Audio-Technica Pro37

Studio and location recording, live sound, and TV/Film production and post for 15 years.

I record to ProTools/LE via Digi002 rack, with Waves plug-ins. Critical listening on Genelec 1029a studio monitors.

The Pro37 is an updated version of the Pro37R, and is the cardioid condenser (small diaphragm) sister mic to the Pro25 stereo mic.

I have been a fan of AT mics for years, and was excited when my local mom-and-pop store (I really try to avoid the mega-chains) started carrying these. They let me take one home and demo it.

My first trial with this mic was in the studio next to my trusty AT-4050/cm5 (large diaphragm condenser, selectable pattern). I tracked some guitar and vocal. This "pencil" mic really out-shined the 4050 on acoustic guitar. The sound was warmer and brighter. On my own voice, I prefer the 4050 over the Pro37.

It was shortly after that test session that I had a radio ad spot come through, and I had been using the 4050 on this particular voice since we started with the client. I tried the Pro37 on him and it really punched through. The human voice is like that... there is no one mic that perfectly fits every voice.

My third test was on a spot for a nationally-syndicated news magazine. We were shooting at the interviewee's house, and though I had a wireless lav on him all day, we had some pickup interviews with his wife and kids. So I pulled out the fishpole and rigged the Pro37 into the shockmount. It was beautiful. Crisp, clear, and up-front dialog for interiors. I also used it for an interview at out state maxium-security facility for interviewing the warden (a national cable network series on prisons). It captured like a champ.

It didn't take me long at all - about four days - to determine that I wanted to purchase this mic. And I now have three. Since then, I have used them to record percussion both as kit overheads and on Latin/African perc (fantastic on djembe, especially if you do a two-mic setup). They have also performed extremely well as choir overheads, and I have been able to get an impressive gain-before-feedback. I love it on my ukulele as well, both live and in the studio.

This mic is a performer, and at $150, more or less, it's well worth the investment. It is small, easy to place, and fairly rugged. It is a bit colored, though the coloration is musical and not the least bi challenging. Like any mic, a little trial and error will show where this mic performs and where other mics may be better choices.

In all, the AT Pro37 is a reliable workhorse for live and studio. For interior dialog for TV, shotgun mics aren't usually the right choice. Hypercardoid would be the best, but for no-so-reflective rooms, the Pro37 will prove its worth. (If AT would make a hypercardioid version of this, I'd certainly buy it!)