I had the opportunity to use these mics on several occasions and I was immediately impressed with the design of the d:vote™ 4099’s mounting accessories.
Tom Young, Audio Technology Magazine, October 2009
By squeezing two clamp knobs to expand the clip, you simply mount it on the instrument and release. Each clamp fits the contour of its intended instrument sound source nicely and the ability to easily adjust the height and lock the clip for remounting in the same position works very well too. Importantly, the mounting system is designed to be very ‘instrument friendly’; never marking the finish, which is vital given the fragile nature and expense of some of these precious instruments. Everyone I worked with while using the
d:vote™ 4099 Series commented on how easily these microphones mount to their respective instruments.
The gooseneck in particular is a critical make-or-break aspect of any instrument microphone design and this one is the proper length to allow for full adjustment, flexing in all directions to achieve the desired angle for miking the instrument. It appears rugged and stable when adjusted, and never once needed to be re-positioned irrespective of the musician’s movement. The cable, like all-miniature microphone cables, is light but strain relieved properly – with normal use, it should hold up well.
The mounted windscreen is also very well designed. I’ve been using Countryman Isomax mics for years on strings, and the windscreens of these have often fallen off and created wind problems during performance if they’ve not been taped directly onto the cable. The 4099 windscreen by comparison is extremely secure and provides exceptional elimination of popping sounds. Using the 4099 Series extensively on strings, trumpet and sax, they were excellent sounding, similar to what I’ve experienced with all DPA products. They reproduce a natural sound with a richness, clarity and presence that’s flattering to most sound sources. On one occasion in particular where the 4099 was on a soloing saxophone and the rest of the horn section was miked with other microphones, I was wishing I’d been able to use 4099 Series mics on everything, simply because of the pleasant detail the 4099 provided to the instrument. And again, when using the DPA mic next to the Countryman, I wished I’d had more of them for the string section.