I've been in the market for a $200 to $400 large diaphragm condenser mic for about three months. In a recent post, I mentioned that I had auditioned some mics at Mars. I found, in the store, that the AT-4033 seemed to be the best suited for my vocals over the AKG C-3000. I purchased the 4033, and tried it out on my set up at home thru a Mackie 1402 VLZ-Pro inserts out to my VS-880, as well as a friends AKG C-3000. To my surprise, the AT seemed too bright for my needs. The AKG actually seemed to have a fuller low range that really helped my vocals.
This got me thinking, so I had a bandmate borrow a friends Rode NT-2, so we could make comparisons with all three mics.
We recorded each of our voices, a Taylor 6-String, and a Seagull 12-String with each mic.
Results:
Vocals
We both agreed that the AT-4033 was a little bright, and had a hollow mid-range tone to it on both of our voices. The AKG had a fuller low end, but lacked a little too much of the high end of the AT. However, the Rode seemed to offer the best of both worlds, with a nice round low end, and breathy highs that we both preferred.
Winner: Rode NT-2
Taylor 6-String
Our results here were identical to the vocal test. 4033: Nice and bright, but weak elsewhere. C-3000: Nice full "woody" tone, but a little weak on the highs. Rode NT-2: Best of both worlds. Full round tone with breathy highs.
Winner: Rode NT-2
Seagull 12-String
Here the 4033 really shined. The exagerated highs really sounded better to both of us, than the C-3000, or the NT-2. The NT-2 came in a fairly close 2nd, with the C-3000 a fairly distant 3rd.
Winner: AT-4033
As a result, I took the AT-4033 back and traded it for a Rode NT-2. It seemed the best overall mic for my purposes. I wish we had had a C-3000B, and an NT-1 to test, but we didn't. The moral of this story is, try as many mics in your studio as possible before making a purchase. Auditioning at the store just doesn't cut it.
Oh yeah... Your results may vary
This got me thinking, so I had a bandmate borrow a friends Rode NT-2, so we could make comparisons with all three mics.
We recorded each of our voices, a Taylor 6-String, and a Seagull 12-String with each mic.
Results:
Vocals
We both agreed that the AT-4033 was a little bright, and had a hollow mid-range tone to it on both of our voices. The AKG had a fuller low end, but lacked a little too much of the high end of the AT. However, the Rode seemed to offer the best of both worlds, with a nice round low end, and breathy highs that we both preferred.
Winner: Rode NT-2
Taylor 6-String
Our results here were identical to the vocal test. 4033: Nice and bright, but weak elsewhere. C-3000: Nice full "woody" tone, but a little weak on the highs. Rode NT-2: Best of both worlds. Full round tone with breathy highs.
Winner: Rode NT-2
Seagull 12-String
Here the 4033 really shined. The exagerated highs really sounded better to both of us, than the C-3000, or the NT-2. The NT-2 came in a fairly close 2nd, with the C-3000 a fairly distant 3rd.
Winner: AT-4033
As a result, I took the AT-4033 back and traded it for a Rode NT-2. It seemed the best overall mic for my purposes. I wish we had had a C-3000B, and an NT-1 to test, but we didn't. The moral of this story is, try as many mics in your studio as possible before making a purchase. Auditioning at the store just doesn't cut it.
Oh yeah... Your results may vary