Audio Technica Mics

everglass · 28th September 2004

Hi,

I just got a pair of AT4040's which I tried out today for the first time. On percussion they sounded really crisp and clean. I also tried them on female vocals and I was really amazed at how good the mic was at capturing the particular vocalist.

My question is, in the AT range is there a specific "vocal" mic which is considered more suitable to voice than the "all rounder" AT4040?

The singer I am helping find a vocal mic for does not tend to sound good on valve mics as they seem to color her voice too much. Solid State condensors seem more appropriate. She did sound wonderful on the 4040, but are there others in the range I should try?

Many thanks!

Everglass

acorredor · 28th September 2004

Everglass:

You can try the AT 4060. It is a tube mic. Very good on vocals; i love it!

logichead · 28th September 2004

The 4050 is a great all around mic, kind of like an AKG 414. I prefer the 4050. No tubes, unlike the 4060. (To be fair, the 4060 sounds great too.)

Best....H

acorredor · 28th September 2004

LogicHead is right... the 4050 is a great multi-purpose mic...great on oh's, guitar cabs, vocals... i like it a lot too.

Drumsound · 29th September 2004

I agree on the 4050, it does many things nicels.

For vocals and more of an 'old school' vibe try the 4047. It's got a transformer and a very different design from the 4050, though it looks like a silver 4050.

djui5 · 29th September 2004

I agree...the 4050 is a great "all around" vocal mic...

The 4060 sounds sweet on some applications also....

For the money the 4050 is an incredible mic......

gear chick · 29th September 2004

I love the AT4050, I used it on my vocals for "Slippery Road". You of course can listen for free at my site. It's streaming audio, but might give you some clue about the 4050. If you want to hear it in all its glorious fidelity....well you know....just saying.

henryrobinett · 29th September 2004

Agreed on the 4050. I have a pair. Same ball park as the 414. I also use them on acoustic piano. Great all rounder.

dale116dot7 · 29th September 2004

I've got one, I use it for vocals. I choose either the 4050, TLM103, or a homebuilt Gyraf G7 mic. It's more sensitive to sibilance than the others, but with a bit of placement work, it's nice.

I've not tried the 4040.

I have a pair of 4033's that I don't care for that much. Ok on background vocals, actually not too bad for spaced drum overheads in a nice room, but they don't get that much use.

gear chick - Nice website.

studjo · 29th September 2004

At 4050 = best bang for the buck mic I know.

recommended

Jo

LTA · 29th September 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by studjo
At 4050 = best bang for the buck mic I know.

recommended

Jo

No, the 4041 is the best bang for the buck. 4050 is in second place (or the best LDC) for your money.

David R. · 30th September 2004

4050 is great all around. AT customer support is also great. My mic started making some crackling noises when it was about 6 years old. Very out of warranty. I sent it to them to fix and they sent a new mic back.

Nothing but good things to say about that.

JonCraig · 30th September 2004

i've seen no mention of the 4033... while not as versatile, i've found it to be great on vocals that need an "edge", and (surprisingly), a rock piano sound that needed to cut through a wall of guitars. just a thought.

EngineEars · 30th September 2004

What are you all using as a mic pre? The last time I spent any serious amount of time with a AT mic was via a Mackie mixer. Maybe I should try them again with a serious pre behind it.

henryrobinett · 30th September 2004

I'm using Millennia HV-3D

thethrillfactor · 30th September 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by EngineEars
What are you all using as a mic pre? The last time I spent any serious amount of time with a AT mic was via a Mackie mixer. Maybe I should try them again with a serious pre behind it.

For the 4050 on vocals the best mic pre i've ever used is the
Tele V78 with the Shure Pad (ala Fletcher).

The V76 was also spectacular.

Moze · 30th September 2004

Ditto on the 4050 with the V76 here. I love that pre on pretty much any vocal though.

acorredor · 30th September 2004

I run my 4060 trough an Amek CIB, and the two 4050's trough an Amek DMCL.

Good set-ups for vocals, guitars and drums over here.

EngineEars · 30th September 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by thethrillfactor
For the 4050 on vocals the best mic pre i've ever used is the
Tele V78 with the Shure Pad (ala Fletcher).

The V76 was also spectacular.

