA in hopes they could repair it.

A week later I got their response: "frequency out of spec. not repairable. offer discount replacement." Total for the replacement: $482. Maybe I'm spoiled with customer service that I've received through Acoustic Image, EA, and others, but I am nonplussed with this outcome. Is a mic like this with this kind of issue really not repairable?

I take meticulous care of my gear. As few times as I used it, I'm suspect it might have been defective from the get-go. In any case, I can't justify spending $482 to replace a $600 mic that I barely used in the first place. Anyone who has any experience with DPA, or repairing mics like this in general, please shed some light on my experience.
 
#2
Hi Tom,

Good to see you after all these years! I never found much love with the DPA, and the only person I know who uses one regularly and swears by it is Rufus Reid. If I were going to be spending that kind of money on a mic for live use (which I am not going to do any time soon), i would likely use the Ear Trumpet Labs Nadine mic. I did a review on it a few years back for Bass Gear magazine, and it's a solid piece of kit. It's heavy, but also built like a tank and likely to survive live experiences. Someone here also figured out a mod to where you can keep it on your bass in the case between gigs, which is really useful. Sorry about your DPA, but I think there are better options now.

Anyway, good to see you again, and good luck! - C
 
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#5
One could make the argument the reason DPA re-designed the 4099B, was that it’s connection cable was a not reparable. They rolled out the DVote with the detachable cable in pretty short order after folks had issues with the originals. Like Chris mentioned, I think their are better options you could go with now that didn’t exist when you first purchased the 4099B. The Nadine is built like a tank, I use the Remic Red 5400DB, but like the DPA if the cable had issues you would have to send it in. I don’t think it’s even possible to repair a 4099 DPA capsule, as it was designed, in essence to be a throw away mic vs it’s tiny footprint and is the least expensive mic DPA builds for instruments. Sorry to hear your woes, I sold my 4099B when the Remic’s came out.
 
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#7
Eyermann said:
Maybe this yet to be released mic. from Neumann could be a more solid alternative? Seems like the capsule can be detached from the gooseneck.
Miniature instrument mics from Neumann
Click to expand...

Hopefully, Neumann will have a different take on this kind of microphone. We’ll just have to wait and see what it costs and sounds like. Frankly, the Remic DB 5400 and DB 5400LB work exceptionally with my Bass and the Grace Felix. Their mounting system is elegant, flexible, multi positional and non evasive. Just my take however. The base price of the microphone is $313.00 by my calculations, before you add the cost of the instrument which hasn’t been determined yet as far as I can tell. :)
 
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#8
Ric Vice said:
One could make the argument the reason DPA re-designed the 4099B, was that it’s connection cable was a not reparable. They rolled out the DVote with the detachable cable in pretty short order after folks had issues with the originals….I don’t think it’s even possible to repair a 4099 DPA capsule, as it was designed, in essence to be a throw away mic vs it’s tiny footprint and is the least expensive mic DPA builds for instruments.
Click to expand...
Ric, thanks. The notion that you could spend $600 on a “throw-away” mic is disgusting to me. I guess it was naive of me to think that planned obsolescence wouldn’t permeate the world of audio gear…
My DPA has (had) a detachable cable, so maybe it wasn’t the OG model, but still not the Dvote. In any case, I won’t be purchasing another one, or any DPA product for that matter. The chintzy thread-like wire which has been duly panned here, coupled with my recent experience make it a no-brainer.
Thanks for the other suggestions, I’ll keep those in mind and do some more research.
 
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#10
Tom Baldwin said:
…………My DPA has (had) a detachable cable, so maybe it wasn’t the OG model, but still not the Dvote. In any case, I won’t be purchasing another one, or any DPA product for that matter. The chintzy thread-like wire which has been duly panned here, coupled with my recent experience make it a no-brainer.
Thanks for the other suggestions, I’ll keep those in mind and do some more research.
Click to expand...

