DPA 4099 With Guitar Mounting Clip

[Rick Jones]

I'm late posting here, and my experience is more limited than many of the previous posters, but I once played at a full-weekend folk festival on the tiny Channel Island of Sark, where performers and audience had come from all over Europe and the UK. You can only get there by boat, and there's no cars on the Island, you get around in horse-drawn carriages or on foot and it's very hilly, so people weren't turning up with touring rigs!

They guys doing the sound at the festival weren't messing around, and due to the schedule and the lack of opportunity for soundcheck they wouldn't let many (if any) performers use their onboard pickups, and were clipping DPA 4099s onto just about everyone's instruments. I couldn't persuade them to let me plug in my Sunrise, so I was worried I'd gone there just to flop as I'd never had a good experience playing live into mics with anything other than a resonator guitar.

There were very few sound issues all weekend, and it was plenty loud at times. I will say that it was outdoors on an open stage that had a backdrop and a roof but was otherwise made of scaffold, so there were no reflection issues or room resonances to worry about.

My own set went fine, and I remember wanting to get a DPA4099 afterwards but could never justify the spend to myself.

[calvanesebob]

Originally Posted by Snorse

I'm late posting here, and my experience is more limited than many of the previous posters, but I once played at a full-weekend folk festival on the tiny Channel Island of Sark, where performers and audience had come from all over Europe and the UK. You can only get there by boat, and there's no cars on the Island, you get around in horse-drawn carriages or on foot and it's very hilly, so people weren't turning up with touring rigs!

They guys doing the sound at the festival weren't messing around, and due to the schedule and the lack of opportunity for soundcheck they wouldn't let many (if any) performers use their onboard pickups, and were clipping DPA 4099s onto just about everyone's instruments. I couldn't persuade them to let me plug in my Sunrise, so I was worried I'd gone there just to flop as I'd never had a good experience playing live into mics with anything other than a resonator guitar.

There were very few sound issues all weekend, and it was plenty loud at times. I will say that it was outdoors on an open stage that had a backdrop and a roof but was otherwise made of scaffold, so there were no reflection issues or room resonances to worry about.

My own set went fine, and I remember wanting to get a DPA4099 afterwards but could never justify the spend to myself.

Thanks. That's good to know.

Aside from the clamp issues some people have with it, all the other things I have read and heard are very positive.

I think I can order a clip to use with my sax too.

[calvanesebob]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

It's a very good solution for some situations, primarily for live use. It's a real mic, which is going to sound better than any pickup, for live use, as long as feedback and bleed isn't an issue. But like any piece of gear, it may or may not be the best option for your specific needs - it just depends. I still have mine, tho it hasn't come out of the drawer in probably 10 years, since it doesn't solve any problem I have. But you should try it, it may be exactly what you want.

You were right Doug.

It sounded better than my other mic's but still not as good as I was expecting. Surprisingly, I remember you mentioning a zoom, so I pulled my H4n Pro out of the closet, ran the headphone out into my recorder, and just used the stereo mic's on the H4 as the mic, and it worked best of all.

I wound up putting a K&K mini in this guitar anyway, but thanks for all your input, and for reminding me about the zoom.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by calvanesebob

You were right Doug.

It sounded better than my other mic's but still not as good as I was expecting. Surprisingly, I remember you mentioning a zoom, so I pulled my H4n Pro out of the closet, ran the headphone out into my recorder, and just used the stereo mic's on the H4 as the mic, and it worked best of all.

I wound up putting a K&K mini in this guitar anyway, but thanks for all your input, and for reminding me about the zoom.

My guess is you prefer the Zoom because it's stereo. There are also potentially better placement options available with the Zoom. The mics in the Zoom I'd say aren't as good as the DPA - The whole Zoom costs less than the mic, so the Zoom mics are probably a few $ at best. But stereo, correctly placed, probably wins. If you compare the K&Ks to the DPA in a live setting, the DPA should win, as long as feedback, and logistic issues aren't an issue.