Perhaps this is for another thread, but I'll try and keep it AT related. Can anyone compare a tube mic via a solid state pre vs. a ss mic thru a tube pre. I've often wondered about this with the AT4060 and the AT 4047 which I think have the same capsule. I know that different designs and tubes and such will contribute to the sound, as well as not many mics sound exeactly the same, but are there any general thoughts I can walk away with?

max cooper · 30th September 2004

Like Drumsound, I've become partial to the 4047 for vocals. It's the transformer-coupled one. I use it through an API 512c because the 4047's warm sounding but the 512 gives it nice punch, although the other day I tracked vocals with the 4047 through a Langevin DVC and it was pretty sounding for the old-school thing.

I'll have to try the 4050 though...

I don't have enough gear yet to comment on the tube/ss vs ss/tube thing.

gear chick · 30th September 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by dale116dot7

gear chick - Nice website.

Thanks Dale, The KSM 44 is also excellent. Multi pattern and same price range. Their 2 different animals sonically, so they're both worth the investment.

jajjguy · 1st October 2004

The 4060, though tube, is extremely clean sounding, not particularly "tubey". Slightly more smoothness and character than the 4050, but still a very straight shooter, like most AT mics.

cfuehrer · 3rd October 2004

I have a pair of sequential serial number 4047s and I love them. Very nice on overheads, they fill out the sound of most cheaper acoustic guitars and they are nice and fat for male vocals.

Joel Hamilton · 4th October 2004

I really like the 4033. I think the 4050 is okay, but the 403 rocks! I have used 4033's with 1073's, a Manley tube reference pre, and even some sytek pre's and it always rocks. I have used the 4033 with many other pre's as well, and it ALWAYS works. It may not take your breath away, but it always works, and I have actually chosen it for a female vocal, and for a male rock vocal, even with a zillion other choices in my collection, like C12's and 67's and RFT 7151's... I still chose the 4033 under certain circumstances.
AT makes great workhorse mics. They are like the "craftsman" brand of wrenches. They always work. Not the sexiest thing in your closet, but they always work.
Come to think of it, I used a 4033 SE with a big foam windscreen on it to track Frank Black of the Pixies for one song, and it worked really well!

It was up as a scratch vocal, and we kept it.

Predrag Trpkov · 5th October 2004

4060, 4050, 4033. Try them all if you can, you never know which one would best suit your needs/tastes and the talent at hand. If you can't, the 4050 is probably the most versatile of the bunch. Having a choice of preamps, compressors etc. and the ability to mix&match always helps.

Predrag

28th September 2004	#1
everglass Gear maniac Joined: Nov 2002 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 260 Thread Starter	Audio Technica Mics Hi, I just got a pair of AT4040's which I tried out today for the first time. On percussion they sounded really crisp and clean. I also tried them on female vocals and I was really amazed at how good the mic was at capturing the particular vocalist. My question is, in the AT range is there a specific "vocal" mic which is considered more suitable to voice than the "all rounder" AT4040? The singer I am helping find a vocal mic for does not tend to sound good on valve mics as they seem to color her voice too much. Solid State condensors seem more appropriate. She did sound wonderful on the 4040, but are there others in the range I should try? Many thanks! Everglass

28th September 2004	#2
acorredor Gear Head Joined: Mar 2004 Location: North Hollywood Posts: 33	Everglass: You can try the AT 4060. It is a tube mic. Very good on vocals; i love it! __________________ Alejandro Corredor www.acorredor.com

29th September 2004	#5
Drumsound Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Bloomington Il Posts: 5,185	I agree on the 4050, it does many things nicels. For vocals and more of an 'old school' vibe try the 4047. It's got a transformer and a very different design from the 4050, though it looks like a silver 4050. __________________ Tony Oxide Lounge Recording See the Oxide Lounge! Follow me on TWITTER! WWJMD? Come see me on the Tape Op boards! It's only inches on the reel to reel

29th September 2004	#6
djui5 Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2004 Location: Phoenix Posts: 6,664	I agree...the 4050 is a great "all around" vocal mic... The 4060 sounds sweet on some applications also.... For the money the 4050 is an incredible mic...... __________________ _________________ "What is a crossfire hurricane & why wasn't I born in one?" Randy Wright

29th September 2004	#8
henryrobinett Gear Guru Joined: Feb 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 10,229	Agreed on the 4050. I have a pair. Same ball park as the 414. I also use them on acoustic piano. Great all rounder. __________________ All the best, Henry Robinett http://www.henryrobinett.com/ http://soundcloud.com/henry-robinett

28th September 2004	#3
logichead Gear addict Joined: Aug 2003 Location: Culver City Posts: 405	The 4050 is a great all around mic, kind of like an AKG 414. I prefer the 4050. No tubes, unlike the 4060. (To be fair, the 4060 sounds great too.) Best....H

29th September 2004	#7
gear chick Gear nut Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 123	I love the AT4050, I used it on my vocals for "Slippery Road". You of course can listen for free at my site. It's streaming audio, but might give you some clue about the 4050. If you want to hear it in all its glorious fidelity....well you know....just saying.

