As some of you may remember, there was a PSW drawing for one of these last year. I ended up winning it, and though I don't do much broadcast/video work, i put it through its paces in several different applications. It is a large diaphragm XY stereo microphone. Each element is cardioid and I estimate about 90 deg between the capsules. It has an 80 Hz 12dB/8va lowpass filter and a -10 dB pad.
Build/construction:
Solidly built. The protective mesh grille is very stiff and doesn't deform if squeezed/pushed on. The finish is still looking almost brand new after 1 year of use. The mic stays in the pouch it was supplied with, and it taken care of, not dropped or abused. The screws holding the different sections together are very small, and after carefully dissembling it, the it is solidly built with the body being machined from brass.
Supplied accessories:
It came with a mic clip, a 15 ft cable 5 pin xlr to 2x 3 pin xlr, pouch (vinyl exterior with light padding inside), and a windscreen.
The windscreen works without noticeably co coloring the sound. It suppressed the noise on a windy outdoor stage where it was used to pickup a college choir.
The mic clip, while it seems small, holds the mic well. It it tight enough to hold the mic vertically, without being difficult to adjust.
The supplied cable is one place where I have a complaint. The ends on it looked like Neutrik ends, but the spring for the retaining clip broke the first time I used it. The ends were replaced with real neutrik ends and have had no other problems since.
How it was used and opinions:
Speakers used were Dynacord Cobras & matching subs powered by Itech HD, mons, if used, were processed peavey QW
Choir on quiet stage:
This mic will pick up everything. I could hear and understand the conversations occurring 20 ft away in between songs. Was able to get quite a bit of gain with a few cuts. Sounds great. Very detailed. Will reveal every flaw and wart/wrinkle in the performance.
Recording a HS concert band.
Similar to above. Could hear parents and kids in the quiet before the song starts. Sounds very natural and even from the quietest passage crescendoing to the loudest sforzando. Can hear band members shifting music during the songs. Stereo image is razor sharp (mic placed 1st row about 20 ft in the air pointing so that the primary axis of the mic points at the director). Can hear the flutes up front to the saxes and clarinets to the left and the low brass to the center/right.
Overhead:
WOW! On a quiet enough stage, placed slightly in front of and above the drummer's head pointing towards the center of the kit sounds amazing on a well tuned kit. The best drum sound i have gotten was this mic plus a d6 on kick. I had miced the toms with D4s and the snare with a d4 top 57 bot and didn't use them. I added a beh****** measurement mic to get some more hat and was set.
kick:
There's no way in hell i would put a $700 LDC into a kick, even if it was free(sans income tax)
Acoustic guitar:
it works and it sounds great for recording. getting enough GBF is hard with mons and required multiple cuts, but still sounded good.
bottom line: great stereo mic that sounds amazing for recording and as an overhead. Rejection is o.k. at best.
edit:
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/5bbed15003fe56a 2/index.html
Author
Topic: Audio Technica BP-4025 (Read 4244 times)