Audio Technica ATM350 mic: A nice solution to amplifying an acoustic archtop

[backdrifter]

I've owned many acoustic archtops and had not, until now, found an amplification solution that met my expectations for tone and convenience. I've tried lots of different options including pickups, bridges with transducers built in, under saddle transducers, mics, etc. My favorites up to this point have been the DeArmond Rhythm Chief 1000, and the K&K archtop. Both sounded very good, but were invasive to install. The DeArmond was bit more electric sounding than I prefer, but nice. However, I would have to drill an end pin hole to mount it, or use a "monkey on a stick" mount, which I had on a Benedetto that I owned for a while and found too clunky for my taste. The K&K is an elegant and good sounding solution, but won't work when you don't want to modify your guitar. A good mic is always a great solution, but the required stands can be a pain to travel with. Plus, I'm clumsy and fear getting more dings than I desire from continually ramming my guitar into the mic.

A while back, I had seen this picture of Julian Lage performing with his L-5 and this attachable mic:



It seemed like perfect solution - the tone I want (which is the acoustic tone of my guitar, just louder), non-invasive mounting (on/off without any modifications to the guitar), and none of the hassles normally association with playing through a mic (bringing stands, smacking my guitar and getting dings!).

I believe the mic that Julian was using in that photo is a DPA 4099. By all accounts they are fantastic, but at $400 plus, it cost more than I wanted to spend. Then I found the Audio Technica ATM350. It got lots of good reviews, though I didn't find many guitar players using it. When Guitar Center put the mic on sale for $150, I decided it was time.

Fast forward to yesterday, and the mic that my wonderful wife bought me for a birthday present arrived. I absolutely love it. It's small, relatively light, and mounts quickly, easily, and securely. I can have it on and off in seconds, and it's small enough that it fits in the accessory pouch of my amp's travel bag. I plugged it in and was instantly amazed. It sounds like my guitar - but louder. Just what I wanted. Feedback is a non-issue. I mount the mic roughly 2" from the F hole and I can turn the amp up very loud while standing 5 feet away without any issues. It sounds better to my ear than my Shure SM57 mic, and again, since it attaches to the guitar, it is much more convenient.

I can clip it on to the finger rest or the tail piece of my guitar. The clip is very strong. I prefer not to leave any marks, so I've been clipping it onto the lower leg of my tail piece. Even though it's mounting to a round bar, the clip holds firm and the mic doesn't move.

Anyway, I'm ecstatic. This produces the acoustic tone I've wanted for a long time. I can also run this same set up through my Line 6 Pod and emulate a tube amp to get that warmer, darker, jazz tone. At least it's good enough to please my ear. But most important to me is the faithful reproduction of the acoustic tone, and I finally feel like I've found a set up that meets my needs.

I just wanted to share in case anyone else has been searching like I had been. I don't think you can go wrong for the price of entry.

Thanks for reading, and here are a few photos:

Carrying pouch:


Unmounted:


Mounted:


Placement:




The whole setup:

[kayakman]

That`s what I have been looking for.....

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by kayakman

That`s what I have been looking for.....

If you're looking for a simple, convenient, and natural sounding amplification solution, I can't imagine you can go wrong with this!

[Archtop Guy]

I have an AT831B, I think that's the number, which I can clip to the strings between the tailpiece and the bridge. Unfortunately the mounting has never felt very secure to me.

When you clip yours to the tailpiece bar, what keeps it from rotating or moving?

I've seen Julian play a couple of times too, and I've never been sure how much he is relying on the big condenser on the stand vs. his guitar mounted mic. It seems like he moves in and out on that big condenser as if he using it to regulate the volume and the mix with his mounted PU (on his Manzer only).

But nevertherless, I am really rooting for you! I'll probably end buying whatever you've got!

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by Archtop Guy

I have an AT831B, I think that's the number, which I can clip to the strings between the tailpiece and the bridge. Unfortunately the mounting has never felt very secure to me.

When you clip yours to the tailpiece bar, what keeps it from rotating or moving?

Mine came with a strap that I can mount to the strings in the same position as yours. I tried it, and honestly, the sound is much better when positioning the mic above the f-hole.