Wow, I just assumed you had one of the early ones without the detachable cable. Actually the cable is covered in something similar to Kevlar
so it was pretty resilient. I realize that doesn’t help you though. So, take a look at the Ear Trumpet Labs “Nadine” , Remic DB 5400 line, or if you’re just
Looking for a microphone to do work teaching online then the little Line Audio CM4 is great and reasonably priced. Just my take.
 
#12
rickwolff said:
You can probably find reviews of most mics on this superb website. Here is one. I have several mics, but if you wanted to spend less money for an 'occasional use' clip-on mic check out the Prodipe.

Click to expand...

+1 For the Prodipe. Very good sound, pretty good feedback and bleed resistance, and excellent mounting system IMO. I'm sure the much more expensive mics offer marginally better sound, but I'm skeptical that anyone will hear the difference in a live mix, and even solo, I don't think most audience members would notice much, if any, difference.
 
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#13
I decided to try the Ovid T-bone several years ago so I could compare it to the DPA 4099B. The T-Bone cost @ $150.00 with the appropriate accessories. At the time the DPA 4099B could be purchased new for @$469.00 with a professional discount (during the first roll out of the product) By comparison the DPA had better detail, low end, and was quieter with less feedback. That said, the Ovid sounded respectable, considering it’s price. The devil was in the details. The Ovid’s string clip was constantly popping of the strings and the microphone adaptor shorted out after three months. You can buy the DPA Bass clip for @$50.00 and use it with the Ovid. So, for around $200.00 problem solved. Should you have to replace the microphone connector it’s about $50.00. Depending on your budget you can chose what’s affordable. Quality is “in the ears of the beholder” but it costs more, and the difference between the two mics on a stage with a band may be worth, it if you can hear it, sometimes the higher cost of a particular instrument mic is in it’s accessories and how well they work. Just my take. Sorry for the long winded post.
 
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#15
Well, just to clarify the Ovid T Bone does not have the nuances of the DPA 4099 Dvote in regards to it's frequency response or timbre, and since the 4099 a miniature shotgun

the DPA has better off axis rejection to marginalize feedback and bleed from other instruments, but it costs nearly 6x what the TBone does.
 
#16
Circling back on the DPA CS. I messaged them saying I didn’t want to buy a new mic and could they just send back the old one. Initially they wanted to charge me $42 ($20 shipping, $7 insurance and $15 service fee) which I suppose was within their right, but I was so underwhelmed by the absence of consideration that I didn’t respond. Fortunately, after a few days someone else got hold of the ticket and it was shipped back with no charge. Maybe someone at DPA got wind of this thread, but in any event some face was saved.
 
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#17
Good call, I remember corresponding with them when they were just rolling out the 4099’s. We had a contact person inside DPA that offered those mics
to us at a professional discount. After about 3 months that completely disappeared, when the mics got popular for a hot minute. They hadn’t even released
the Double Bass mount when we ordered the first ones. I snuck in under the wire and got the correct mount. The connectors that came with the violin 4099’s
featured a low cut filter that wasn’t ideal for Double Bass, fortunately the rep that sold me mine pointed this out so they sent one that was full range.
 
#18
Ric Vice said:
Good call, I remember corresponding with them when they were just rolling out the 4099’s. We had a contact person inside DPA that offered those mics
to us at a professional discount. After about 3 months that completely disappeared, when the mics got popular for a hot minute
Click to expand...

I guess I got mine while that person was still around at DPA. I managed to get the discount and convinced them to send me a brand new one, instead of a demo, for a 1 week trial. I ended up buying the mic and was very happy in my dealings with them at the time. Sorry to hear this has changed.
 
#19
As with many new product roll outs, the company reps are a “happy” to get the new mic out there in front of the public so
Bass players see and more importantly hear it live. So, for a time discounts are offered up to promote the new product. Once
It’s established as a “legacy” with street cred, then those same companies wan’t to cover the R&D they invested in designing
same product. So, discounts are pulled and the price goes back up to nearer list. Pro discounts used to be a matter of course
as way of doing business with pros to promote the product to semi pros and amateurs. Now their only used for a short window.
 

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