6 Clip Microphones Tested On Double Bass - DPA, Audix, Audio Technica (2x), Prodipe, T-Bone 

Arco Under bridge. Over bridge. 1 7:11 7:57 2 8:46 9:33 3 10:24 11:16 4 12:06 12:57 5 13:50 14:39 6 15:28 16:17 7 17:07 17:59 Pizz A Under bridge. Over bridge. 1 6:46 7:33 2 8:23 9:09 3 9:59 10:49 4 11:42 12:33 5 13:25 14:15 6 15:04 15:54 7 16:43 17:34 Pizz B Under bridge. Over bridge. 1 6:59 7:45 2 8:35 9:22 3 10:12 11:04 4 11:54 12:46 5 13:37 14:27 6 15:16 16:05 7 16:56 17:46 Bleed Under bridge. Over bridge. 1 7:23 8:10 2 8:59 9:47 3 10:37 11:30 4 12:20 13:10 5 14:02 14:52 6 15:42 16:30 7 17:20 18:12 Single stand Gut strings. Metal strings. 1 19:07 20:08 2 - - 3 19:15 20:27 4 19:23 20:46 5 19:30 21:05 6 19:38 21:25 7 19:45 21:44

Thanks for this video. I never thought the Audix would be so good!

Just want to let you know that your videos are very useful!!!! And want to again thank you StrinMatrix! :)

It's incredible how precise your tests are, it's super valuable, thank you so much!

Thank you Herve, i like the DPA

So thorough, thanks very much!

Nice video Herve!

thanks to your video. I got the sound she was looking for without spending too much money. In the blind test, I lean towards the BL21 prodipe, which is not expensive and is really the one I liked the most. On my double bass I got the same result as you show in the video. Thank you very much your video was really useful for me. Greetings from Argentina

Thank you so much!

Amazing test. Thanks

Thank You! Great job!

I want to thank you for all the effort you make in each video ,, you show a lot of affection and respect towards the public and also towards your instrument ,, I also wanted to ask you if I could buy some transcripts of jazz solos that you have ,, thank you.

Great video. Thank You. #1 is my favorite.

Very informative, thank you very much! Greetings from Manila! :)

Gracias Hervé!

Many thanks for the great and well recorded comparison video. Initially I thought I would go with the t.bone Ovid, but them I changed from my EarPods to my Beyerdynamic DT990 headphones and then the differences became much more obvious. So I got me the Audix in a set with the Bassball.

thank you.

Amazing review. Thank you :-)

I have seen many of your videos and have found them all to be superior to all others! Thank you for your efforts. So helpful. I just bought the TBone Ovid CC100 and found it to be excellent value for money.

Great test setup! I really liked the blind listening idea. I think the most interesting test was the one where you recorded with all the microphones at the same time. Otherwise the slight differences in your playing affected the results more than the difference between some of the microphones was. For my ears, the Prodipe BL21 sounded surprisingly good overall but I wrote down that I didn't like its sound with metal strings. For metal strings, the DPA was the best for my ears. ATM350 with cardioid pattern was good overall no matter which strings you had.

thank you

¡Muchas gracias!

Amazing it's so easy to spot that dpa sound 😀👍👍 I'm really surprised with the sound presence of the audix. It Nicely gives frontal sound... I still think that the atm35 vintage brings Out the most familiar sound of the bass, but I do not like its Arco response to the point quite disappointing compared to the dpa which has way better gain sensitivity. I find this really strange how this is possible with that dvote 4099 mic. Anyways, congrats for such great contents. This video is really really very helpful for a lot out there who are still searching for their to go mic for gigs or studio work. I have made my choices on the atm35 and dvote4099 but I would be very interested to gig on that audix!

Hello and thank you for your time and good work producing this test. I have one comment. I work for a symphony orchestra. When we mic the orchestra for a pops concert, we use mics on stands for all the instruments except the cellos and basses. During breaks in rehearsals and during intermissions, it is very common for the cellists and bassists to carry their instrument off stage and then back on. Because of this, these musicians are constantly removing and reattaching the mics to their instruments. In this situation, the sound quality of the mic is of course important, but equally important is the ease with which the player can remove and reattach the mic quickly and without assistance. I have experimented with all of the mics you are testing here except the Ovid. I own all the other mics and also the Remic Contrabass mic. All of these mics are far superior to putting an RE-20 on a stand in front of the bass, but they differ a lot in the ease of mounting. The musicians that we work with seem to prefer the simplicity of the DPA system. I love the sound of the Remic, but mounting it is beyond the patience of the musicians. Ditto the Prodipe. The AT’s are an excellent choice too, but our musicians are used to seeing Neumann, DPA and Schoeps on stage. Even so, I keep my Remics nearby (love their piano mics for sound AND simplicity of setup) and for the occasional jazz bassist who seems to have a more open mind about trying something new.

