Customer Reviews

Stereo Mic

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having had bad experiences with other mics, I finally ponied up the money for the AT822--and am I ever glad I did. As a trombonist, I've found that recording my instrument in the varied environments I play in--my home, outdoors, concert hall, dance hall--is a difficult proposition. I'm interested in the way I sound to listeners, but most mics are meant to mic an instrument into a PA system, not record the ambience of a room. Outside of expensive concert-hall mics in complex arrangements requiring multiple mics and power, there just aren't too many options for the individual wanting good sound and not-a-lot-of equipment. The AT822 solves this problem for me, and solves it well.

Using an MD Recorder, mic stand, and the AT822, I'm able to mic all my venues and I'm rewarded with excellent recordings--recordings that satisfy everyone who receives a CD. Recording our swing band, the extreme volume that can result of a large ensemble and small room make the roll-off feature a bonus; the recordings come out undistorted even when the record levels go a little higher than I anticipated, and the roll-off isn't as discernable on the final product as with some mics. In the concert hall, I have placed the AT822 in the balcony with no roll-off and have found the recording to be spotless--no hum or weirdness from the electronics, and a final product with genuine spatial feel. I've recorded a trombone choir in a semicircular arrangement (around the center of a church) and been happy with the sound of the instruments beside and slightly behind the mic as well as those within the mics front field-of-view. Even recording my home practices, I'm rewarded with a recording that accurately reflects my sound. Indeed, the AT822 is a microphone for all venues.

The AT822 is sensitive enough to record the drop of a violin bow across an E-string at 100 feet away, but rugged enough to handle 5-feet from a trombonist at fortissimo levels. I'm extremely pleased wtih the AT822. It offers a portable, self-powered solution for the amateur musician at a reasonable price. I wholeheartedly endorse this product, and recommend that others with similar needs for a microphone consider its purchase.

My main purpose for this microphone is to record the high school marching band, so my input is based on that purpose. I have found the sound quality to be superior to both the internal microphones of my camcorder and the Canon DM-50 I have. The mounting hardware included with the AT822 includes a hot-shoe mount, but it is a solid mount which picked up significant noise from the vibration of the camera transport motor. If you plan to mount this mic to a camera, you'll need an isolation mount.
I also found that this mic is not as good as the DM-50 at picking up sound from a distance. With the DM-50 I can record the marching band from the judging stand and get excellent results through the entire competition zone. The AT822, is much less directional and the band must be much closer to get a good recording level. When they are close, however, the sound is far superior with much better definition especially in the low frequencies.
Concert season is coming up and I'm sure this mic is going to be fantastic for recording in the concert hall. On the street for parades, I haven't figured out how to make it work well yet.

I use this, along with a home-built preamp and a Sony MiniDisc deck, to tape live concerts of my band and others. It does a very good job. The microphone has low self noise, a good stereo image, and excellent frequency response. Since it's single point stereo, it's easy to set up.

Audio Technica makes very nice gear. This is a stereo condenser microphone (capsules spaced 120 degrees apart) powered by a AA cell which lasts forever. Cable terminates in a stereo miniplug, perfect for field recording to a solid-state recorder.

I've gotten some excellent choral recordings by placing the mic on an elevated stand fairly close behind the conductor; in other words, fairly close to the singers. The sound comes out dry but very clean that way. I use an excellent third-party ambience plugin on Vegas to add the acoustics.