Chris P. Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I use an ATM35 and think it produces as good a sound as you'll get for the price. It's now been replaced by the more violin specific ATM350. Short of a condenser mic/stand but far better than any pickup I've ever come across. It's fine for me as we only need moderate foldback in our ceildh band. However, if (and only if) the stage was very loud I would accept the loss of fidelity and go for a contact mic/pickup as described elsewhere. Some of them seem to be a bit long in the tooth, though. And you only get what you pay for. Most of them sound pretty bad to my ears and EQ is no substitute for quality kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 edit: can anyone recommend a brand of thin cable for mono Jack to Mono Jack (or to XLR) that isn't going to make it feel like the fiddle's being weighed down on one side? this is just for going to the fiddle to belt pack so not v. long Assuming you can make up your own connectors, Canford sell a Mogami brand cable designed for connection small mic capsules to RF packs...it would likely work well for you....it's very tiny but still pretty rugged and has decent screening. LINKY. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris P. Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 try www.fiddle-forum.com for some comrehensive discussion on this topic, which is dear to their hearts.Sorry. Should that read http://www.fiddle-forum.com ?or http://www.fiddleforum.com .What an amateur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berry120 Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Digging up a bit of an old topic I know, but since it seems to be general concensus here that it's better to keep all the information in one place: Has anyone used / got any thoughts on the band? http://www.headwayelectronics.com/acoustic...kups_violin.htmOne of my friends recommended it, but I wondered if anyone else had had a go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techywhizz Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 HI, I regularly work with a string quartet and we us at350 mics.. They come with a velcro strap which goes on the tail piece for the violin and a small gooseneck for use with the viola.. This clips onto the chin rest.. They're the best thing we can find for less than £200 each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Siddons Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Headway stuff is brilliant and produces a very natural sound, got their snake in two of my guitars cheap yamaha and expensive fylde. Had personal dealings with the company and they are very approachable and knowledgable. Just a thought on the fiddle thing but would also recommend the fishman fiddle pickups, and Skyinbow electric Violins. Getting carried away but instruments are my passion sound is the job!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Just to add that since my previous post in the linked topic, I've also now used a Fishburn V200 for a couple of weeks on a show. Much like the Ashburn, I found it had a tendancy to "shrillness" but that this could be tamed with a fair bit of EQ and ended up sounding quite good. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berry120 Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Thanks for the suggestions guys. Bobbsy, have you got a link to the fishburn? I couldn't find it after googling around for a bit... EDIT: Ah, after looking around I presume you mean the fishman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazz_blues_violinist Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Hi, I hope you don't mind if I ask a question that has probably already been answered. I have just recently joined a jazz band, and as the only violin player surrounded by electric bass & guitar, a drum kit, a grand piano and 3 saxophones, my violin is ridiculously drowned out. I need a mic that I can attach to my violin and from there to an amp, as this is the only way for me to be heard. I would be willing to pay up to £300 for the mic, but as I have previously only played with irish trad groups/classical orchestras, I have absolutely zero knowledge of the technical talk that goes with mics.... So would anyone be able to recommend a mic that would work for my purposes, which doesn't require a huge amount of adjustment as I wouldn't have a clue how to do it...? Also, anything that makes the violin sound really shrill wouldn't work at all as most of the time we improvise and I don't want anything that will pick up the sound of my fingers sliding up and down the strings..... Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Actually, it's a good time to update this thread. I recently did a show using a DPA4099V on the violin and it was the best sound I've ever had from a close mic/pickup. It was a rental so I'm not positive on the street price, but I'd guess it was pretty close to your £300 budget. As you might guess, despite my Fishburn vs. Fishman brain fade in a post a couple of years back, I'm fairly fussy about violin sound. It's definitely worth a listen. