Remic microphones

[mrmando]

Anyone used a Remic microphone for a fiddle or other instrument? It's a Danish company making what they call "instrument-specific" microphones. Violin-family mics appear to be designed to sit under the fingerboard. They don't have a mandolin design yet.

https://www.remic.dk/

[seankeegan]

Heard mixed reviews. And for that money you could buy a DPA 4099...

[foldedpath]

I haven't used it or seen anyone locally using one. Just based on the design, I don't think it's something I'd use instead of my DPA 4099's on fiddle. From what I can tell, the pros and cons compared to a gooseneck mic like the 4099 would be something like this:

PRO: Very low profile, not visually distracting like a gooseneck mic. Might pick up less breath noise. Probably better gain before feedback because it's so close to the instrument.

CON: It's too close to the instrument for ideal sound pickup. A DPA 4099 will capture more of the vibrating soundboard area, along with some "air" for the sound to develop after it leaves the instrument. I'm also not sure how well the foam will isolate the mic from handling noise, which gooseneck mics are very good at isolating.

Overall, I think the main advantage is the "stealth' aspect compared to a DPA 4099. That's important in some situations, so maybe there is a market for this.

[mrmando]

I have a Crown GLM200 blended with a Fishman bridge pickup on both fiddle and viola. Mostly a church musician these days. A couple of weeks ago the sound tech said my fiddle setup sounds "harsh" and he usually has to tweak it a lot—this after it's been through a Rane preamp. He thinks my Aceto NV 5-string sounds "warmer" and wants me to bring it more often. So I'm thinking about alternative setups now. The Remic is pricey but I do have a dealer offering me 40% off.

[foldedpath]

mrmando, another option might be the ATM Pro 35 clip-on mini condenser mic for $150. That gets you most of the way towards the sound of a DPA 4099 at a much lower price. That's the mic I used for the fiddler in an earlier band, before we upgraded to the 4099. IIRC, I think I clipped it to the tailpiece, but you could also get the DPA violin clip and adapt it for the Pro 35.

[mrmando]

What kind of cable does the DPA use?

[Ray(T)]

Xlr - why won’t this thing let me put them in capitals?

[mrmando]

Standard XLR on both ends, or is one of them a mini?

Capitals are rationed for our UK members.

[DPrager]

Anytime I see a cable with XLR on one end and a mini on the opposite I get the impedance mismatch blues. Not always, but often it's a cable to be careful with.

[jefflester]

I believe Martin is asking if one is mini XLR, which is still a balanced line.



DPA uses micro-dot for most of their mini mics, including the 4099. The DPA mini mics are inherently use a 2-wire unbalanced line.

[foldedpath]

What kind of cable does the DPA use?

At the microphone end, it's a proprietary, gold plated and very tiny screw-on connector to the thin wire that comes out from the mic. At the other end is another tiny screw-on connector to the XLR adapter that comes with the mic.

The older DPA 4099's (the ones i have) were hard-wired at the mic end, and only had the tiny connector at the other end of the cable to attach to the XLR adapter. The newer ones can be detached at the mic end, which is a good idea if you ever damage the cable.

The tiny DPA screw-on connector looks fragile, but I've never had a problem with it. It's basically designed for plugging into wireless body pack transmitters, with a range of available plug adapters. And if you don't need wireless, you just use the XLR adapter at the end of the cable, and out to the usual mic inputs on a mixing board or stage snake input.

Anytime I see a cable with XLR on one end and a mini on the opposite I get the impedance mismatch blues. Not always, but often it's a cable to be careful with.

There are no issues with impedance mismatch with clip-on mini condenser mics like the DPA 4099 or AT Pro 35. A mixer will see them just like any other microphone.

The one thing mics like this *do* need, is something called "bias power" which is different from phantom power. It's supplied by either a wireless transmitter, or by a normal mic cable hooked up to a mixer providing phantom power to the XLR adapter, which is actually a transformer and steps it down to the bias power needed by the mic.

[almeriastrings]

The AT PRO 35 is a remarkable value. It is very nice little microphone indeed. The ATM 350 is really excellent. I use one of those myself. In fact, I found I was using it more than the DPA 4099. Both of these are absolutely top-line instrument mics, however. I have only heard one Remic microphone.. on a bass. Sounded very good. I would say that the DPA 4099, ATM 350 and the Remic's are all quite similar in overall performance. Mounting options are probably the main differentiating factor. You'd get a great sound from any of them, I suspect.

[mrmando]

Well, I found a DPA for 1/2 price at Guitar Center, so I went ahead and bought it. It came with the guitar clip so I also picked up a fiddle clip on eBay. Rather than an "instrument-specific" mic, I kind of like the idea of something I can use for, say, both fiddle and mandocello (or tenor guitar) at the same gig, should the need arise.

[foldedpath]

Well, I found a DPA for 1/2 price at Guitar Center, so I went ahead and bought it. It came with the guitar clip so I also picked up a fiddle clip on eBay. Rather than an "instrument-specific" mic, I kind of like the idea of something I can use for, say, both fiddle and mandocello (or tenor guitar) at the same gig, should the need arise.

Congrats! And yes, it's nice to have some flexibility in using that mic. I've used my set of several DPA 4099's on my mandolin, my octave mandolin, a band member's acoustic guitar, a band member's fiddle, and my S.O.'s fiddle along with my mandolin on gigs. It's a super versatile mic, with all the mounting options.

You may find out, as I did, that it's not easy switching between the different violin and guitar clamps in the middle of a gig. You may need another mic at some point, but you're on a good path to figuring that out.