Marc van de Graaf

Dutch multi-instrumentalist Marc van de Graaf has this to say about his DPA 4061 Miniature Omnidirectional Microphone:

"This mic can do it all. Besides its close-miking of amps ability, it's a giant in miking all sorts of acoustic instruments. I use it for my guitars, mandolins, ukelele, tin whistles and even accordeons or concertinas.

On vintage guitars
Since I play a lot of acoustic instruments, I'm always on the lookout for a neutral reproduction of their sound. The hardest to amplify is my slide guitar, a 1930 Stromberg-Voisinet Kay Kraft, Style B. It was the first instrument I tried my DPA 4061 on. I stuck it on and it sounded perfect. A beautiful reproduction of a unique sound. The overtones, created by my non-muting slide technique, were untouched and crisp.

Using the microphone with my slide guitar was a real surprise. Given the rather aggressive sound of the instrument (some say it sounds like a banjo with sustain), conventional pickups have trouble reproducing its character. But it was very forgiving with regards to the placement of the microphone. The strength of the instrument's sound level made it very easy to move the mic around without significant change. Very subtle changes in the accurate reproduction could be achieved.

After that, I used it on my other 1930s guitar, an Epiphone Recording "A" Tenor. this was the first time I was able to play this guitar on stage without feedback. Under-saddles and soundboard-pickups have not been able to get this quality level with these guitars.

On mandolin, banjo, concertina, and whistles
I have tried the mic on all my instruments. Every type of instruments has its particular possible sweet spots. But, depending on the actual individual instrument, I had to determine what the best place for the microphone was. In all cases, I aimed the microphone directly towards the sound source and haven't yet used the windscreens.

For my mandolin, there were two good spots. One was underneath the soundhole which produced the most natural sound. The other was behind the bridge. The sound became a little more crisp which made the instrument stand out better in the mix.

Mounting the mic on instruments with a clear, one-spot sound source was no problem at all. For my whistles it meant mounting it as close to the mouthpiece as possible without getting in the airflow. Resonator banjo: Almost any spot on the soundring will do. Concertina: Using the 3-pin amp-mount made it very easy.

Over all, finding the sweet spots was easy. (I used painters tape for testmounting.) A couple of minutes of experimentation per instrument did the trick.

Mics and amplifiers
I normally don't use microphones for my amplifiers. I try to achieve a sound as natural as possible. This is why I, if possible, will plug my instrument mic directly in the PA (via a DI). However, for the sake of experiment I tried the mic on my amplifier. The special mount proved to work great and the sound was optimal. If reproducing an amp is what you want: this is the mic to do it. (Mind you, I assume you'll need as many mics as you have separated speakers built in your cabinet.)

Surface mounts with tape
The supplied universal surface mounts with double sided tape work splendidly. I regularly have the mic mounted on my instruments for weeks on row. There has been no sign of discoloration or other effects on the lacquer. I used it on modern lacquers as well as very old nitro and French polish. To be honest: I wouldn't let this tape near my 1930s instruments if I had any doubts."