INTRODUCTION:
Established in 1962, Audio-Technica, a fine Japanese outfit founded by Hideo Matsushita, was a world wide group of companies that was initially known for it’s state-of-the-art phonograph cartridges. This is a devoted company that has given so much to the world of music in the form of - high quality, affordable, and high-performance - microphones, headphones, wireless system, mixers, and electronic products for the home and professional studios. Audio Technica is a winner of a multitude of manufacturer awards that set quality, durability and price/performance standards for everyone who loves recording music.
In 1994 Audio-Technica released a wonderful multi-patterned condenser microphone known as the AT4050. I bought my pair in the spring of 2004 and selected them by mere randomness. It was them or AKG! I was sold on the looks. So, let it be known that I, Rated-R, selected these microphones because of how they looked, and little bit of AT’s reputation! I guess image is important. At the time I didn’t know much about condenser mics, but I bought them anyways! At the incredible modest price of $600.00 a piece, I snatched up a pair from an online music equipment store. Using the UPS code, I tracked these puppies where every they went. Finally, they showed up completely on time and without being traumatized by the journey. (Nudges UPS for outstanding service that protected my new babies!)
When I finally open up the packages I was astounded by the weight, and then gleamed, what seemed like forever, over every portion of my new, and first ever, condenser microphones. As my mouth started to drool, I was wondering if the results of selecting these microphones at random would be a dud, or an overwhelming success! I gave them three tests. The first was pouring cognac into a snifter glass. The reason for that is because that sound is delicate, and I put a lot of samples like that into my hip-hop music. The second was simply talking and singing, and the third test was the piano.
After pouring some cognac into a snifter glass in very quiet room, under the prowess of an AT4050 condenser microphone, I listened to the playback and was completely blown away by the perfect clarity of the sound of the liquor hitting the snifter glass. It was a moment of truth for me. After that I did a few more tests, but when I paired two of them over my piano, I knew that my $1,200.00 investment was worth every penny. This is an outstanding acoustic instrument microphone! You need not look any further. Ever since, I have been an Audio-Technica fan. I also bought some headphones from these guys and was blown away by them too! So, Audio-Technica has simply shown me they are worth looking into when comes to the equipment they manufacture.
DESCRIPTION:
With nearly a flat black finish and an intimidating look, these rock-solid microphones can be operational by using a standard 48v phantom power source. With 3 polar patterns such as cardioid (for sounds directly in front of the mic), omnidirectional (for sounds all around), and figure-of-eight (for sounds directly in front and directly behind) you’ll find these mics to be very useful and diverse for a multitude of applications. At an impedance of 100 ohms, you are assured that a pre-amp is usually not necessary for these mics with today’s modern digital recording equipment. The dynamic range of these mics goes from 20 Hz to 18,000 Hz, so it lacks a bit because it doesn’t go out to the full 20,000 Hz. However, they probably shrank the range a bit to reduce the price, so you as a consumer could easily afford it.
The 2 micron thin, vapor-deposited, gold, duel diaphragms uses a 5-stage aging process so that the optimum characteristics achieved remain constant over years of use. Also, the transformerless circuitry virtually eliminates low-frequency distortion and provides superior correlation of high-speed transients. Just when I thought these mics were at it’s limits of diversity, I notice two other switches (flat roll off, 10 dB pad) that help further the application use. Also, these mics can handle up 149 dB of loudness, so, getting them near a guitar amp should be no problem.
There are a few things I should caution you about these microphones, is these mics can easily be damage if they’re used in the barrel of a cannon as shot, or if they get blown up by a nuclear weapon, or, more importantly, used as an under water microphone to record nature. However, these mics are known to stop meteors, but with considerable damage as result of two objects trying to occupy the same space. So, handle them with care, after all they do come with a highly padded protective caring case, and a shock mount to boot. By the way, you will not be able to use them on the surface of the moon because there is no atmosphere to carry any sound.
MY APPLICATIONS:
CARDIOID PATTERN -
The cardioid pattern is used to isolate sounds directly in front of it, so, my main uses on this pattern is acoustic instruments, people who can really sing, and sampling simple sounds. When used as a pair, you can easily use these mics for pianos, old Hammond B3 organs, choirs, orchestras, and much more. When recording in stereo, be sure to get some knowledge on microphone placement on each application. So, I use the cardioid pattern mostly for musical instruments, and isolating simple samples.
OMNIDIRECTIONAL PATTERN -
If you can only afford 1 of these mics, this pattern will help capture sounds from choirs and orchestras with ease, provided you have placed it smack-dab in the middle. I would expect some delays because the musicians will admire this product as they get ready to play. The omnidirectional pattern is for collecting sounds from all around it. So, my most commonly used format for this pattern is sampling raw nature. I have recorded thunderstorms and was completely amazed. At night, I have recorded those haunting sounds of nature such as crickets, or a moth floundering too close to the mic, or the rare train tooting it’s horn off in the distance. So, I use the omnidirectional pattern mostly for capturing natural sounds, or sounds that cannot be duplicated in stereo effectively.
FIGURE-OF-EIGHT PATTERN -
This is one of my favorite patterns because I can create a scene, in stereo, that gives an ultra-realism to the recording. The figure-of-eight pattern helps record things directly in front, and directly in back of the mic. Think of it as a two-sided cardioid pattern. My favorite thing to do with this pattern is to create scenes, in stereo, that are linear in nature, like foots step going left to right (or right to left). If you have long enough cables, you can separate two of these mics to record a car driving by. You will be nothing less than astounded by what two of these condenser microphones can do, in stereo. I use the figure-of-eight for the creation of scenes (acting out an idea), or for intense stereo sampling, such as shooting a BB gun, and hitting a target that produces a nice sound.
By the way, if you want to record the rain, keep these mics, and all studio grade mics, dry.
CONCLUSION:
I consider the AT4050 microphones my flagship mics of my recording studio. They make my studio a much better place to be in, because of the jaw-dropping quality of sound they can reproduce. I would never think of getting rid of such fine products. There may be better products out there that I’m unaware of, but consider what my ears have heard, you need not look any further than the AT4050s. You can bet your house that you will not find a finer mic at this price. These are sublime and deserve to be consider as one of the most worthy mics for any home studio. I personally recommend buying these microphone as a pair because a set of these mics will up the diversity of use considerably. AT4050 is a legendary product, and is an engineering masterpiece.
WARNING: With great condenser microphones, comes great responsibility, and great rewards!
Need something cheaper, read about the
AT3035 today!
Need something simple, read about the
AT2020 today!
COMING SOON: You can't evaluate any microphone unless you can hear them. So, I'm going to write on the
Audio-Technica ATH-D40fs Professional Headphones soon!
Cascio Interstate Music