The spring in the clip is very strong. It hasn't moved when clipped to the tailpiece bar yet, but I don't move much when I play. If you held the guitar horizontally with the strings towards the sky and shook it up and down, I'm sure the mic would move. But for normal seated position, this seems pretty stable.

I would like to come up with a way to mount the mic clip to the strings themselves behind the saddle. Right now the clip won't grab more than one string. When in the closed position, the clip faces form a triangle with space between them, and only make contact at the very tip. Because of this, if you mount it to the strings, it grabs, but is loose and moves. I think if I put something on each face of the clip, I can get them to close together like a vice, and then I should be able to mount the clip to the B and high E strings behind the saddle. This will be a better solution, I think. The clip mounts to the finger rest very securely, but getting it on and off is a bit of a pain because the clip is so close to the body of the guitar that it's hard to get your finger under there to squeeze the clip open.

[dkwvt]

Very interesting. I like it so far. How about some audio?

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by dkwvt

Very interesting. I like it so far. How about some audio?

Sorry for the delay, but here's a quick vid. All I have to record with is my iPhone, so obviously the quality isn't fantastic. I have to email it to myself from the phone and it cuts the file off at roughly 45 seconds so it's short too! I turned the amp up fairly loud (you can hear the hint of feedback as I sit down) so that the majority of what you're hearing is coming from the mic/amp, and not the guitar itself. It definitely sounds better in person, but overall this is a fairly accurate representation of what you can expect from this amp and mic combo. I'm still very happy with it. Please disregard the sloppy playing!

[Eric Jones]

BD,

I think it sounds great. Very acoustic and pretty much true to life as far as I can hear through cheap earbuds and an iPhone. (There's a bit of amplified tone, but you said it was turned up for this video.) I'll be interested to hear how it sounds in the band mix.

[urlkonig]

Have you played out live with this ATM350? If so, were you happy with the sound and feedback resistance?

I'm still looking at the DPA myself, for my archtop, my mandolin, and my fiddle -- but I'd love to have a viable, less-expensive alternative.

[kkfan]

Thanks for the heads-up on the mic.

The video sounds pretty good, pretty acoustic.

And, man, doesn't that guitar look gorgeous?!

[backdrifter]

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Originally Posted by urlkonig

Have you played out live with this ATM350? If so, were you happy with the sound and feedback resistance?

I'm still looking at the DPA myself, for my archtop, my mandolin, and my fiddle -- but I'd love to have a viable, less-expensive alternative.

I haven't performed live yet, but have practiced with it in a band setting. I play with a keyboardist and a singer that both go through a mixer and into twin powered 12" PA speakers. We don't play overly loud, but I wouldn't call it quiet either. I've been very happy with the mic so far. No feed back issues and great sound reproduction. It really sounds like my guitar only louder.

I've read that the DPA is regarded as the best, but I'm cheap so I decided to save hundreds and try the Audio Technica first. It's plenty good for me. It sounds better with my guitars to my ear than my Shure SM57, which itself is a good solid workhorse mic.

The only downside I see is common to all mic set ups - if you play outdoors you may need to deal with wind noise. I played on my back deck on a windy warm day last week and had to position my back against the wind, then it was fine.

[lespaul_79]

Looking at the picture of Julian Lage and his guitar, what is the piece attached to his bridge?

[backdrifter]

It looks like he's using the DPA "Cello mount":

http://www.dpamicrophones.com/en/pro...118&item=24360

It looks like a nice solution - I wonder if I could retrofit my ATM350 to that clip.

[lespaul_79]

Thanks Backdrifter.

I wonder if this would work too with the velcro strip?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...l/prm/alsVwDtl

http://www.djangobooks.com/media/eco...olin-mount.jpg

http://www.djangobooks.com/media/eco...in-mount-4.jpg

I dont have an archtop... yet... so not sure if it needs to be over the fholes.

(looks like a good solution for a mando too)

[backdrifter]

My ATM350 came with a velcro strap that looks exactly like the one in the first link you sent. I used it to mount the mic right at the bridge as shown, and didn't like the sound. Quite a bit more quiet and less full sounding than when the mic is positioned over the F hole.

I hadn't, until now, thought of using that velcro strap and the clip in combination to mount to the strings though - maybe I'll give that a shot.