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Thomas
I thought it would be a good idea to put this in a new thread after reading your post on the Small Format Mic Stand thread.

It's an interesting idea to use AT4060s in a Decca Tree. I have always considered this mic to behave like a wide cardioid in its pickup from the front, but ordinary cardioid from behind.

What sort of ensemble do you use this for? I've considered a setup using AT4060 as the outside mics, but with something else in the middle. I was about to buy my second AT4060, but two other mics came up that I was after, so I had to put my AT purchase off for a while.

I'd be very grateful if you could elaborate on your AT setup.

Regards,
John

Comments

Thomas W. Bethel Tue, 05/10/2005 - 05:08

Typo on my part sorry it should have been AT 4050s not 4060s. Although I have auditioned the 4060 I have the 4050s and that is what I use. They are mounted on a custom stand which is made up of the following: A black speaker stand mated to a home made extender and cross pieces made up from castoffs found in the junk and adapted to their current uses by a very cleaver machinist friend of mine. These pieces included a three section microphone stand with the base broken off, a swimming pool cleaner extension pole, one piece of thick wall aluminum with custom machined ends 2 meters long and a piece of thick wall aluminum 1 meter long with a custom machined end. The cross pieces are held together with a clamp that was originally used to hold microwave dishes to antenna masts for temporary use and are very well constructed. All of this is painted black and is very sturdy.The extensions are held together with a bolt and wing nut and can be disassembled and assembled very easily. I have tried other materials and other stands but this one does its job very well and was originally designed for use in non audience attended sessions but lately we are using it for attended sessions. The microphones are used in Omni, figure 8 or cardioid patterns depending on the venue and the ensemble. We use a custom configured three microphone cable that makes the whole thing very easy and quick to set up. The only real problem is that with the AT4050s and the thick wall aluminum tubing the raising of the bar can be a two man event and is quite heavy - but it is sturdy and that is what we were aiming for.

Hope this helps,

Sorry for the Typo.

Side Note: I was at a concert recently and the person doing the recording was using very big Neumann microphones ( I could not see what they were) on a very fragile light stand. During the concert the stand was wobbling and finally about two thirds of the way though the concert it started to descend. I guess the screws holding the sections together gave way and the whole stand started to collapse. It was up about 12 feet and when the concert was over was about 4 feet off the ground. I wonder what the recording sounded like? The whole assembly was swaying and was anything but steady. I would never trust Neumann microphones to a very wobbly stand no matter what the reason.

recordista Tue, 05/10/2005 - 07:57

Thomas W. Bethel wrote: custom stand which is made up of the following: A black speaker stand mated to a home made extender and cross pieces made up from castoffs found in the junk and adapted to their current uses by a very cleaver machinist friend of mine. These pieces included a three section microphone stand with the base broken off, a swimming pool cleaner extension pole, one piece of thick wall aluminum with custom machined ends

Sounds interesting but I have no clue what it might actually look like. Do you have a photo?

We use a custom configured three microphone cable that makes the whole thing very easy and quick to set up.

Who makes 3-channel snake cable? I've been looking for awhile now...

John Stafford Wed, 05/11/2005 - 20:24

Tom
I still need to get a set of AT4050s. It's good to know they work in a Decca Tree. I'm very curious to try the 4060 in such a manner, although when I stated that they are more like wide cardioids, perhaps I was just hearing their excellent off-axis response. When I get my second one, I'll try them as if they were spaced pair to see how well they do.

I think your stand idea is really good. I wouldn't entrust the rather heavy 4060 to a Bogen stand at full height!

That's very funny about the big Neumanns. I have to laugh, because I know it's going to happen to me some day. It's almost miraculous that the mic didn't hit the ground.

I once made a recording using an ORTF mount. I hadn't tightened it properly or secured my cables (I was only called in at the last minute and didn't realise my mistake until it was too late), so over the course of the concert, the weight of the right cable slowly moved the mount clockwise. When it was over, one mic was pointing straight ahead, and the other towards the wall. It was surprisingly easy to fix by panning, but as the spatial cues and the panning didn't match, so the four singers sounded like they were lined up one behind the other. They thought it sounded great :lol:

John

Alécio Costa Sun, 05/29/2005 - 08:15

hi

I have just recorded the fifth album of a Camerata Orchestra and two horn band albums. The at4050s are great mics no matter of cardioid or at omnis.

Room size makes me question the usage at cardioid versus omni patterns.

At4040s are also nice mics but bit the same off-axis response. On a studio, fixed distance, they have been sounding better than their big broithers 4050 at cardioid.