Audio-Technica AT4033

The AT4033 is a large diaphragm cardioid condenser microphone that comes with a shock mount and protective case. This microphone has become a handy microphone to have for use because of its versatility. It has low noise, and sounds really good on instruments and on vocals. I have been using since 2010 and still use it to this day but for more of a backup in case something happens but it is usually with us no matter where we are or what band we are working with. It has a 10 dB pad and a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

OVERALL OPINION

You can do just about anything with this microphone and feel very good about the quality of it. It sounds great when used on an acoustic guitar especially because it picks up just a little bit of room noise. So if records a very natural sound and has a natural reverb to it. If you use a good interface with it you will be very pleased with the quality you can get on the AT4030.
The output impedance is 100 ohms and the microphone is built very tough. It will last a long time. I think I have even dropped it a few times and there isn’t even a scratch on it at all. This microphone is the versatile microphone that all bands and musicians need because it will work great with any type of vocal male or female and sound great with different instruments in just about any room space. I have not tried this microphone live and probably never will just do to all of the good live microphones that we have and use. But if you didn’t have a live microphone this would be great for a singer/ acoustic guitar player who goes solo to do gigs. It will give you a very natural sound and a light ambient feel.

The Audio-Technica 4033 is a large diaphragm cardiod condenser mic. I am a student, musician, writer, and pretty good line dancer residing in beautiful Nashville, TN. I've been a drummer and guitar player on and off for the past 10 years of my life and have began engineering and producing in the past 4. I currently play drums for the band Brookline and you can see me rockin' an Orange County Drum and Percussion or Mapex kit decked out with Zildjian K Hybrids.

I bought a pair of these mics a few years back for right around $400 a piece from Sweetwater. I was wanting to expand my mic catalog at home and have a good stereo pair of large-diaphragm condensers

<a href="https://www.guitarcenter.com">https://www.guitarcenter.com</a>

The 4033 sounds great on just about anything. I use this at home on my acoustic guitar all the time and bring it to any studio I know I'll be tracking guitar at. I have done many 'blind' mic shootouts with this mic in line with others such as the U87, 147, 414, and even a 49 and this came up on top!

This mic is tough! It has been banged and bruised over the past few years and still sounds great and never suffered any damage. It is one of the only large-diaphragms that actually comes with a solid shock mount!

Bottom Line? Whether your tracking in your living room or on Music Row with the big dogs, this mic is a must have! It sounds incredible and stands up next to mics over 5 times it's price!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The AT4033 is a brilliant little medium-diaphragm condenser microphone that you REALLY need to try out before you commit to it. I mean it. I like to preface all of my microphone reviews by saying that microphones are subjective, and that at a certain price-point, you are virtually guaranteed quality if you use the microphone properly. That being said, the AT4033 is one of the TRUE examples of this mantra.

The AT4033 touts itself as a very specific microphone. Oddly enough though, you'll see that home and project studios are using this microphone as a workhorse on things like guitar, drums overheads, even kick. The truth is, it's a medium diaphragm condenser. It's better for instruments than LDC's, and while it seems a bit naive to make that sweeping generalization, (I know a few SDCs that are good on vocals.) the AT4033 does in fact prove all of its stereotypes true. That's exactly WHY you need to understand what you're getting into with this microphone.

I don't want to scare you away; it's fantastic on pretty much anything you throw at it. Guitar, overheads, kick, backing vocals, even gang vocals! (Gang vocals with this thing are FANTASTIC, in my humble opinion.) The AT4033 seems to lend a subtle sheen to it, a sparkle, a glimmer.

Unfortunately, you know exactly what I forgot to mention: lead vocals. Isn't the AT4033 supposed to be a vocal microphone? Well, yes, but let me finish. The AT4033 is just about the least forgiving microphone I've come across to date. This doesn't mean it always sounds harsh on everything; on the contrary, this means that when used in a certain way, it blows just about EVERYTHING out of the water, but when used improperly, you're left scratching your head as to why it's not working.

The AT4033 flatters "correct" singing (support from the abdominal muscles, correct vowel formation, all the things that make opera possible, in other words). It also seems to do very well with high, but contained voices. (Think wispy jazz soprano.) That's about it, for me at least. Maybe pairing it with a colored preamp would yield different results, but the transparency of the microphone just grabs imperfections the wrong way. This is because that sheen and glimmer that the AT4033 is so respected for also creates this filmy layer of sound that traps a throaty voice where it comes from, the throat. It's clear that when listening to this microphone, despite its sheen and glimmer on the high-end, there's a weird "swallowy" sound.

If that's what you're going for, fine, but if you're like me, and like the vocal sound to feel as if it's soaring around the cranium, then this isn't the microphone for you unless you have one of the two aforementioned types of voices. It downright lacks in size of sound. Everything's there but the sensation of openness. Other reviews have called the sound "narrow." The only way this microphone can work is if you want the sound, or if you have a singer big enough to balance it out. (But the balance is beautiful if it works.)

OVERALL OPINION

The characteristics take a 10 because with proper application, this microphone can absolutely and easily outclass microphones ten times as expensive. Unfortunately, this microphone doesn't work on everything. (What microphone does?) That's to be expected, obviously, but I have never known another microphone so impressive that can crash and burn so catastrophically.

They go for $400 new, but can be found used for under $200 if you look carefully enough.

I'm getting rid of mine; I record mainly vocals, and with my limited budget, I need to find something that isn't particularly flattering, but will never actually utterly fail. My friends all have very different voices. Oddly enough, my voice is the classical one that could work well with the AT4033, but alas, I am sensitive to the plight of the common singer as well.

The Audio-Technica AT 4033 is a large diaphragm condenser microphone that is designed for use in the recording studio. We've got one of these at the studio where I work, although it's certainly not the first microphone out of the cabinet. The AT 4033 has a cardioid pick up pattern and will gather frequencies in the range of 30 Hz to 20 kHz, which is certainly a pretty complete range. It also has a - 10 db pad and a low cut filter. The mic also comes with it's own specially designed shock mount to firmly hold the microphone in place.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall, the Audio-Technica AT 4033 is a pretty solid microphone and comes at a great price. It's useful for a variety of purposes in the recording studio, but these applications will most likely differ depending on if you're using it in a professional or home studio. While it sits as sort of a back up in the professional studio's microphone cabinet that I work at, the Audio-Technica AT 4033 is the perfect budget mic for the home studio owner. I've used at the studio as a room mic for guitar, on the beater side of a kick drum, and also for getting the body sound on an acoustic guitar. It's definitely versatile mic, but in a professional studio I wouldn't use it for vocals or anything like that, as the competition is just to steep for this there. However, if you were going to use this in your home studio, it's definitely going to be fine for recording vocals and pretty much whatever else you'd like to with it. If you're looking for an all purpose mic for your home studio that sounds good but doesn't cost very much, the Audio-Technica AT 4033 is definitely worth trying, as are many of the AT microphones.