Audio-Technica PRO 35 Cardioid Condenser Clip-on Instrument Microphone - XLR Reviews

Upon the recommendation of a friend I bought a pair of these for attaching on either end of an Indian "dholak" drum. They worked perfectly for a live show. Loud, clear, and no feedback even at high volume in a closed hall.

Sounds great and clear have used on many gigs and no issues

I love the sound I get out of this mic on my acoustic upright bass. I know it's designed for horns. I can't find a place on my solid top where it clips on as tight as I would prefer, because of the thickness of the wood. If the clamp were a little bit bigger, it would be the best. It does stay in place so far.

I've used this mic the last two churches I have been with to mic violin's and it works great for that!

I've been looking for a good way to amplify an open-back banjo for live performance for a couple of years... have tried everything from playing into a stand-mounted condenser mic, head-mounted pickup, dual piezo transducers with preamp, blended pickup/transducer system. Arrived at some things that worked OK but everything I tried lost some of the sound makes a banjo unique. I mounted the PRO 35 inside the pot towards the bottom of the head and I'm finally able to get accurate banjo sound when playing live. Love not being anchored to a mic stand. I haven't tried this system in a loud venue yet so don't know if feedback will be an issue, but I'm happy with my decision to purchase the PRO 35.

I was trying to record playing sax to backing tracks using my phone or built in mic on iMac. Not happy with the sound at all. Read about this one and ordered it. All I can say is wow! Clip onto the bell and point it into the bell. Plug into your audio interface and record through Logic or whatever DAW you use. Sax sounds beautiful and warm, genuine. Not loud and honky and annoying. Seriously, buy it. Haven"t tried with live performance, but I am positive it would be awesome for that as well.

Cons-
If you fart, the mic will pick it up..

Pros-
It complements both the tenor and soprano saxophone voices (in a more natural way).
It's light as a feather and compact.
It has a nice solid clip.
The XLR connector can be easily be tucked or mounted on a belt.
I'm no longer shackled and hiding behind the mic stand (the audience can see my pretty face) .
It gives just enough wiggle room for me to shake my money maker.

I love it and I love the Sweetwater Team.

I have half a dozen of these. I've used them for almost everything at one point or another. My main use is horn mics, but I've also used them on snare, toms, strings, vibes, voice... It's great to have a mic that moves with horn players, and when my gig involves video they keep a drum riser looking clean and neat.

As a sound guy and a performing musician the AT Pro35 has always been a winner. This is my second one (the first one is still going strong, purchased around 2000) and I can't say enough good things about the sound of this mic.
Most clip-on mics are super bright, have no fullness or body–all those AKGs are just terrible on trumpet or sax but the Pro 35 is warm and beautiful without being dull, has enough flexibility of positions on the flexible arm to allow you to put mutes in and it can take the sound pressure from a screaming lead trumpet at 4-inches and not complain.
I even used it for some studio recording when a traditional mic would have had too much bleed.
Next time you walk on to a gig and the sound guy has a 57 up for you; whip this thing out and both you and they will be pleased!

Ordered upon the advise of Carl B. Was not disappointed in this purchase. Will be adding more to the inventory.

It came promptly and works amazingly.... the candy was a "sweet" touch.

I absolutely love this little guy...great sound and believe me, I have had my share of accidently banging it and getting the cord stuck on other equipment pulling it out of the holder. This little guy still keeps on going. If you play live, you'll love it.

Great microphone for saxophone. Sounds great. I'm always happy with the audio-technica products and this product did not let me down. The mic is clear and crisp it produces the same sound that the instrument produces.

This mic is not just for horns. I use it on snare drum almost as often as an sm57, I've used it on upright bass with great success, and I've even used it to record detailed sound design. This mic is in every one of my lineups.

I'm a pro sax player and I've used this mic in a lot of different situations with the whole family of saxes. It's clean, accurate, lite and easy to clip on. If you don't like a mounted mic all the time , clip it to a music stand. I've used it in a big band on bari and I clip it to the bell when the band needs extra bottom and for solos. I've played R&R Tenor with it also and I've clipped to the bell of my clarinet, although not ideal. I put the connector unit in my pants pocket, works great. The wire is thin, be careful but so far no problems with 2 years use.

