Topic: DPA4061's - Questions

[Brian Skalinder]

but i forgot, your always right so I wont say anything else 

I'm often wrong, but this isn't one of those moments - I've not taken a stance on the discussion one way or the other.

actually bri i have used them and i have heard plenty of recordings made by them and just voiced an opinion

You're entitled to your opinion and no one suggested otherwise.

[Nick's Picks]

well i have heard two real good recordings from two different people the last month and both have the same swishing sound, bottom line is 4061's are omnis and the fact is you will need to be in tight to pull a nice recording, if you get lucky a few times thats just it,luck, not to mention the fact that if you happen to see a band with any sort of panning at all your fucked....

you dont really need to be up tight, but as omni's, proximity is good.  but thats true w/any mic.
-55 tickets?  how'd that happen 

the DPAs are areguably the finest sounding little mic like this around.  everybody uses them for that reason, and due to the good deals and wide availability.  they sound great on your head, exceptional on a baffle or Jdisk, and very sweet spaced out 4 or 5 feet, which is how I often ran mine when I had mine.

[Nick's Picks]

actually bri i have used them and i have heard plenty of recordings made by them and just voiced an opinion

You're entitled to your opinion and no one suggested otherwise.

.....even if its totaly ass-backwards.

[Belexes]

I'd strongly suggest NOT purchasing new ones with microdots if you are going to cut the connectors - you're just wasting money then.

A pair are on Ebay if anyone is interested...with the microdots. 

[zhianosatch]

That's $1250. Hell, for $2000, I could get an MK4 > Nbox set-up going. Although I've never been the biggest Schoeps fan, for stealthing I'd imagine they almost always beat the DPAs.

i was as surprised as anyone that in many situations, a good 406x setup can definitely play with the big boys. unless i suffer some financial catastrophe, i don't think i'll ever get rid of my 4061s, no matter what else i add to my setup.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

i was as surprised as anyone that in many situations, a good 406x setup can definitely play with the big boys.

Definitely.. but it depends on the situation.. I continue to hang onto my 4061's with a deathgrip even though I haven't used them in a long while. Given a choice between 4061's and mk4 actives, I always pick the mk4's.  The only exception might be something where intense security prevents my first choice (or maybe weather/wind/etc).

The cards will have the obvious minor advantages.. Like the woman sitting behind you opening a candy wrapper during your jazz show and it shows up on the 4061 version but not the mk21 or mk4.  If you have a hard clapper sitting right next to you, cards aren't really going to solve that problem.

But there is a much bigger difference in other cases..  I recorded the SF Jazz Collective last week from the front row of an okay sounding room. Unfortunately, I could hear it all bouncing off the back wall and reflecting back.. Those reflections weren't just the character of a nice sounding room, they were nasty boom and reflection. From my seat it really didn't sound very good at all. It sounded pretty nasty.

Adding to the problem was the instrument position and their attempt to squeeze all musicians in the front row: vibraphone, trombone, sax and trumpet. Hell, the drums were even way up front along the side. The piano was in the back.. The LCJO, in contrast, uses a traditional stage layout and Marsalis has no problem standing way in the back where he should be as a trumpet player.. I'm not sure if it is egos that force everyone to try and be up front with SFJC.. but I digress..  Bottom line is that I could not hear certain instruments from my great seat..

The cards cut the mud and the result sounds excellent and much better than the sound at my seat. I know any omni would have picked up the nasty room and the result would have been hugely disappointing..  It might be interesting to compare the 4061 to the AT853 in a situation like this.. I am not a big fan of at853's but this is a case where they just might have beat the dpa's..

[zhianosatch]

i was as surprised as anyone that in many situations, a good 406x setup can definitely play with the big boys.

Definitely.. but it depends on the situation..

i agree completely.

[Josephine]

This thread has me inspired . . . . I'm thinking the DPAs would be a great alternative mic to have available for heavy-duty stealth situations.
Can someone explain to me the differences between the 4060's and the 4061's?
Thanks.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

They would probably compliment your mk41's well.. Especially in cases where you know you'll have to move around during the show or if a lot of people will be passing right in front of you, etc.  Some people run the 4061's on their shoulders (poking out the shirt seam) to avoid any hat at all. Even when I Know those people are taping, it can be really hard to tell.  Another way to run them is mounted on a bag or on the shoulders of a coat draped over a chair (at jazz clubs, etc, those techniques can work better than hat mounting).

The big difference between them is that the 4060 output is about 6dB higher than the 4061.

For what I record, I wish I had 4060's instead of 4061's.  I don't need the 144dB of sound pressure that the 4061 can handle (vs. 134 for the 4061).  The 4060 has 3dB better signal to noise and dynamic range..  The higher output of the 4060 would help when using noisy pre-amps like the microtrack or at quiet shows.. The 4060's are much harder to find used.

They are small enough to hide in your hair without a hat.. I'd suggest borrowing a pair, along with a little extra gear, and try running them along with the schoeps. You could probably tape them temporarily along the band so they poke down just in front of your ears (the ear is very reflective and I don't like to run my dpa's too close to them). Alternatively, you could run them in the hat but if your head isn't acting as a baffle, you'll lose some imaging.

[Genghis Cougar Mellen Khan]

This thread has me inspired . . . . I'm thinking the DPAs would be a great alternative mic to have available for heavy-duty stealth situations.
Can someone explain to me the differences between the 4060's and the 4061's?
Thanks.

To make it simple, the lower the number the higher the sensitivity/higher output.

4060 sensitive
4061 low sensitivity
4062 extra low sensitivity

the lower the sensitivity the higher the spl handling, but even the 4060's should handle a loud rock show as long as you can handle the hot signal.  The self noise goes up a touch with the drop in sensitivity as well. 

[Aaron41]

They are small enough to hide in your hair without a hat.. I'd suggest borrowing a pair, along with a little extra gear, and try running them along with the schoeps. You could probably tape them temporarily along the band so they poke down just in front of your ears (the ear is very reflective and I don't like to run my dpa's too close to them). Alternatively, you could run them in the hat but if your head isn't acting as a baffle, you'll lose some imaging.

I didn't know the ear was that reflective. I'll need to find a good way to mount my new toys.

[Nick's Picks]

4060 is the one you want.  the 61s are overkill.
and they sound AWESOME mounted on your head, on a j-disc, any type of baffle or split a few feet.
I made many great recordings using them in an open taping environment on my home-made "omni antenna"


:0

[Nick's Picks]

in fact, i'd go as far as to say that the 4060 could easily be the best universal concert taping mic available for many reasons, but the big one being consistantly pleasing results, as long as you can position yourself favorably.

1. easy to run
2. easy to power
3. easy to hide, if necessary
4. versitile in that you can run omnis in many ways
5. they produce ! 

Ive run them into shitty gear (line in on a JB3, for example) and high end gear (v3, dpa pre, etc etc) and they excell w/everything.

[George]

After taping MMW last Thursday I love my dpa's, the results are stunning. 

[itook2much]

I'd strongly suggest NOT purchasing new ones with microdots if you are going to cut the connectors - you're just wasting money then. 

Another option that, although doesn't waste $, does cost more is to also purchase microdot-to-1/8 mini adaptors (available for $80 at sweetwater).  Of course, that adds $160 to the cost, puts another link in the chain, don't know if it would affect stealthability much.

Might be better just to go with the DPA battery box, or HEB's from CoreSound.  Not much price difference then, when you add up new DPA 406Xs, adaptors, & the cost of a SP 9or other) battery box.