AT813: Anyone familiar with this mic?

C

Cheeky Monkey

New member
First, I searched about the Audio Technica AT813, and there isn't much said about it. It's a unidirectional (cardoid) electret condensor. It uses a battery. I bought it new about 20 years ago and it's only really been used in the last 6 months since I bought my first amp -- a Carvin acoustic amp (which has an XLR mic channel. It sounds ok, but since I don't own any other mics (yet), I really have nothing to compare to.

I'm new to recording and am presently starting to buy some gear. My Wharfedale Diamond Pro 8.2a monitors and Wharfedale R1604 mixer (from deepwater) are soon to arrive. In anticipation of trying the AT813, since it uses a battery, do I need the battery when running through a mixer with phantom power?

Now, what about the quality of this mic? I've done some research here, and I soon plan to buy a pair of MXL 603s to X/Y mic my acoustic, and an MXL V67G for vocals. I don't know the appropriate application for the AT813, but whichever it's best used for, does anyone know how it compares to either the 603 or V67G?

Any advice is most welcome and appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Thanks Harvey,

Since it's unidirectional, should I assume it's meant for instruments (like to mic my acoustic)? If so, is it equal, better or worse than the 603 (or V67G if it happens to be more of a vocal mic)? Again, when plugged into a mixer with phantom power, should the battery be installed?

Open to anyone who might know.

Thanks again.
 
I think the battery supplies all the power that mic needs, so phantom power is not needed. I could be completely wrong, though, because my CAD Equitek 300 has a battery that it uses in conjunction with phantom power. What kind of connector does the mic have? If it's a 1/4" TS then it's self-powered. EDIT: Oh ,duh. I just read your post again and it's XLR. So you're plugging it into your Carvin amp that has a mic input (I think I've seena picture of that amp). Does that mic input have phantom? If not, then my first statement is correct.

As for those MXL mics, I own both and for budget mics they are very good. I use the 603's for drum overheads and haven't yet had a chance to use them on guitar. But I've read other posts here praising the 603's for acoustic. I've also heard really good things about the Oktava MK012's. The V67 is a very good vocal mic IMO.

Keep in mind these are good mics for the money, but they are not top-of-the-line. I imagine I will use all my MXL's for a long time (I have a few other models), but I'm saving up for a TLM103.

EDIT: I'd like to know what you think of the Wharfedale mixer once you've had a chance to use it. I have a pair of the 8.2's myself, so you don't need to critique those, lol.
 
Last edited:
It can't use phantom power, and it's not as wide range as a 603S. It doesn't have a lot of top end or bottom end, but it probably would work ok for vocals or guitar. It's not a bad mic, just not a great mic.
 
Thanks guys,

MadAudio, the mic has an XLR connection and the cable that came with it is XLR at the mic, and 1/4" at the other end. I bought an XLR/XLR cable to be able to connect to the Carvin and the mic channel on the amp has phantom power. I just tried the mic with and without the battery thru the amp. It needs the battery, so I assume (like Harvey says) it doesn't use the phantom power of the amp, relying on the battery. I guess the same will be true when running thru the mixer. I'm sure I'll buy the MXLs, but I'll play around with the AT813 until I save the cash.

I'll let you know about the Wharfedale mixer (even if by email), but remember, I'm totally new to this so it'll take me a while to have any kind of an informed opinion.
 
Harvey Gerst said:
It can't use phantom power, and it's not as wide range as a 603S. It doesn't have a lot of top end or bottom end, but it probably would work ok for vocals or guitar. It's not a bad mic, just not a great mic.
Click to expand...

I have an AT 813R (I may be wrong about the R, it is not a lavilier mic). I got it at least 20 years ago and never really used it. It uses phantom power and was a highly rated mic back then.

I forgot I even had it. Maybe I will dust it off and try it again.
 
acorec said:
I have an AT 813R (I may be wrong about the R, it is not a lavilier mic). I got it at least 20 years ago and never really used it. It uses phantom power and was a highly rated mic back then.

I forgot I even had it. Maybe I will dust it off and try it again.
Click to expand...
If it's a normal 813, it has a 1-1/2 volt AA battery inside the barrel (which unscrews), and it doesn't use phantom power.
 
I know this is an old OLD thread, but I use one of these mics, and I like it. It DOES use a battery to power the on-board FET impedence matching circuit, but battery life exceeds 3500 hours according to information on a Google search. Information was found at www . bsu . edu/met/gobbledygook/cr/audiotechnica/at_813_info.html (remove the spaces)

I would agree that its not a GREAT mic, but its certainly a very good mic, and I would have no problem recommending the purchase of a good used one if the price is right (less than 100 bucks). I've used it to mic just about every part of a drum kit (except kick, lol), along with vocals and instrument amps. While I've needed to add a bit of EQ and compression here and there, I've been VERY happy with the results.
 
I believe it's one of dozens of versions that PRIMO made OEM for various companies. (TEAC, Nakamichi, Altec; etc. The 1.5 v AA battery is the minimum power requirement. It can take up to 9 volts if you can figure out how to get it into the barrel. Upping the power should increase performance a bit. I just gave one away.
 
hell ya, i used to use a pair of these to record live concerts, with a crown ph-1 phantom power ,good stuff, but use a 10 db atennuator on the tape deck, these mics are hot, strong signal, still have em
spankee02@hotmail.com'
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top