I bought originally for my upright and it worked great for that application. I ended up using it in the studio for just about any instrument that didn't have built in electronics - violins, cellos, sax, trumpet, glockenspiel and a few acoustic guitars. It really sounds great, a little more treble oriented but nothing a little EQ can't fix. My only criticism is is feeds back live if you're in front of the PA and I really wish the tongs of the clip were a little longer or even if an after market clip were available.

I love everything about this microphone. I use it on a trumpet and the clip holds on very securely while being well padded so there is no damage to the horn. The foam isolation of the microphone cartridge eliminates nearly all the contact sounds (like valve noises) and the reception pattern keeps extraneous noise from intruding. I can shift it back and put my horn on it's stand without removing the mic. Excellent design!

...haven't looked back.

I use it on tenor for classic rock, pop and jazz.
Zero feedback from monitors.

Highly recommended.

Purchased two of theses guys recently to try them on a mandolin and a fiddle. One must first find the sweet spot, back hole on the lower f-hole on both, and they came alive with no feedback issues and a great sound.
The only thing I would recommend is that the cord be about 2 or so feet longer for more freedom of movement while doing a stage performance but other than that, great mic!! And of course Sweetwater's sales and service departments are stellar!

I use this mic regularly to mic my upright bass for live performances of our five-piece acoustic Celtic and folk music band and it works beautifully. I clip it to a small plastic ring installed on the back side of the tailpiece and position the gooseneck so the mic is a few inches above and pointing toward the treble side f-hole. Does a great job of reproducing the full acoustic sound of the bass and I've had no problems with feedback or bleed. Have received many comments from sound people and audience members on how nice and natural the bass sounds. The thin cord did concern me, but once it's connected to an XLR cable I just stick the thin cord, the connector, and part of the XLR cable down in my bow quiver and I don't have to worry about it being pulled on. In use for about three years now with no issues.

This little microphone works wonderfully with my Louisiana-made Cajun-accordion. I’ve tried countless mics over the years and this is my favorite. Only one drawback: the cord is rather fragile and is not field-replaceable. It’s a 4-conductor shielded cable and the shielding has a habit of disintegrating (at least, that’s been my experience.) Audio Technica can replace the cord for about $60, which saves one the cost of a new mic. Then again, I think I’ve had one of these series of mics for many years of live use and nothing is forever :-) Today, I’ve ordered my third Pro-35 .. I’ll have the old ones rewired and keep them for backup. Sonic quality and performance - 5 stars, Longevity, no so much :-)

I have 7 of these use them from snares to toms and horns I had mine about 15 yrs now I couldn't do without them.

Wish it had a little battery option, but still a great mic. No feedback issues so far. Sturdy. Clear.

I bought this to amplify my Irish drum (Bodhran). While the sound quality great the clip didn't open quite wide enough for me thicker than usual shell. Also, I decided I'll need a wireless version since I move around a lot while playing this drum.

just what i needed. works great. easy to use. good advice from Sweetwater staff on usage.
order quick to arrive.

Good clear sound. Strong clamp, stays put but has a good non-slip coating that won't scratch the finish on your horn. It would be nice if the chord were a bit longer

We clamped this mic on a bluegrass fiddle and then stood the fiddle player 5 feet in front of a Bose L1S1 tower in front of 200 people. The sound was really good and the feedback issues were minimal. the pickup was a half inch from the 'f' hole and pointed right at it so it was really focused on the fiddle sound.
As a test we stuck it on a mando too, an Eastman 815 with some serious bark to it, same result. Nice sound and no feedback issues.

I liked the sounds I got out of it. I'd bought it for a violin, figuring I could transfer it to my other instruments (guitar, big mandolin, ukulele) as needed.

It's a bit of a pain to install onto a violin: I bought the DPA clamp, and while the Pro 35 fits, it's loose and rotates in the clamp sleeve. You can mostly make it work with a binder clip on the clamp sleeve, but at some point you start to think maybe you're using the wrong tool for the job. The thing that ultimately worked was using the attached clamp to clip onto the chinrest.

For other instruments, I was able to get really good sound from it, but the 5" gooseneck is far too short, and they need a 9" gooseneck clamped onto the body of the instrument. I think those arrangements are available for the ATM350, and that modularity might actually be the only reason for the price difference at this point: they used to be different mic capsules, but I'm not sure that's true any more.

At the end of the day, the violin I settled on has an amazing custom piezo pickup, and since this is all for recording at home, I'll go down the route of stand-mounted condenser mics, and ended up returning the Pro 35. It's a good mic, just not what I need.