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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
little with guitar sounds. What showed up was again how careful you had to be with placement – rich tone and body was achieved instantly after moving the AT5040 around the cab area, going from the cone edge to the centre to achieve a nice blend of sharpness and what I call the real cabinet sound. The other obvious point was how loud this mic is. The AT5040’s specs quote 142dB SPL with only 5dB of noise – that’s a massive 137dB of dynamic range!
VOCALS Vocals are the AT5040 mic’s main self-titled focus. With its fixed cardioid pattern, the position of the singer is crucial as it has quite a focused sweet spot. The mic also has a large proximity effect that lifts the low end but it’s simply solved by pop filter distance. The recording
was stunning, some beautiful detail and natural presence, with no harshness or inflated unnatural highs to the sound – more a silky natural tone. I think my favourite impression was the feeling of extra body to the voice when compared to my existing LDC vocal mic, especially useful on female vocals that can tend to thin out.
CONCLUSION The AT5040, I think, is a brilliant new concept in microphone design. With its super-sized four-part capsule and clever electronics all wrapped in a superb finish and held in the bespoke shock mount it certainly achieves the goal of “Pure Sound” set out by Audio- Technica in its initial concept for the 50 Series. The huge dynamic range,
clear frequency response and low noise floor together with
“If you want a mic that will capture natural vocals across a large dynamic range as well as a superb clear instrument mic the AT5040 should definitely be at the top of your list.” Alan Branch
the natural tone really makes it a wonder to record with. The AT5040 is a little extreme with the low end but I’d rather have it than not and roll off with a simple HP filter afterwards. The mic does also need careful placement when recording but if you’re doing any recording this should be one of your golden rules anyway. If you want a mic that will capture natural vocals across a large dynamic range as well as a superb clear instrument mic the AT5040 should definitely be at the top of your list.
THE REVIEWER ALAN BRANCH is a freelance engineer/ producer and ex-member of the On U Sound Crew. His long list of credits include Jamiroquai, Beverley Knight, M People, Simply Red, Depeche Mode, Shed 7, Sinead O’Connor, Bjork, and Sade.
www.alanbranch.com
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August 2013 39
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