AT_813

4 replies on “AT_813”

Chris… thanks for the comments on the A-T 813 mic. I was a dealer up in Detroit years ago living thru that horrible time when we knew someone could do better for cheaper. The one mic you are missing is the AT813R (yep, full condenser). For the record, the viability of the 813 series was its large (for the time) diaphragm which allowed for that extended range. The 813R was not as tubby on the bottom as you have pointed out in your review. We used them for hanging choir mics to create a hot field, straight down over the choir area for a hot zone – they really worked and worked well. All this was of course, prior to the unipoints and all those. The nice thing about them for recording was that we could make them sound the way we wanted with good EQ. Another thing: a closely guarded secret, the AT-25 or ATM25 (touted as a drum mic) is an excellent, and I mean excellent close field vocal for announcing, like radio or commercial spots, etc.; and, I mean close. I was also an AKG dealer, and those were fun – they worked great and did not like the road much – we had to carry them around in foam. If you would like to chat sometime (if you even get this now), email me with a number. Now, I am a high school teacher and university prof in the Atlanta area, and I still use gear, lots of it.
Later,
rc

Many thanks for this useful comparison.

In all honesty, I prefer the sound of your Gibson through the Audio-Technica AT813. The Neumann certainly has more depth and an even, flat tone, but the AT813 adds a certain punch to the attack of the strings as you fingerpick. Boxiness? Well, I suppose you could call it that, but whats the point of having rich boomy depth to an acoustic unless you’re specifically after that type of sound? The AT813 handles the lows in a tight, controlled way and if you can’t take the boxy mid-range, just cut mid frequency. I’m seriously thinking of getting an 813 to go with my AT33A, which I love on my Martin Acoustic.

Interesting that the Audio-Technica AT813 sounds like it was very close miked compared to the U87. Something to consider when using different capsule types. Do you want a more aggressive (forward) sound? Or do you want a more relaxing (classic) sound?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.