“Bartlett Audio microphones, hand-built in North Carolina, have produced a game-changer in their Fiddle Mic (they also build mics specifically tuned for mandolin, guitar, banjo, cello, and string bass as well as various boundary mics). This miniature omni condenser simply wedges under the tailpiece in a little foam block; there is absolutely nothing to install. This simple but ingenious design in no way affects or dampens the acoustic tone of the fiddle, and it is so light that you will never know it is there. Fiddlers desiring the freedom to move from a microphone stand but maintain the truest, most natural tone possible will be in hog heaven.
I will never go back; the relief from fatigue is alone enough reason to go this direction.
At $179.00 (purchased directly from Bartlett Audio), the Fiddle Mic is less than half the price of the next best thing on the market. Since I play on a pair of Samuel Zymuntowicz violins, the nice price would not matter if it did not deliver a superior performance. We did a mic shoot-out in my recording studio (using a pair of Gene Lawson L-47 Gold studio condenser mics run through a John Hardy M-1 mic pre into a RADAR 6) as the base line), and the Bartlett clearly surpassed three other mini condensers with the proper amount of attenuation in that really nasty 4 kHz range. The woodiness of the fiddle in the 250-400 Hz was rich and warm.
…For the purpose of live performance or reinforcing room mics in a video shoot, I don't think that the Bartlett Audio Fiddle Mic can be beaten. They enhance my enjoyment of performing live, and talking to him on the phone, Bruce Bartlett seems like a good guy, to boot.” – Jim Wood