[calvanesebob]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

My guess is you prefer the Zoom because it's stereo. There are also potentially better placement options available with the Zoom. The mics in the Zoom I'd say aren't as good as the DPA - The whole Zoom costs less than the mic, so the Zoom mics are probably a few $ at best. But stereo, correctly placed, probably wins. If you compare the K&Ks to the DPA in a live setting, the DPA should win, as long as feedback, and logistic issues aren't an issue.

Oh, I returned the DPA. You were also right about the clamp. It kept popping off the guitar, but luckily no dents.

I think the K&K would be good for open mic's and recording. It don't sound like a mic, but I can get a good sound from it. I do have the K&K XLR preamp as well as an LR Baggs venue DI.

[capefisherman]

I tried one but I think I lasted about an hour or so before wrapping it back up and sending it back to Sweetwater.

My issues were as follows:

Yes, the clip is a disaster waiting to happen. I was unwilling to really crank it down on my two custom shop Martins or my Bourgeois OM-150. At least twice I *thought* it was fine but in the middle of a song it came loose and dropped to the floor. Not good.

Price. If want the true and transparent sound you get from a microphone, there are MANY fine ones available in that price range (or less!) - both small diaphragm condensers and better quality dynamic mics. Of course, you would be constantly dealing with staying in the "sweet zone" and the DPA 4099 to some degree eliminates that. But if I'd always be on edge for the possibility of it coming off - with a large THUD as it hits the floor - that will affect my performance, i.e., I don't think I could ever completely relax when using the 4099. I play a wide variety of venues from small cafe's to outdoor concerts for crowds numbering in the thousands and everything in between. The less I have to worry about regarding my hardware, the happier I am.

Feedback. Probably best to run it through some sort of equalizer. It is EXTREMELY prone to feedback in the bass end. Do NOT set up with your amp or PA speakers anything close to being behind you. I have something of a solution for that.

This issue is just me being weird but I found the thing impossible to ignore. That placement issue may be no big deal for many guitarists. I'm not one of them.

Bottom lines:

Yes, the overall sound you will get from your guitar w/4099 is very good but
for me, all the above are deal-breakers. If I want a truly natural sound I will use a small diaphragm, good quality mic. An interesting sidebar here.... While in Sarasota FL a few months ago I attended a classical guitar performance by an absolutely incredible musician, Jorge Caballero. It was held in a large theater that held 2000+. The set up was simplicity at its best: two small diaphragm mics a couple feet away from his chair with a "Y" pattern, controlled by a sound engineer. The sound was WONDERFUL and reminded me of just how good any performance with just a mic or mics can be when a good sound person is involved. So yes, if you are committed to finding as natural a sound as you can, almost any mic will help you get it compared to 99% of the pick-ups out there.

But for me anyway, it's just too much of a PIA to worry about. One BIG proviso though. If you go into a project having a clear idea of what you're trying to do, and you're willing to sacrifice a bit of the sound quality by going with an interior mounted pick-up, you can get most of what you want sound-wise. But be sure to run your signal through a high quality pre-amp. I use the Grace ALiX and it is so good at sculpting your sound (I use K&K pick-ups in all my guitars) I consider it an absolute necessity.

Please post a review or your reactions to the DPA 4099 after you've spent some time with it!

[Al Acuff]

If you want a small clip on mic without the drawbacks of the DPA 4099 it looks like Neumann may have improved upon the DPA 4099 mic with THIS.

[calvanesebob]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

My guess is you prefer the Zoom because it's stereo. There are also potentially better placement options available with the Zoom. The mics in the Zoom I'd say aren't as good as the DPA - The whole Zoom costs less than the mic, so the Zoom mics are probably a few $ at best. But stereo, correctly placed, probably wins. If you compare the K&Ks to the DPA in a live setting, the DPA should win, as long as feedback, and logistic issues aren't an issue.

Just an update.

I got a Rode NT4, and it works great.