Audio-Technica AT8035

Designed for professional recording, broadcasting and film/TV/video production
Short length is well-suited for ENG, outdoor recording and other specialized uses
Provides the narrow acceptance angle desirable for long-distance sound pickup
Excellent sound rejection from the sides and rear of mic
Switchable low-frequency roll-off
Operates on battery or phantom power
Line + gradient mic, 14.5" long
XLRM type output
Roll-off switch
Includes windscreen.

OVERALL OPINION

One of my main gigs is I play lead guitar in a fairly large touring pop rock band. Our sound guy and I have backgrounds in film and one day on tour he suggested we do a road documentary. I initially laughed it off and said he was crazy. But a few months and crazy chances later we actually decided to go through with it. We had a very good camera but we needed an ambient shotgun style mic. So the search began.

We really knew nothing about these kinds of mics, but we had a friend who had access to quite a few. The primary goal was reliability since we were going to drag it on the road and we really didn't want to bring a backup. After looking at a few brands, the Audio Technica shotgun mics seemed to feel the most solid. We also didn't want to spend more than half a grand which eliminated a lot of choices. But we were immediately attracted to this one and bought it. The fact that it operates off a battery and doesn't need phantom power is a great perk because we're obviously on the go. But the real question is: how does it sound? Well it sounds great I must say. We got some seriously nice audio out of it. And it doesn't really pick up a lot of room noise. Which is shocking based on how 3D the pickup pattern is. I don't know how they do it but it works great. We would definitely buy another one if this one broke but it never did.

For the price you really can't beat it. We compared it to a few shotguns over 3 times the price and the difference was minor. For any kind of film audio or maybe radio use this is great. We're about to use it for some gang style vocals just to see how it turns out. We'll see. Highly recommended.