Audio-Technica AT4033

I've been recording professional demos in a home studio environment for about 15 years now and have always used the at4033. My honest opinion is that this mic can be very harsh and produce a lot of sibilance. Why have I used it for so many years then? Well, quite simply, for DEMOS (rather than recordings designated for commercial release) the at4033's "harshness" translates into very audible sung or spoken words, which is often very important to publishers or prospective artists who may often need to very clearly hear the lyrics of a song they are screening. Currently though, I am looking to record music for my own listening pleasure and am looking into a tube mic, where perhaps I could get a smoother, richer tone that could be more pleasing to the ear.

stage manager recording eng studio owner

whose kidding who if you have one of these your lucky it is used for certain on acoustic guitars and excels over my newmann 83i or the 84s ! it should be used in conjunction with a smaller cond . in a stereo pattern. this mic in the 12 fret position and the smaller mic needs to stay far enough away to not phase but find the body-tone from the guitar its sensitive to breathing (from the nose ) if your guitarists has that element while recording. i find the akg 480 a excellent companion in this set up for finger style guitar not recommended with a vocals in the room while the guitars is being micd with the 4033 . for vocals its really nice for female voice were there is intimacy needed.or were the vocalists comes really close to the mic it doesn't reach down the throat or get out of hand with proximity effect just reminds interment remember its fixed charged! and the best fixed charged mic on the planted rumour has it Dylan uses this on his voice.

I have been recording and producing for 15 years. I use many Daw and plugin programs such as Sonar, protools, acid, reaon, giga, waves, steinberg and universal audio. My mic collection consists of a Gefell M92, Neumann u-87, tlm 103, AKG c414 uls, and some others running though an Avalon VT737sp monitoring through Swedish Dynaudio BM5's and BM 6's.

This is one of those love it hate it mics, and there are possibly a few reasons for this, not the least of which is indiscriminate ears and cheap monitors, however, I believe that one reason is that this mic is very sensetive to different preamp types and models. the Avalon, while colored, has a very smooth creamy tone, and it works well with this mic, and as long as the preamp you are using is not overly flat or forward, the AT4033 will excel. I noticed one review lauding the at4050 over the 4033, this is surprising to me, as I do mic shootouts involving those in my collection as well as trials from the local music store regularly, and the 4050 is almost last every time. In fact, the few who describe the 4033 as honky and harsh are really decribing how I hear the 4050 (but perhaps I tried a bad 4050). There is a reason why many, many engineers complained bitterly when AT tried to replace this mic, and that's because it simply sounds good. Not on everything, but what mic does? This mic is full, rich, smooth, and forward (I thinks that it is the "forward" quality that some preamps tend to accentuate.) It is also one of the few mics which add a real "dimensional" quality to a lot of sources. If you are looking for your first "do all" mic for your project studio, pehaps a Rode NT2a might be a better swiss army knife, but if you have a couple of good mics and just want another tonal color, the 4033 is it! This is also a great "contrast" mic. In other words, recording lead vox on one mic, and backups on the 4033, or vice versa. For 300 or 400 dollars, you can't lose.

Project studio owner with picky tastes I don't have a ton of money to buy junk, so if I own it, it has to fulfill the muti purpose task and do it with aplomb. been recording since 77 got my 1st daw ( midi only ) about 16 years ago. I only have used mac's and I'm now running a G5 and all motu stuff, Its my 3rd complete set up,master with Bais Peak and waves. own 8 condensers and the 4033 I've had for 10 or 12 years (can't remember when actually, along time ago). I was at sam ash in edison when this first came in and they were plugging it in to a Aphex preamp, I was there to buy an RE 20 and I bought this with the preamp instead. was blown away then and I still am now. I used it today to record acoustic guitar 12" off the bridge. I'm listening through a set of Event BAS 20/20 monitors and a second set of JBL studio monitors from circa 77, sorry don't know the numbers the woofer is a K 140 though, run through a qsc USA 900 amp.

