Topic: AT4050ST Stereo mic

[Jamos]

The link to the recording you posted sounds pretty awesome.  Super accurate, tight, clean...
These are great mics, much better than the LSD2's IMO, and for a simple point & shoot, they are perfect.

I'd love to hear your Strangefolk recording!

[acidjack]

The link to the recording you posted sounds pretty awesome.  Super accurate, tight, clean...
These are great mics, much better than the LSD2's IMO, and for a simple point & shoot, they are perfect.

I'd love to hear your Strangefolk recording!

..which they ought to be, for a $1300 mic vs. one that seems to retail at $750 where you can still find it...

I agree, the recording smokes.

[lastubbe]

Paging tapinfool.

I've always had much love for AT mics.

[SmokinJoe]

Here is the Strangefolk tape:  http://archive.org/details/sf2012-03-31.at4050st.flac16f
Listen to #10 "Westerly"... when half the crowd was singing along all around us.

This was recorded at the 127* setting, which is kind of silly for the environment, but we set it up without thinking to change it from last time.  But it doesn't matter, I can fix it at home.  I took the raw recording:
- converted to M/S using audacity plug in,
- add a slight low end boost to just the side channel (+2db from 40-160), a process called "shuffling".
- dropped the side channel by 3db which narrows it up when I go back to L/R.  This added more punch in the center without making it overly narrow.
That may sound like a lot of work, but I've done enough mid/side mixes that I've got it down to just a few clicks. I think it's really cool that you CAN do the encode/decode thing, and works well because it was MADE with mid/side caps.

I'm happy with the result. I'm tickled pink with the overall tone.  Not muddy, not too bright.  Listen to the music, not the mic. There were 16 pairs of mics running at Strangefolk, Schoeps, Gefells, DPAs, and AKG's.  Direct comparison of the AT with those is hard because my brain gets really wrapped around the coincident vs near-coincident thing, so it's an apples and oranges, but "it doesn't suck" in comparison.
[-- later --]  Now that I've been listening to a few different sources for an hour I think I prefer the AT over any of the others.  At first my brain is drawn to the detail of the others, but that's fatiguing if you put ear buds in and try to listen for an hour or two.  The AT source is warm in comparison and more enjoyable to listen to.

[F.O.Bean]

Congrats, sharing new toys with your daughter must feel awesome

[SmokinJoe]

Tape from this past weekend. 
http://archive.org/details/dubapoc2012-04-06.at4050st-sbd-mix.flac16f

On stage, with mic set to 127*.  I added a little bit of SBD because the on stage  mic was weak on  the  kick drum.   SBD was 6  db lower than AUD, so maybe 80/20?

[Javier Cinakowski]

keep posting these!  I am living vicariously through you!     

Sounds great!

[SmokinJoe]

This little bugger continues to impress me.  Here is a tape from the OTS at Gathering of the vibes... big open field, about 100' from stage.  I tried to talk my daughter into using the AKG461's... I assumed at that distance using a mid/side mic would result in a very mono mid, with no side... but I was wrong.  At least to my ears using headphones there is plenty of L/R information to make it interesting.

http://archive.org/details/mumford2012-07-19.at4050st.flac16f

[Jammin72]

Have you tried running the mic with discrete outputs and decoding later?  That seems like a pretty great feature in an all in one microphone.

[SmokinJoe]

Have you tried running the mic with discrete outputs and decoding later?  That seems like a pretty great feature in an all in one microphone.

I haven't... for a reason.  The AT4050ST is mostly used by my daughter, and I know the idea of one channel doing one thing and the other channel doing something completely different would drive her batty... she would be cranking on the gain knobs trying to level it out, even if I told her not to.  As far as I'm concerned you can't touch the gain knobs while recording raw mid/side, unless you can somehow remember exactly what you did so you can undo it in post (if there is a known 5db step from the V3 between songs I can remember that, otherwise no).  Someday I'll use the mic when she's not around and run it with raw output.

[Jammin72]

lol... Fair enough.  The specs get better running it that way, I was just curious if there was a practical discernible difference.

[Javier Cinakowski]

I liked my tapes better when running raw ms.  Not sure if was because the specs are better or if it was because I had control over the stereo image.   Not a huge difference though and perhaps not worth the extra effort.   The 120 stereo mode is delicious....

[yltfan]

Anyone have thoughts on how the AT would compare to the Nevaton MC 48 in the YS?

[OOK]

Anyone have thoughts on how the AT would compare to the Nevaton MC 48 in the YS?

Not sure but I can attest to the quality of other Nevaton microphones and other AT mics I have owned.  I would say it is better than AT.  AT has high quality control for being a mass produced mic where Nevaton has high quality control because everything is 95% hand built.  The thing I like about the Nevaton in the yard is you have great variability with the Nevaton in terms of with, 50 to 140 degrees in 6 degree incriments.  This would help you really dial it in verses the MS, 90 and 127degree selection on the AT.  I have heard the AT in 2 of the 3 modes and I only like the 127 degree setting.  I am really interested in hearing the Nevaton.......

OOK 

[tapinfool]

Paging tapinfool.

I've always had much love for AT mics.

finally checkin in 

i regularly have sex with my at4050's(thanks heath  )

i love these mics. period.

i had one instance where the recording had too much bass ( moe 2012-03-08)

the room was ready to fall down there was so much low end. i knew i should have cut it but didn't 

only bad recording i've done with them


also ran that 4050st mic for trey at the pittsburgh symphony 

i would seriously consider and highly recommend the 4050st