DPA 4099

[Hamptonguitar]

Does any one have any experience of this mountable microphone for acoustic guitar? How does it perform?

Are there any other similar products that work as well?

[Cuki79]

I have two.

They provide great tone but you have to be careful not to hit them.

They are also feedback prone (like any mic)

You can't play in a loud stage with them.

[Ken Carr]

I have one. I use it to make wavemaps for my Tonedexter. It is too feedback prone to perform with. At least with what I have tried to do. I have tried to do a comparison in my living room with the DPA 4099g and the LR Baggs Lyric mic installed in my OM. The Lyric is much easier to use. The 4099 can't get anywhere close to the volume level of the Lyric without feedback. But I also compared the Lyric with my Langejans with a K&K mini and my Tonedexter. Again no comparison. With the K&K/Tonedexter combination, I can get much more volume before feedback than with the Lyric. After comparing these different methods of amplification, I would not bother to amplify my guitar in performance with the 4099. Too much trouble. It will be better suited for recording with.

[B. Adams]

I own eight 4099's, but I rarely use them on guitars. I've used them on uke and mando when I need something wireless for one of the bands I work for, but I'd prefer it if they'd just put pickups in their instruments. I've had decent results the few times I've used them on acoustics, but it would never be my first choice. They sound fine, but they can be a little tricky on a quiet instrument, and the mic/gooseneck always seems to be a little bit in the way.

The clamp isn't super secure on most acoustics due to the slick finish, but a little gaff tape works great to keep it in place.

Honestly, 4099's are great mic and I don't think there's anything similar that's better, but a good pickup would be much better on stage.

[stevecuss]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

I have two.

They provide great tone but you have to be careful not to hit them.

They are also feedback prone (like any mic)

You can't play in a loud stage with them.

+1

They sound great, but I don’t think they can manage stage volume unless it is quiet solo acoustics

[roelioo]

I use the dpa 4099 at home. It sounds great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3h3tMEf6-U

[Hamptonguitar]

Originally Posted by roelioo

I use the dpa 4099 at home. It sounds great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3h3tMEf6-U

Thanks. Yes, it sounds good, but of course you’re not using it mounted to the body. Replies to this thread seem to be of a consensus that it’s not really suitable as stage rig because it cannot handle volume without feedback.

[GanAinm]

I have one with two mounts, for guitar and violin. I find the mounts to be quite solid, enough that they are more likely to be a bit of a trick to remove than ever to fall off. For me generally they don’t get in the way, but no tapping or slap harmonics, and a bit of attention playing above the 12th fret. Yet with the wire and all it feels different somehow, maybe a bit like the difference between playing with abandon and playing to reduce your string squeaks (just an analogy that probably doesn’t work

The wire is finicky and hard to get used to, better for solo playing, where things feel more predictable and controlled somehow. It seems more precious than the usual plug in your jack and occasionally stomp on your cable. So for me it’s the wire that makes it feel unstable, not so much the mount.

The DPA’s may be the gold standard, but even more so for violin (or vocals in stage productions etc), where there is much more gain before feedback due to placement and acoustic properties, and different expectations.

I find that all of the small DPA’s (4099, 4060, 4061) are tricky in smaller rooms where there are reflections (while this may be true for all mics, it seems more so with these). This is a bit frustrating because these are the very rooms where you will likely be testing them. On an open stage with low stage volume they are fine. Higher stage volume (and the further you get from playing solo) you will probably have to use the age-old solution of running the DPA out through the mains with more of your pickup in your monitor.

[Tico]

I love everything about my DPA VO-4099G except the clamp.
To prevent me knocking it off, I secure it with a piece of real gaffer tape.

Sad this is necessary with such fine gear, but it's totally worth this small hassle.

Room reflections are less of a problem for the 4099's supercardiod pick up pattern when compared to the wider pick up patterns of DPA's other tiny condensers.

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[capefisherman]

Originally Posted by stevecuss

+1

They sound great, but I don’t think they can manage stage volume unless it is quiet solo acoustics

All this, and the fact that I play out a lot and play different sized rooms with varying demands volume-wise made me return mine after only two gigs. The only thing I do not agree with is that all mics are prone to feedback. There are plenty of high quality mics (Ear Trumpet is one, but pricey) that are not overly prone to feedback if used correctly and still allow for some movement without losing signal. But a good quality pick-up with pre-amp, a good amp or PA and a bit of "dialing in" the sound will give you 99% of what the DPA 4099 will without the hassle of the inconveniently dangling cord, poorly designed clasping mechanism and severe feedback issues. Just one user's opinion.....

[Schau_ins_Regal]

I had one once. It is not worth the hassle in my opinion. The clamps are bad. I made a custom one which I 3d-printed.

[stevo58]

I have one I use on banjo. It sounds great, it doesn’t feed back. But we are a fairly quiet acoustic trio. My guitars and mando all have pickups - K&K and JJB - but I never met a banjo pickup worth the time of day. The DPA “sounds like my instrument, only louder.” Last gig I sat right in front of a monitor, too, no problem.

When I first got it, I recorded my Martin with it as a test, using the monitors rather than headphones, and had very low level bleed from the monitors. I had them up pretty loud, too. Not much bleed, the mic is highly directional.

I agree the guitar clamp is a problem. On my arch top I use the cello mount and get a secure, stable mount.

Strven