Audio-Technica AT5040 Large-diaphragm Condenser Microphone Reviews
Designed as the flagship studio microphone for Audio-Technica, the AT5040 employs new design and premium components to deliver high-definition audio. An all-new rectangular element combines four matched diaphragms together to create a single cohesive unit. With an area twice the size of the usual 1" diaphragm, the AT5040 delivers realism, depth, presence, and purity of sound. A fast transient response makes it perfect for vocals and acoustic instruments such as piano, guitar, strings, and saxophone. As soon as the sound of this mic hits your ears, you'll know you're on to something special. Bring the high-definition sound of the Audio-Technica AT5040 to your studio today.
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Highest Rated Reviews
Polished vocals on first take
The best Mike ever. This is one of the best microphones on the market.if you want a clear real sounding vocals get this. I don't use autotunes at all so I need great sounding vocals to this is my number one vocal Microphone. I also use it on all string instruments. I love it.
Outstanding Microphone
I have a client that bought this microphone and uses it in my studio. It is an exceptional mic. We matched his vocal recorded against AKG 414 XLS, AKG 414 XLII, AEA N22 and this mic. All of the mics sounded great on his vocal (he's a great vocalist), but this mic had a perfect balance for his vocal and a perfect amount of warmth that still allowed his vocal to have great clarity, yet sound full. In my opinion, I couldn't imagine a better microphone for his vocal. The output of this microphone is a lot higher than the 414's due to the new technology they are using. I used a Vintech 473 as the preamp and found myself keeping the gain at the absolute lowest setting (output turned all the way up as recommended by Vintech) to catch the right output. Perhaps a -10 db pad on this microphone would have been nice, but overall, I LOVE this mic and I would say it is definitely worth the cost. I wish I owned it so that I could try it out on even more vocalists and other sources.
Very Detailed
I found myself intrigued by the concept of this mic, but more drawn to high end German mics because I thought that they could magically add some special "voodoo" or something. The 5040 doesn't have that kind of mythic heritage, but it is the most amazingly detailed mic I've ever recorded with. This has the detail and dimesionality of a ribbon, but without the uneven frequency response or noise (plus far better transient response). It's also the quietest mic I've ever used. It's so flat and even in its response that I find it requires a bit of EQ to bring out the sweet spots in any given performance, but this is an advantage since you can choose to customize those eq curves to each artist.
I've used this mic so far in a sampling session for a high end music gear manufacturer and on several female vocalists and been very pleased each time. The sampling session required a big sound with super low noise with lots of gain, so this mic was perfect. It's been very even and big on the vocalists as well. One client re-recorded a track she had previously done with another of my LD condensers, and the most amazing thing was how much easier it was to get her vocal to sit just above the mix without sounding like it was too far out front. It was just very natural and big sounding, and didn't need as much compression to push it forward. So far it has been well worth the investment.
Clear and flat
what I have done very little, but is an excellent microphone, if you want a microphone for voice only, this is the level of Neumann, but is quite limited, it has a sweet spot to record, and if the artist is not an expert, you'll to take some time to achieve, but you will have an excellent recording.
