DPA

DPA 4099 Guitar Microphone

It just arrived so it's still a toy, growing to become a tool for me.
So let's play! I tried it on every instrument I have. It took me two days.
This was real fun. Here are the results:

There are some general remarks to make.

First, this is that this might well be the most natural sounding miniature microphone I've ever heard, only rivaled by the 4061 (Omni, also made by DPA).
The goose neck is completely silent, but rather long. It needs the length because the mic is super cardioid and thus, a shorter distance to the instrument results in proximity effects (the XLR connector houses a 80 Hz low-cut filter).
The clamps are completely secure, trustworthy and durable.
I tested all mics with my acoustic amp, because I know what it should sound like and because I can simulate feedback situations very easily.
The clip on clamp mount never gave me the impression it would mar or stain the finish of my instruments. DPA claims it's save. I trust them.
The anatomy of this microphone mount simplifies the search for the right position of a microphone a lot. Basic positioning with the clip on mount and tweaking with the goose neck works very well. No hassle.
I know there is a "guitar double cable" available for combining the use of both a pickup and this mic, but I don't have it, so I can't tell you more about it.

Guitar & Mandola (guitar mount)
This is what the guitar clamp was made for. Ideal. The mic can be mounted on several different positions, but needs to be directed to the fretboard, halfway between where the neck is attached to the body and the soundhole. This gave me an extremely natural and transparent sound.

Banjo (violin mount)
Banjo's are hard to amplify. But not for this microphone! I mounted it on the edge of the resonator, which allowed me to make a mix of the sound coming from the top and the sound coming out of the resonator. Simply by moving the goose neck until the mic sounded best. The remarkable thing is, that the only thing that really mattered was the relative position with regards to the rim and the resonator (done with the goose neck). The actual mounting position on the resonator (with the clamp) had almost no effect on the sound. An identical sound, all around the resonator. I was able to get a really balanced sound. Beautiful.

Resonator guitar (guitar mount)
I used it on two reso's. Both a brass tricone-roundneck (no I never polish it....) and a wooden spider-squareneck. Actually, the ideal position was the same: behind and below the bridge, catching the cones. The soundholes just produced some minor bass sounds. Both guitars were captured extremely well. I was surprised that it registered all the overtones really well. I don't like dampening the strings behind my slide, because I love these overtones.

Mandolin (violin mount)
On both an A-model and a F-model, it wasn't hard to find the right position for a great sound. Just outside the f-holes on the neck side did the trick. In fact the "equalizing" possibilities were enormous. Making the sound a little warmer, direct or midrange. It kept me playing for a while ...

Cello (guitar mount)
This was my first big surprise. I mounted the clamp across the bottom of the fingerboard, which allowed the gooseneck to get the mic right next to the f-hole. Wonderful And it was out of the way of the bow. It must be a good mic to use on a standing bass as well. Haven't tried that. But I will!

Bodhran (violin mount)
Now that was the second big surprise. The microphone mounted on the crossbar really easy. You'd expect loads of boominess: Not! Aiming the mic at where the rim and the head meet it gave me a extremely good reproduction of the sound. There wasn't even any handling noise.

(I must honestly say that, being the proud owner of a DPA 4061 as well, I think I'd use those on my mandolin and reso's rather than the DPA 4099. This has nothing to do with the sound of the 4099. I really like the magnetic mounts that the 4011 have for mounting the mics on the reso-guitars. The reason for preferring the 4061 on my mandolin is the fact that I need loads of room to play. I sometimes play a long way up the fretboard. The smaller 4061 gives me more freedom for my particular (messy) style of playing.)

Feedback (or the lack of feedback)
Overall, this the best sounding and most practical instrument microphone I've heard and seen. Ever.
I have not been able to create a realistic feedback situation, due to the enormous gain before feedback this mic offers. I tried it with my amps behind me combined with a monitor in front of me. At no volume level did it create feedback. I had to twist the instruments in strange positions to make that happen.This is the instrument microphone to take on stage. No doubt. "Semi acoustic" stages, with little stage volume should never create feedback problems. This mic can be used in a electric high volume situation without feedback problems. I think this is all due to the fact that this really is a miniature shotgun microphone and it's of the highest quality!

Soundquality
This is the mic to use whenever you want your instrument to sound as you know it: Acoustic!
It sounds like whatever your instrument sounds like.

This mic is well worth the money. (Even musicians playing small venues should be able to effort it.)
This mic should be in your gigbag.

For those interested, here are the details and here is the homepage of DPA Microphones.