Hi, Thanks for your comparison video! It’s totally useful to me and... I have a question. Which one is the new vesion of ATM-350?? As far as I known, ATM-350 is basically made as a cardioid. Where did you get the hypercardioid version??(And personally, I prefer no3 to no2!)

This is very informative. Thank you!!! PS: I'd love to hear a Schoeps CMC6 MK41 in a future test. I've seen many players using it.

Thank you for this video. Any sense of which of these mics are better or worse at rejecting feedback?

Hi Herve, thanks again for this very detailled review of 6 condenser mic's. My compliments! I do like very much the sound of the Prodipe BL21. Comparable with the DPA but much cheaper. I own the ATM 35 allready. When I use this mic on my bass I have to turn up the volume much more than for my underwood piezo element. So I have a question: offcourse I do know that it needs phantom power, but do I also need a preamp for these mic's?

I have a Meyers. It is custom made with two separate goose necks. Excellent for recording...

I liked number three quite a bit but number 6 (DPA) had the most going on

2 and 7 would be my choices (4 is what I own and what I consider still okay-ish for the really modest price point). I like the position under the bridge more because it pics up less clicky-di-clacky noise from the strings hitting the fretboard. These sounds can be super cool but tend to clash with drums when not played super precise (read: when played by sub-precise players like me). Great shoot-out!

Bonjour Hervé, entends tu une réelle différence de rendu selon qu'avec un même micro tu le places au-dessus ou en dessous du chevalet? Et laquelle de ces deux positions conseilles tu ?

Thank you for your great video! I wanted to ask, which microphone is used in the video when you are mic-ing it under the strings? I have my eyes on the Audio Technica pro 35 but was wondering how i can clamp it like you. Is it the DPA clip? Thank you so much for your thorough and eye opening review

A really solid example of these microphones! I appreciate your dedication to putting on this display.

Thanks!!! double thumbs up!....just wondering I had some noise when I recorded with the DPA and I think is the rubber mount or maybe some where else . That the reason that you are using that foam close to the tail piece?

Very helpful, thank you. Do these clip microphones typically require phantom power? I’d like to be able to plug in directly to an amp? Are there amps made for, say, acoustic guitars that do a good job amplifying bass?

Thank you for this excellent demo. What do you think of the Shertler STAT B, DYN BP48 or even the Basik double bass microphones?

Thanks a lot for these great educational videos . What is a typical SPL (sound pressure level) coming off the bass? I have a clip-on mic for vocal recording. I’m wondering if its max handling SPL is too low for this application.

3 and 6👍👍

Hey Herve! thanks for the video. Can you tell me what were you using to clip the ATM mics on the bass?

To me.... Most where boomy to me except the PDA... but the PDA was about 3db louder also with out the boom.... but they all sounded very usable...Listening through my JBL 308's thanks

Overall, i like No. 3 the best. Seems to be the audio Technica. But how did you attach it? The universal clip seems not the perfekt solution for bass? Did you clip it on the stringholder of the DPA Mic?

That is a very generous content, thank you! Which of these for you is more feedback resistant?

Thank you ! The bleed test was especially useful. Would you also consider a feedback résistance test ? I will prefer ten times a microphone without bleed and feedback over the nicest and warmest sound. (for exemple I heard the Prodipe is very sensitive to feedback if you increase the gain, even if the sound and price are good !) For studios situation, the sound engineers usually have their own great solutions for the double bass.

Hi, great video and playing! Question, how did you mount mic #3? Did it come with a clip for bass or did you use the DPA clip to clip onto? Also how long of a gooseneck for mic #3 because Audio Technica make a couple different lengths, 5" and 9" inch. Thanks so much.

Still don't know what mic I'll get, but I definitely know I want it over the bridge, thanks

What is the black plastic/rubber thing you have attached to your strings that the mics are clipped to??

