I noticed David Garett using one that clips onto his strad in this video (perhaps someone recognizes it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL5ZtzTU834&list=RDvL5ZtzTU834&start_radio=1&t=5
Thanks.
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I see in that video Garrett is using a microphone rather than a pickup. I wonder if that's the outdoor theatre for that venue -- it is presumably not a normal hall environment. And if the microphone is only for broadcast.
What's your amplification scenario, Elise?
BTW I had a great time, made a bit of cash and got a very favorable response. I'd like to do this again but maybe indoors at events such as old folks homes etc.
He was the violinist in a professional band with my grandson for about 5 or 6 years and played with a mic and sounded great (degree in violin performance).
One issue, though, is that it's not ideal to mic a violin from that close, and however great your mic is, the result will be an unnatural (to me anyway) sound that requires more eq options than the typical combo amp provides. I use a three band parametric eq (Empress ParaEq, recommended by me) in my effects loop, in addition to the three band fixed frequency eq that my amp (Fishman Loudbox Artist) provides. And I've found that it requires patient experimentation to find the ideal balance. It's time well spent.
There's a basic premise in audio eq engineering: "cut before you boost." In other words, you should seek to cut offending frequencies first, before you consider boosting anything else.
http://yorkville.com/loudspeakers/excursion/product/exm-mobile/
Funny, the ad says nothing about phantom power, but I'm pretty sure I read it in the manual. I'll have to check...
Edit: checked their site and they state that it will operate on 5-50V of power. I've messaged their office to see if performance is compromised at my lower voltage.
48v
Most mixers also have phantom power...
A mixer will always be handy!
By the way I went to a jam session last night with my violin and my pre-amp was dead ... my daughter has been using it a lot with her cello ever since I bought her a looper pedal! Fortunately I had a spare battery in my bag, and in a week's time she'll have her own pre-amp.
So, the advices here are two:
- the ATM-350 needs less powered than the DPA mic
- if you need phantom power and a further control (notch filter included) the Headway preamp could be your ticket.
For myself, I use an ATM350 digital wireless system. I actually take the clip off, and place the mic under the tailpiece (in part) directly on the violin. I opted for this because it enabled me to do some of the effects needed in tango nuevo that are behind the bridge. The wire goes to the pack attached on my belt, but there is no ground wire. The wireless box is plugged directly in a board and is super easy to mix in. The advantages is that the sound is totally natural since it, and there is not mic interference/pick-up from any other instruments around. Not the cheapest kit, but by far the best sounding option possible that I have tried (and safest).
Hope this helps…
Cheers!
Look at the Fishman Platinum Stage. $150 at Amazon. Battery powered (or AC adapter). 48 V phantom power. Three-band EQ on the device plus a low-frequency filter. Weighs 300 g. Belt clip included.
On the contrary, the Headway preamps can be screwed to a microphone stand, for example, if one does not want to keep them on the floor.
And don't forget the usefulness, live, of a serious notch filter.
Fishman had a preamp with a fixed frequency the last time i looked at them, which is laughable :D
I love when i have to carry nothing or very small things. These are a few lucky occasions ....... :)
I have no problem with an auditorium - everyone was polite and shut up - but you could still be bothered by one cough. Also, the auditorium is designed to carry your sound out, and suppress what little collective noise the audience might make.
Yay!
My particular pre-amp only has one knob (it's homemade; I use it only for gain), so I know which one I'm turning. And if you look at the Baggs Gigpro (a very minimal device) the volume knob is quite distinct from the others, you'd get use to that pretty quick. A volume pedal solves all of that, but that's yet another thing to deal with.
Malcolm there's lots of situations where you need amplification. I once went to an old-time jam session where it was advertised as "entirely unplugged -- don't bring an amplifier" so I didn't, and when I got there, I saw a keyboard player and a guitar player and a mando player, all running wireless pickups into a Peavey board, and twelve other people standing around with guitars, basses, and mandos. I knew immediately that I would never be heard in that room, and my violin didn't come out of its case as a result.
Will report back....
DPA has a video on mic placement and how it affects the sound:
https://www.dpamicrophones.com/mic-university/how-to-mic-a-violin
It used four different mics, though, so it's hard to compare the placements exactly. The one using the 4011 does sound the most natural, to my ears, even though the placement is affecting what gets captured.
I have to say, Elise, that the 4099 sounds perfect for what you're looking for — something to just boost the natural sound. With my 4099 in a smallish room, the sound is just like my violin but louder. Of course, I can crank it up when playing with drums and electric guitars, and then it cuts through everything just fine but loses some of the transparency.
Also, I agree that the Art Tube MP is a great little preamp if you need to supply your own phantom power. It has a very natural sound, and is very affordable.
But that preamp can be removed and replaced with a wide variety of wireless system adapters that will fully function at 5-50 volts as provided by the different brands/models of wireless transmitters that each adapter is designed to match. That may have been what your dpa correspondent was referring to.
I don't mean to alarm you, and I'm sure you'll be able to work this out, but it won't be as simple as you're imagining. Maybe you should consider wireless? It's nice, but there goes some more money. I'm thinking about it myself.
(Note that my Fishman Loudbox Artist provides 24 volts of phantom power, and it works well enough with my dpa 4099, but there's a big difference between 9 and 24 volts. And it's always been a mystery to me why Fishman chose to provide 24 volts, when it would have been so easy to provide a full 48.)
These audio engineers are "artiste's," and I think they find it annoying that, after having spent years wringing out the best possible performance from a microphone that they can get, the end users power them with inadequate voltages and all that hard earned performance falls off a cliff.
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Here's a recording I hate. I guess it has been filtered, but still every instrument is close-mic'd, and I'm allergic to the sound for some reason.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAF5T9UzCMU