Time for another moving coil microphone. This one is balanced and the polar pattern is omni. If you’re a fan of the Home Recording Show, you may have heard me speak into this mic.
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You may have guessed from the logo that the mic is made by Audio Technical, or by the body style that this is from the 4000 series. But if you guessed 4033 you were wrong. The key difference in the photo is the length of the grill, longer than any of the other mono mikes in the 4000 series. The mic pictured is the tube AT 4060. Another detail that differentiates this mic from others in the 4000 series — as noted by Jon Tidey — is the thumb screw mounts. The 4060 has a particular sound: lots of girth and glassy top end. It seems like the designers were trying for something reminiscent of a C12. I like the 4060 when someone needs to sound extra manly, or larger than life (think monster voices). It sounds great on electric guitar cabinet too.
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I used the 4060 on guitar cabinet for most of the Stardust Ramblers songs. Have a listen on my music demo page.
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People argue about whether attempts to recreate the famous Neumann u47 tube mic sound like the original or not. When it comes to the Lawson L47, I don’t really care. This is an all time favorite microphone for recording voice. Some alto voiced females sound a little stuffy or chesty on the L47, but otherwise it’s a slam dunk on actors and singers. I especially appreciate this mic with sibilant voices, which are magically tamed. It’s great for recording things other than voice too. The continuously variable pattern adds versatility to the mic.
The gold finish seems to draw scorn or adoration. But you can order in silver, if you prefer. The gold bling certainly invites some glamour shots…
If you notice a hint of blue near the capsule, it’s not just lens flare. There is a blue LED inside the wire mesh that illuminates then you set a switch on the mic body to fixed cardioid. In the other switch position the LED shuts off and the continuously variable pattern selector is active.
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The Shure PE57 is far from glamorous. It’s downright ugly with no top end, no bass… it’s not even terribly present. But what it lacks in fidelity is makes up with funk. When you want something to honk, this microphone has a wooly midrange you can’t ignore. I think of microphones as different colors for sonic painting, which makes unique ones valuable. It would be difficult to mistake something recorded with this microphone for anything else. I most commonly use my PE57 for re-amping or as an ambient room mic.
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Here’s an inexpensive, unbalanced moving coil microphone I bought used. As with many previous pics, the make and model have been obscured but I haven’t removed every clue. If you don’t know this one, take a guess.
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It’s the Sennheiser MKH 50, recommended to me by Doc Kane for ADR. Once you engage the low rolloff it has a very similar sound to it’s sister Sennheiser, the popular 416 used for film/TV dialog. A slight move off axis can sound comb filtered with a 416. But since the MKH 50 lacks an interference tube, it avoids the comb filtering. The supercardioid pattern holds pretty consistent across the spectrum, so off axis sounds don’t have any particular color.
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This time we’ve got a supercardioid end-address pencil condenser. It has a pad and low rolloff. The model number has been obscured in the pic. Do you know this one?
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Mic #3 is a TransformerLess Microphone: the Neumann TLM-170 R. There is a lot to like about this microphone, notably: a wide selection of polar patterns, nearly flat frequency response through all of the patterns, and a max dB SPL of 154 (padded). Ron Streicher and others especially like the TLM-170 to record choir.
Here’s an unobscured pic of the microphone’s back along with a few other views. Click any image to enlarge.
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Randy Coppinger 