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McIvy Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Actually, it's a good time to update this thread. I recently did a show using a DPA4099V on the violin and it was the best sound I've ever had from a close mic/pickup. It was a rental so I'm not positive on the street price, but I'd guess it was pretty close to your £300 budget. As you might guess, despite my Fishburn vs. Fishman brain fade in a post a couple of years back, I'm fairly fussy about violin sound. It's definitely worth a listen. Bob A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on. Hi Guys, Novice poster, so apologies for ######-ups....... I'm a regular electric fiddler with a few miles under my bow, so can impart a few tips here. If competing with other electric instruments and drums on a busy stage ( unless you are on a very large spacious platform ), there is only really one way to go and at the risk of upsetting the purists, I would strongly advise the avoidance of acoustic mics fixed to the instrument. Agreed that in terms of pure sound quality, there is no beating high-end close proximity types such as Schertler, DPA etc., but frankly you are never going to achieve the required gain before feedback. I have achieved the best results, and it's always a compromise, by using contact mics or vibration transducers, combined with some pretty nifty preamping and EQ. They all need taming, and without decent control, it will sound shrill and piercing, but with some heavy attenuation at about 1kHz, you can improve things no end, particularly if you have a good quality "flat" monitor (and I don't mean a typical guitar amp!) These days there are available some very nice transducers incorporated within the structure of the Bridge, with a thin wire extending to a suitable connector, some forming part of the chinrest or others with "carpenters" clamps. Have a look around.... Avoid the types with their own "battery preamp", it usually means that they are not so clever at source, and it's more onboard clutter that the lightweight violin can do without. As any string player will tell you, the bridge type, design, shape and material will radically affect the acoustic properties of the instrument but with trial and error, you should be able to find a Bridge that works for you both electrically and acoustically. Of course, wireless connection is perfectly possible, though some analogue beltpackTX/RX systems can disturb the audio frequency response a bit. Last tip. I recommend close monitoring on stage. a small dedicated wedge, perhaps on an guitar style amp stand, or stand mounted, so that when the going gets tough, you can sidle up to your personal monitor and relax into fidding oblivion. There are also the purpose built solid electric fiddles to consider, but they are a different animal to play and it's great to swap between for different style and sound!!! All the best, McIvy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomHoward Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I've used the L R Baggs Violin pickup before with good results - this was paired with a Peavey KB series keyboard amp - the output was strong, and it needed very little EQ on the amp not to sound too shrill. This is a system that replaces the bridge on the violin with one with a pickup embedded in it. As we were converting this particular violin permanently we mounted the jack in the body of the violin - although if you wanted it to be non-permanent I've seen arrangements with jack sockets mounted on the chin rest, clamped around the edge of the violin, or even mounted directly to the bridge - which is not something I'd do personally. (Actually, looking at the web site they make a mounted jack for it.) We also bought one of their pre-amps to go with it, but to be honest it worked well enough without - although we did use it on occasion for the DI out on it. http://www.lrbaggs.com/Images/ProductPages/violinpickup.png Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieR Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 ... Agreed that in terms of pure sound quality, there is no beating high-end close proximity types such as Schertler, DPA etc., .... I have achieved the best results, and it's always a compromise, by using contact mics or vibration transducers, combined with some pretty nifty preamping and EQ. ... Just to correct something slightly here, the Schertler products are either contact mics or vibration transducers and not proximity mics as you have suggested. The STAT series is a bridge mounted vibration transducer and the DYN serries is a contact mic that brings out the natural resonance of the instrument. I would highly recommend looking at the STAT range for the application here as these will give good attack to the sound which helps cut through the rest of the band on stage. PM me if you need more info on these. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McIvy Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 Just to correct something slightly here, the Schertler products are either contact mics or vibration transducers and not proximity mics as you have suggested. The STAT series is a bridge mounted vibration transducer and the DYN serries is a contact mic that brings out the natural resonance of the instrument. I would highly recommend looking at the STAT range for the application here as these will give good attack to the sound which helps cut through the rest of the band on stage. Steve, You're absolutely right. I was typing 'Schertler', but thinking miniature Sennheiser MKE or similar. Sorry to confuse.... Actually, Schertlers would indeed be a good thing to try. Thinking about it now, I remember using a Bridge pickup of theirs whilst in the US. Could have been a STAT, I suppose? Thanks for the correction. Looking back at the recent post from 'Jazz Blues....', trying to suss this all out without getting too technical. Can I suggest starting, trial and error wise, by getting the best transducer you can afford first, following the chain down to pre-amp, amp (or combined acoustic-type) and then monitor, making sure that all the way down the chain, each element works for you. By the way, a touch of decent short-tail reverb improves things on stage no end, for me! McIvy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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