I love this mic, and quite frankly I use it on all sorts of stuff. I'm mostly impressed with it when I run it through my Aphex tubessence for (get this) vocals. Yes you heard right, It produces a wonderful chest and a clear upper nasel and as far as the other reviewers here I can hardly ever claim that I hear graininess. Maybe the tubessence has something to do with it. I keep it 10" off to the upper nasel, behind a popper stopper, other than that I also love it on Djembe about 12" off the top, used it very successfully on tympani, hand percussion, accordian, and as a room mic for drum kits.
Now the pit falls, sorry not for the woman folk, I've got a KSM 32 that is far better for them, also not for very close micing vox ether , even my vox likes it better a bit away, I find its loves midrangy Q say 600 to 1500hz, I also feel that for the money its way better than just about any ( even more expensive ) chinese mic's. I say this with impunity due to the 2 doz I've had in the studio and returned over the last two years. As forrest said ,"cheap is as cheap does " and thats all I've got to say about that.
Buy the way the next bargain mic I bought was a Rode K2, yes its more expensive but worth every cent,and do pick up a grace preamp its a great combo, thanks for listening,Peace.

Had just started home recording when getting this.

Had heard the AT 40 series were all good. And the 4033 also got fine reviews in forums I checked. So when one was available on eBay I got it, intending to use it for vocals and acoustic guitar.

I was immediately disappointed with the honky sound on my baritone voice. Even with EQ I just can't make it sound good enough (as I can with other mics I have tried later on). On my Martin D28S it sounds fine. So maybe I will keep it for recording that. I would say 5 for my voice and 8-9 for the guitar, so let's round off to 7.

Ex-pro. Did the records, did the tours, yada, yada.
Presently have a sweet Pro Tools setup.

As with any mic, you use it for a recording that demands it. A female vocal? Try diff mics. Micing a gtr cab? Try diff mics. Depending on the application, one mic that's great, may not be great on another application.

The AT4033 certainly has it's place. For a low-end mic it's really quite remarkable. In fact, I just used it on a session with a teen queen diva and it was perfect.

Professional engineer/studio owner
see website at http://www.npstudios.com for particulars.

LDC, fabulous for open, breathy vocal sounds. a bit lower output than most LDC's, but internal noise is very low. Superb on acoustic piano when a more dominant, upfront pop sound is required. Great for hand percussion as well. Position sensitive as are all LDC. Comes with a nice shock mount, and has a decent HP filter and -10db pad onboard.

No longer made, these mics are sought after by many, and are quite popular for one mic setups for bluegrass.

Playing & recording for 25 years. Working with traditional Irish musicians for the last 10.

Started on an Akai sound on sound 1/4 inch machine progressing through to my current Akai DPS12 transfering to Cubase SX, mastering in Soundforge & Wavelab.

Digital multitrack.

B&W CM4 monitors.

This mic is very clear but a bit harsh. After barely using it for 5 years I pulled it out for a fiddle when I had run out of mics. What I found is that for high end instruments, (Fiddle, mandolin, tin whistle etc) it captured all of their clarity. Given that bottom end is not required on these instruments, enough warmth can be added with mic & tube modelling in the mix. I am now using a near coincident pair as default for the instruments mentioned above. It's also good for flutes to get maximum clarity but you have to be careful with the positioning to avoid excessive breathiness.

I have been recording for about 15 years and playing over 30 years.

Outboard Mixer: Mackie 1604 VLZ
SW: Samplitude
Monitors: Mackie 824

I have one 4033 and have used it for about 5 years. It's not my first go to mic, but it is usually in the running for things like guitar or percussion (not drum kit). It's a pretty good general purpose mic. I find the mids a bit hyped. This may not be a bad thing though.

This mic is not for a honky sounding guitar. I have used it successfully on mandolin and actually I've used it a lot over the years. I'd recommend the AT4033, just know it's sound.

Good mic for the price but probably not the only mic to have in your locker.

I have been making music for 19 years now and have been recording at home for the past 5. I use a computer DAW that is fed by a Tascam TM-D1000 into a Soundscape Mixtreme PCI card. I use Samson Resolv 65a powered monitors.

This is a large diaphragm condenser mike with a carioid pickup pattern. As is it a condenser be aware that it requires a 48v phantom power supply. It also has a low freqeuncy rolloff switch.
I looked at several other mics but this one has such a good reputation in the community that I'm sure my selection was a bit biased. So far it has been an excellent mic on vocals and acoustic instruments. I haven't tried it on electric guitar or bass but I think it would be too sensitive for that. The tone is amazingly clear and uncolored but it is an extrememly sensitive mic so be sure you have a very quiet recording environment. It will pick up soft breathing noises let alone a turbulent PC fan. I would definetly reccomend this mic to others on the condition that they have a sufficiently quiet environment to record in as well as a nice preamp for phantom power and perhaps some tube coloration as some may find it to be too clinically uncolored.