29th September 2004	#9
dale116dot7 Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2003 Location: Calgary, Alberta Posts: 816	I've got one, I use it for vocals. I choose either the 4050, TLM103, or a homebuilt Gyraf G7 mic. It's more sensitive to sibilance than the others, but with a bit of placement work, it's nice. I've not tried the 4040. I have a pair of 4033's that I don't care for that much. Ok on background vocals, actually not too bad for spaced drum overheads in a nice room, but they don't get that much use. gear chick - Nice website.

29th September 2004	#10
studjo Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Switzerland Posts: 2,414	At 4050 = best bang for the buck mic I know. recommended Jo

30th September 2004	#12
David R. Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: I left my heart, in... Posts: 1,881	4050 is great all around. AT customer support is also great. My mic started making some crackling noises when it was about 6 years old. Very out of warranty. I sent it to them to fix and they sent a new mic back. Nothing but good things to say about that. __________________ -David R. "An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way." - C. Bukowski

30th September 2004	#13
JonCraig Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2004 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 1,800	i've seen no mention of the 4033... while not as versatile, i've found it to be great on vocals that need an "edge", and (surprisingly), a rock piano sound that needed to cut through a wall of guitars. just a thought. __________________ "My job is to make music sound great and to not whine too much." --George Massenburg Learn PT Techniques from Multi-Platinum Engineers. Click Here.

30th September 2004	#14
EngineEars Gear addict Joined: Jul 2004 Location: LA Posts: 460	What are you all using as a mic pre? The last time I spent any serious amount of time with a AT mic was via a Mackie mixer. Maybe I should try them again with a serious pre behind it.

30th September 2004	#17
Moze Gear nut Joined: Aug 2002 Location: New Jersey Posts: 84	Ditto on the 4050 with the V76 here. I love that pre on pretty much any vocal though.

30th September 2004	#20
max cooper Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2004 Location: tx Posts: 8,802	Like Drumsound, I've become partial to the 4047 for vocals. It's the transformer-coupled one. I use it through an API 512c because the 4047's warm sounding but the 512 gives it nice punch, although the other day I tracked vocals with the 4047 through a Langevin DVC and it was pretty sounding for the old-school thing. I'll have to try the 4050 though... I don't have enough gear yet to comment on the tube/ss vs ss/tube thing.

1st October 2004	#22
jajjguy Gear addict Joined: Aug 2002 Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Posts: 364	The 4060, though tube, is extremely clean sounding, not particularly "tubey". Slightly more smoothness and character than the 4050, but still a very straight shooter, like most AT mics. __________________ cellist, recordist, acoustics geek

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3rd October 2004	#23
cfuehrer Gear Head Joined: Sep 2004 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 40	I have a pair of sequential serial number 4047s and I love them. Very nice on overheads, they fill out the sound of most cheaper acoustic guitars and they are nice and fat for male vocals. __________________ Peace, Carl Fuehrer Pulsar Audio Lab

4th October 2004	#24
Joel Hamilton Gear maniac Joined: Jun 2003 Posts: 299	I really like the 4033. I think the 4050 is okay, but the 403 rocks! I have used 4033's with 1073's, a Manley tube reference pre, and even some sytek pre's and it always rocks. I have used the 4033 with many other pre's as well, and it ALWAYS works. It may not take your breath away, but it always works, and I have actually chosen it for a female vocal, and for a male rock vocal, even with a zillion other choices in my collection, like C12's and 67's and RFT 7151's... I still chose the 4033 under certain circumstances. AT makes great workhorse mics. They are like the "craftsman" brand of wrenches. They always work. Not the sexiest thing in your closet, but they always work. Come to think of it, I used a 4033 SE with a big foam windscreen on it to track Frank Black of the Pixies for one song, and it worked really well! It was up as a scratch vocal, and we kept it. __________________ http://www.joelhamiltonrecording.com http://www.myspace.com/thebookofknots

5th October 2004	#25
Predrag Trpkov Gear Head Joined: Aug 2002 Location: Krk, Croatia Posts: 57	4060, 4050, 4033. Try them all if you can, you never know which one would best suit your needs/tastes and the talent at hand. If you can't, the 4050 is probably the most versatile of the bunch. Having a choice of preamps, compressors etc. and the ability to mix&match always helps. Predrag