To start with, miking a violin and creating your sound is all about preference. There is no such thing as wrong and right mix, it’s all about the artists’ or performers preferred sound. To attain such sound, Artists chooses the right room for the concert or recital on the other hand choosing the right gear for your gig makes life a lot easier

There are lots of violin mics or contact pick-up available in the market. The Prices varies from cheap plastic pick up to expensive pro models, but it doesn’t matter how much your mic costs it’s all about functionality and preferences.

Over the years, I tried lots of different mics, pick-ups, and electric violins but I settled with the best. You’ll know why…

If you use your mic for daily gigs, you might wanna invest in having a good sounding and sturdy violin mic or contact pick up.

One example I can give is the AKG C 401 pick up mic, actually what I noticed about this mic, in particular, is the polar pattern, it uses a figure of 8. It’s great when you placed this near the bridge and under the string because of the pick up pattern. This pattern picks up your sound from the wood vibration and the string on top, pure sound with the brilliance of the strings that is a good combination I suppose.

The downside though is the adhesive compound comes with the purchase. It leaves a nasty residue on the surface of your instrument and it’s hard to remove and clean afterward.

This model is out of production and replaced by AKG C 411 PP.

AKG C 401 contact mic / pick up mic with MicroMic Phantom Power XLR adapter made in Austria.

Pros: High headroom, full sound. Cons: Leaves sticky residue on the surface of your instrument.

AKG C 411 PP

The next one on the list is the Barcus Berry 3110 Clamp-On Violin Bridge Pick-Up with Barcus Berry 3000A Piezo Buffer Preamp W/EQ.

Usually compared with the Fishman Piezo pick up, the same functionality, almost the same sound, but the difference between the two is installing the pick-up. For Barcus Berry’s older model 3110, you clamp the pick up on the side of the bridge. For the new Barcus Berry 1320, the Piezo transducer is built into the bridge. So when you buy this model, an Aubert bridge is already included. You need an experienced Luthier to adjust the bridge according to the set up of your violin. With the Fishman Piezo pick up, you attach the pick up inside the gap of the violin bridge.

You can push the gain with more dBs before feedback. True bypass signal by using 1/4″ cable to your pedals, gives you direct sound to your effect chain. Distortion pedals will make your violin solos sound like a heavy metal guitar.

Pros: high headroom before feedback, comes with a preamp. Cons: leaves a mark on your bridge because of the two tiny screws, a bit artificial sounding, again this is my personal observation and preferences.

The t.bone Ovid System CC 100 The CC100 Violin bundle comes with a violin clip and the t.bone Ovid System case. The clip and the case are sold separately and you can use the CC100 to almost any instruments, very versatile indeed.

The CC100 by t.bone Ovid System is always compared with the DPA d:vote Core 4099 due to its construction and similarities in every aspect.

Sound-wise, The CC100 has a spike starting from 5k and drop from the peak of 8.3k onwards, a little compensation descent from 400 Hz down to 60Hz that makes a flat EQ not the best result but bright and clear. Nevertheless, you can always adjust the gooseneck mic to find the sweet spot, use the equalizer to give a bit more bottom to have more body then you’re set.

For the price of Php 6500, I will buy it than experimenting on different mics and pick-ups just like I did before. I wasted so much time, effort and money to find the right one. This is the closest to DPA d:vote 4099 that you can get with this price range.

Pros: Budget DPAs alike with decent sound and same functionality.

Cons: You will need to play around with the gooseneck to find the sweet spot, equalization can be improved by adjusting from your mixer or pedals.

DPA 4061 is my next bet that I certainly enjoyed using while saving some money to buy the DPA d:vote CORE 4099.

While I was working as FOH Sound 1 for musicals, I just fell in love with the natural sound of this mic. It captures the natural nuance of every cast and it simply won’t distort no matter how dramatic the dynamics are.

The mics are situated on the forehead of the casts pointing downward, even with the proximity to the nasal area it still balances with the natural voice due to its sensitivity.

I used it with the guitar and violin. With little to no EQ adjustments, this microphone will sound great.

Pros: Big sound for a very small capsule, good for instruments but best used for the casts. Cons: Pricey. Capsule is very sensitive to water or sweat.

I was saving the best for last, DPA d:vote CORE 4099. Flat equalization, no compression, find the sweet spot, that’s it and you’re all set.

With a max SPL, peak before clipping of 152 dB. This means you have to play louder than the live concert of pearl jam before you can distort or clip the signal going to the main PA system.

Hands down, this is so far the best I ever used. Simply captures the natural sound of your instrument which I prefer most.

Pros: So far the best in the Industry.

Cons: Pricey but worth every penny.

Created by: Lamberto Raymond Taylo Jr : this article is based on my experiences, observations and opinions only.