Audio-Technica PRO 44 Condenser Boundary Microphone Reviews

Used one of these for a floor tom, just placed it on the stage under the resonate head and it worked great.

I got 4 of these to record a round table style recording. They are very low profile and picked up everything very clear. I was able to place them under chairs out of sight, the people being recorded spoke in normal conversation tone and were able to be heard loud and clear in recording.

I've used these boundary layer mics for many years mounted on stage apron lips indoors and out. They likely won't give you enough gain before feedback if used for PA. But for recording purposes where performers are not wearing bodypacks they work well. They do have limitations. First, they are very high output. So use caution to not overload your head amps (mic pres). Second, in spite of being tailored to have a rolled off LF response they will pick up wind noise when used outdoors. Third, their capsules are not shock mounted. If there will be a lot of foot action on stage consider using isolation pads under the mics. Fourth, if you are expecting weather, rain or dew, place the mics inside ziplock bags. I find it doesn't alter the sound significantly and provides good protection. Since they use relatively cheap electret elements I've had a few get noisy or lose sensitivity as they age, though most have been fine.

Beautiful song I love it.

Two great pieces here: the mic, which works better than you would think for the price. Even outdoors - tough setting- this is a win.

Also,the customer service was outstanding. There was a snafu with shipping but it was resolved quickly and professionally. This is a solid company to do business with.

I'm by no means a pro sound engineer, so take this review FWIW. They were tested placed on a counter top speaking from a standing position. They were connected to a Yamaha MG10XU.

Pros: Will pick up the breath of a gnat clearly

Cons: I've never used a PZM mic before, so maybe this is the norm, but it does sound a little hollow in my testing. I guess there's only so much that can be done with that distance. It sounds a hell of a lot better than most other mics at a distance. I'm going to try again with some sound blankets and we'll see how it goes.

They're also REALLY sensitive, which is why I made the breathing comment. So they're probably not great for live use and will require a little post-processing. Fine by me. I had no intention of using them for anything live.

What I can say for sure is for the price I paid I'm completely happy.

This is my fourth one of these! I use them on stage, placed near key people I need to hear (key amp, guitar amp, drum kit) and feed them into my in ears for monitoring purposes.
I have also used them as a podium mic at work related events. They may not be the best ones out there, but they work great for me!

Placed 4 on front of stage between monitors. Got a great sound from an 18 member dancing / singing youth chorus. 180 degree directional qualities are a big advanage.

I purchased 3 of these. I use them with my own personal monitoring system for live performances. I basically mic the stage and mix everything through a mixer in conjunction with my own signals/ inputs. These mics are small, very flat and blend in real nice. I used them just three days ago at a show and it worked perfectly. I love them and am very happy with my choice!

I bought a pair of these for recording live theater and dance but my first test was using them to record my band rehearsal. We've been using a Zoom H2 mounted from the ceiling in the middle of the room which does an ok job as far as sound quality but poor in terms of balance between instruments. I placed two of these PRO44's on the floor, one between the guitar amp and drum kit and the other between the bass and keyboard amp. The quality was great but what impressed me the most was it got almost perfect balance between the instruments, much much better than the Zoom.

My next test was a live dance program on a HS auditorium stage. I placed the pair mid-left and mid-right near the front of the stage to stay out of the dancers way. The tap dancing and Spanish boot dancing with castanets came out perfect with no thumping or other noises like I'm used to getting with normal mics in these situations. The only downside was the bleed they picked up from the floor stage wedges but there was little I could do about that.

I especially like that they include 25' cables with XLR connectors. I'm sure I'll find more uses for them and I highly recommend these.

I bought them (2) in preparation for miking a choir soon. Right now, I'm using them on a drumset, one on each side of the bass drum, panned in stereo. It works along the same lines of an article I recently read about miking a drumset from below. Of course, there is a third mic on the bass drum.

I bought these for use at a local political forum. The candidates had all been used to either the pass-around SM58 or a couple on stands they had to move to. When they saw these on the table, they were at first nervous and confused that the audience would not hear them. One asked what I would do if he picked it up and spoke directly into it - I told the first response would be to turn it off . . .
At the end of the forum, the candidates and audience and those who produced the event all agreed that this was the best sound yet.
There will be a stage show coming up soon where ZI have used 5 mics on stands across the front - this time it will be the AT PRO44s. I anticipate a fine sound with a much cleaner sight line.
I am happy!

It was better then attempting to individually wire eighteen individuals but it didn't work as well as I thought it would. To be fair, it may have been how I set them up. Didn't have the range I thought it would.

Only reason this awesome mic did not get the 5 stars is because Audio-Technica fails to ship some mounting screws or plate with the mic. Other than that an excellent boundary mic. we use it to pick up the different speakers tones and volume of voices in our church.

Great item for a great price

surprised by this mic. I used 4 of them across a 40 foot stage that I thought I could never use this type of mic on ( very bad speaker placement.) They worked very well. The gain before feedback was great and sensitivity was better than expected. The small footprint made it easy to overlook them from the house,but also easy to step on or kicked out of place ( a little gaff took care of that).

This mic has fit the bill perfectly for unobtrusive sound reinforcement at the high altar of our church. It replaced a high quality AT handheld condenser that was OK but visually obtrusive among the other elements in the altar setting. While we were shooting for "better looking and good enough," we actually wound up getting zero-profile and a better sound.

The sound is fundamentally open and smooth, and because of the boundary mic placement (waist high, on-axis, maybe 3' distance) there is no risk of sibilance or proximity effect. It is a real plus for the people at the altar to be able to just forget about microphone technique.

Final note, before getting this model, we tried (twice!) a slightly cheaper boundary mic from another manufacturer, with bad results. In fact the results were so bad that I suspect they were having a manufacuring problem, so perhaps not a fair comparison. In any event this AT mic has much better fit and finish for not a lot more money.