Thank you for posting a informative video as always! Hove you ever tried Super Silver bass strings? What do you feel comparing to Honey strings? I have a Honey G string. I really like the strong sound. However, it’s too stiff for me. Especially when I play solos. I have tried olivs too. They are best sounding bass strings I have ever tried.But I could not stand on the tuning stability and dullness of the sound. Evah are really easy to play but sounds weak and not good harmonic response.

Mic 1 wins. It has that True bass pronunciation and punch ( I'm not saying low end ). It has the sound you would expect from a high-end recoding of tunes in a studio. Mic 6 2nd place. A little shy of the Mic 1 but it does have a good listening tone. ALL the mics did better over the strings. The thing about all the other mics reminded me of hearing the Bass fiddle as if it were in a movie, not the sound you would expect from an album or CD or whatever format today.

What is the signal chain after the mic? Thanks for the great video.

Thank you so much for this review, gracias! Where can I get the attachment for the Ovid?? Cheers

Thank you so much! Really helpful, all your testing videos! 🙏🏼🎶 I listened through my Devine PRO4000 headphones and I found the T.Bone CC 100 pretty good, especially considering its low price. For me, nothing beats my Oktava MK012 pencil mic, hung between the paws of the bridge using two rubber bands with its capsule pointed towards the fingerboard, hanging there freely without any shocks.

Have you tested the remic d5400?

Will these mikes work on an electric upright ? I am trying to get more of an acoustic sound on my electric upright by blending the factory magnet? pickup with a mic'd sound

Thank you for this very interesting comparison! Did you have the chance to test the bassball that Kontrabassatelier sells together with the Audix?

super man

Hi tks for your experience, my questioni is what metter when you play live with others instruments? There is return or noise or other disturb? Thanks

Hi! Thank you for your video! Great! I have a question: I've buyed the t bone, with a phantom power, but the volume is really really LOW!! It's not like the sound in your video...it's necesseraly something else for to have a higher output volume? Thank your for your attention! Giuseppe (Italy)

Is there a huge difference in recorded sound between using a clip mic or SDC microphone in terms of quality?

In the meantime, I have bought the Prodipe BL21 Lanen. Have tested the sound for recording and found it just great. However, I have descovered a leack in my homework made... There is no phatom power on my bass aplifier :( The majority does not, as they are not intended to take a mic anyhow, right? So using this condensor mic for playing live is jus impossible. How do you tackle that problem?. Thanks in advance StringMatrix!

Im on a low budget and my impression from this video is that the tbone ovid is quite muddy sounding and not ideal. Have you tried the newer tbone lucan series and is it any better? If anyone in the comments has an input on this id be glad to hear that too!

Salut Hervé, quand j'installe mon Dpa sur ma contrebasse, le micro vibre quand je joue le La à vide et le E. Est-ce que la mousse que tu as installé sur ta contre sert à régler ce problème ? Merci beaucoup pour toutes ces vidéos.

Are the Ovid microphone clips the same size as the DPA clips?

what do you think about the ear trumpet Nadine?

👍 Ok

For my very comparisson: 9:59 mic3 under pizz. A 10:13 mic3 under pizz. B 10:25 mic 3 under arco 10:38 mic 3 under bleeding 10:50 mic3 over pizz. A 11:05 mic3 over pizz. B 11:33 mic 3 over bleeding 13:27 mic5 under pizza 13:38 mic5 under pizzb 13:50 mic5 under arco 14:04 mic5 under bleeding 14:15 mic5 over pizza 14:28 mic5 over pizzb 14:40 mic5 over arco 14:53 mic5 over bleeding 16:44 mic7 under pizza 16:56 mic7 under pizzb 17:07 mic7 under arco 17:21 mic7 under bleeding 17:37 mic7 over pizza 17:49 mic7 over pizzb 17:59 mic7 over arco 18:13 mic7 over bleeding

I was sure the T.bone was the 4th mic, before reading the text at the end of the clip. Too much low frequencies, too much buttom. Anyway, thank you for your great work.

I.ai un audio technico pro 35 super son de contrebasse mais pas utilisable sur clip dpa car il vibre sur les cordes et transmet un bruit parasite au son

Remic is the best bass mic system. Why didn't you test that?

What about AMT S25B?

Too bad about the foam covers...the foam always degrades over time... :(

Dommage que pas sous-titré en Français....

They all seem to pick up a lot of string pluck/noise due to the avaliable placement. Might suitable to trad-jazz och rockabilly styles. #3 did best.

And what the f* is the result of this test? I'm stupid and ugly.