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I would like to amp a violin but am not sure what method is the best for a loud environment. Simply putting a condenser microphone next to the f-hole bleeds too much drum kit. Same goes for a pickup on the bridge. Unfortunately, I cannot mutilate the violin.

I've heard of suspending a tiny condenser microphone inside the violin, but what kind of mic is this? How much does it cost? How would you mount it? Is there a better way?

I'm hoping someone has a cost effective solution for my problem.

My Friend played a concert using a wireless lapel mic and it sounded surprisingly good.

Hey, the DPA 4060 & 4061 lapel microphones work well. In australianland I paid about $700 for a 4060 with an XLR adaptor (which was pairly pricey). They make accessories for these to mount them from the strings behind the bridge.

Whilst this is a fairly good solution for close micing a vln/vla/vcl it will sound pretty completely different from a more familiar perspective, which is something to keep in mind if your are recording. In particular on the cello (simply because I have most experience with these mics on a cello) the low end and midrange sounds kinds weird that close.
The actual DPA capsules sound pretty good though, and there are all sorts of accessories for them, like a boundary layer adaptor, and magnetic clips.

I have friend who plays double bass and has spent a lot of time and thought into getting a good amplified sound. He uses a pick-up and a little mic mounted on the bass and mixes them together.

-amos

i've had alot of luck with those Barcus Berry pickup thingies whenever i've worked with violinists in a live setting.

just don't use a small Fender amp for an amp.
it just never seems to work. lots of feedback no matter what you do.
believe it or not, Marshall Half-stacks and GK half-stacks have worked great- lots of tone and projection- and if there was any feedback- it sounded pretty badass!

good luck.

You should be careful with pickups or small mics mounted on bowed instruments. They can often pick up a lot of bow noise, which can be cool, but may not be what you want. In my experience, placement is key. Also, one violinist I worked with had a very aggressive technique, and tended to displace the pickup, no matter how we mounted it. We ended up using a small diaphragm condenser (mounted on a mic stand) instead.

Ive miced the violin up in the control room before using a condensor....it sounded clean as there wasnt any bleed and the new location added a different colouration compared with the other live instruments. Depends what the musician is comfortable with though

oh yeh and hi! im new....my first post

I am convinced that there is no reasonable way to mic an acoustic violin for extremely loud situations. I did find an excellent alternative, the Meisel Spitfire J-2 Electric Violin:
http://instruments.garyhendershot.com/M ... tfire.html
It uses a humbucking magnetic pickup, just like a guitar. It also looks appropriate for heavier music, and I found one for about $300.

The closest I got to miking a regular violin without feedback is with the Fishman Concertmaster:
http://www.fishman.com/products/details.asp?id=13
It is a shoulder rest with a built-in blend control for the piezo bridge pickup and condenser microphone combo. Very nice sound, but still has the feedback problem when playing with drums. Also, it's quite expensive at around $400.

There is a place that specializes in amplifying violins here in my area. They work nationally though, and they *really* know what they are doing. I bought some MoogerFoogers from them and they were really cool to deal with:
The Electric Violin Shop
Durham NC
(919) 806-3311

I bet they have a toll free number. Look them up online.

Good luck,
-A