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Old 08-15-2007, 01:22 AM
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David Powell David Powell is offline
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OK, I've had this thing long enough now to comment and I've used it in the worst room (acoustically) that I normally gig in as well as in a few rehearsal situations. I bit the bullet, went the distance, maxed it out as they say, and forked over for the DPA 4021 and it's fancy little shock mount bracket. The worst thing is that I have no direct basis for comparison, except something like a dynamic mic stuck behind the TP or perhaps one of my cheap condensers that needs to be on a boom stand. I almost feel like I should get that Audix, Audio-Technica, or something a lot less expensive to see how much difference in sound there really is so I can confirm what I paid for. I suppose I could A-B it with my MXL 991 on a mic stand just to hear something else, but I am sure these would be worlds apart.

Some of its' "quality" is less tangible and probably not something appreciated on a A-B listening test such as the fine callibration that makes this one of the microphones that is good enough to use for scientific sound measurement purposes (of course when do most players need that?). Then there is the material and quality of construction of the the unit. Even though the wire is very thin, it does not feel flimsy. And the housing has a "heft" for its' size that confirms that it is mostly metal and probably no plastic anywhere in the capsule. And it has better humidity resistance and durability as well as a tolerance for higher sound pressure levels and the nearest to a flat response of anything I've heard. So there might be some quality in the package that is pure durability, and some that is just tighter adherence to performance specifications. The fact that the pre-amp is internal to the housing of such a small capsule would appear to be the main premium feature that separates this from other fine mics like the AMT.

I was looking for a tiny mic I could just plug into a phantom power source and not need an intermediary pre-amp box. I think the DPA is very rare in this respect, if not a bit precious because of it. It really sounds great to my ears. My bass only louder? I don't know if that can be used to describe what comes from a mic. But it is the first time that I felt I was really hearing my instrument amplified well.

Feedback rejection is better than I expected, also. I can stand right in front of my AI combo and at the "just before feedback point", it is just as clean there as behind or off to the side. The worst position for feedback seems to be at about 45 degrees and to one side. On the safe side, I am able to run the channel at about 9:00 o'clock with the master at 12:00 o'clock. If I run the Ampeg 212H cab as extension, a bit out in front of my position, I can use the same gain settings and be much louder and still, no feedback. I am using the notch on the AI, and its' position is room dependent. It is loud enough this way that I don't need to blend in the piezo in most rooms I gig in. I'm thinking a bit of both might actually cut through the mix best so I still have some experimentation to do.

Nothing is perfect of course;- and with the DPA it is a small issue with the very precious mounting gadget. It has a clamp for the afterlength that uses a foam strip sandwich that could be a bit beefier. The foam compresses too easily and the clamp is then subject to slipping. Other than that, the clamp works great and is a pretty finely machined and designed piece of work. One twist loosens the whole mechanism and one twist tightens it. It reminds me of the way the accessories for my Rolleiflex cameras were made;- really hard and precisely machined fine steel. It looks flimsy and under-engineered, but in practice, the metal parts are truly pared down to the minimum structure for a mounting clamp and once it is tightened into place, it is pretty solid. It just needs stiffer foam in the clamp part. I'll probably alter that and put thin cork in place of the foam. This is a bit frustrating because at the price of this mounting rig, DPA should have paid more attention to this. Still, it's the only flaw I could find in an otherwise really nicely made device.

I also want to hear how it records from this close in. Conventional wisdom is that recording is best from some point out in the room, but if close micining can sound good this might be the mic that does it. Live, it sounds so much nicer than a piezo that I will only use the piezo when volume is a big issue. Right now I am just enthralled with the smooth and even response.
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