Anyone used this mic? AT815b shotgun mic

The 815 is definately an outdoor mic and a lessor quality one at that. I have heard audio recorded with it and it has what is described as a "newsman's" quality to it; very empty and hollow sounding. If you are looking for a cheap indoor mic go with the ever popular Oktava. Do a search in here to learn more about it.

Cheers
 
I own this as my shotgun... I'm recording some ADR with it right now, indoors, in a little blanket room that I made, recording directly into the DVX w/phantom power.. I'm sure all the fine ears in this forum are laughing at me right now...
But anyway, I like the sound it records, it does sound pretty unnatural though...
I have nothing more to say.
 
Matthew Bennett said:
...it does sound pretty unnatural though...
I have nothing more to say.
Click to expand...

That says a lot right there. Unnatural is not what most of us strive for. Even when you want unnatural sound in your project, you do that in post. Natural and real is what to strive for. I recommend (at a minimum) an Audio Technica 4073a (or better yet, watch ebay for a used Sennheiser 416).

Also, read through the stickies at the top of this forum. You will find much useful information there.

Phil
 
To add a little balance. As said this is not an indoor mic, it's a long shotgun. Using any long shotgun indoors is not going to sound very good. This mic was used by a lot of low budget filmmakers in the 16mm and VHS days. It has very low handling noise and that was a big plus. Also at that time there was not the glut of "pretty good" mics that there is today. So if you were going to use it out of doors and you could get it really cheap it would probably be better than others in the price range (under $100- $150). Indoors it's bad news and will give you that "classic" low budget hollow sound you are probably trying to avoid. The Oktava is a MUCH better mic in all respects for indoors.
 
cool, i've been searching other threads about the oktava and everyone seems pretty satisfied about it.

seems to be pretty popular, but i wonder why it's not in the music store's inventory here in Atlanta? (guitar center is the name of the music store and they're pretty big) i'd like to be able to walk in the store and buy it if possible rather than purchasing online.

i couldnt find it on b&h's website ..........but is this the price i should be expecting to pay for it?
 
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FilmBoy77 said:
cool, i've been searching other threads about the oktava and everyone seems pretty satisfied about it.

seems to be pretty popular, but i wonder why it's not in the music store's inventory here in Atlanta? (guitar center is the name of the music store and they're pretty big) i'd like to be able to walk in the store and buy it if possible rather than purchasing online.

i couldnt find it on b&h's website ..........but is this the price i should be expecting to pay for it?
Click to expand...

The story of Oktava and Guitar Center has been posted all over the web, here is one link: http://debris.com/journal/1274

Oktava was designed as a music microphone, not a production mic. Again, there is a whole history to how it came to be adopted by the production industry. You can find this thru a google search too.

The popular and trusted source for getting Oktavas is the the Sound Room. A search in this forum will get you the going price these days.

As my obligatory last point; don't ever buy from B&H except as a last resort, they are simply the worst honest dealer for all things audio I have ever seen (some will disagree with this but most will not).

Cheers
 
I seem to remember hearing that there was a bunch of Schoeps knock offs floating around ebay. I also seem to remember reading that some of these knock offs are better than the real McCoy. You got anything on this Wabbit?
 
i ordered from sound-room.com on Monday but didnt get a tracking number or anything...are they usually good with their turnaround time and shipping out equipment?

i called a few times and left a message but nobody ever picks up the phone there.
 
Usually take them around 2-3 days to process your order and ship, but they're pretty good about it. All of my order receipts came with a handwritten thank you by Paul, that's how much they care about the customers.
 
wabbit said:
The story of Oktava and Guitar Center has been posted all over the web, here is one link: http://debris.com/journal/1274

Oktava was designed as a music microphone, not a production mic. Again, there is a whole history to how it came to be adopted by the production industry. You can find this thru a google search too.

The popular and trusted source for getting Oktavas is the the Sound Room. A search in this forum will get you the going price these days.

As my obligatory last point; don't ever buy from B&H except as a last resort, they are simply the worst honest dealer for all things audio I have ever seen (some will disagree with this but most will not).

Cheers
Click to expand...
Hi, please tell me why do you think B&H is so bad? I´m really interested because I will buy some audio equipment (case, headphone, microphone) at B&H next month. Thanks
 
Stories range from Grey market goods with no warranty, to not getting any customer service after the sale- like defective item return. I have never bought from them myself, I really want a clerk that at least fakes an interest in the customer.
 
The big one is customer service. They have none. They will sell you equipment that doesn't work together, offer no feedback on the products they sell, absolutely no follow up service. Basically these guys just don't know squat about the gear they sell.

Considering their prices are no better (and often worse) then other pro audio houses, why would anyone bother? Places like Gotham, Coffey, Trew, etc know their gear inside and out. They have personal relationships with the companies that make the gear (Lectro, Sound Devices, Schoeps, K-tek, etc). If you have a problem they will work to get things straightened out for you.

If everyone else is backordered or for whatever reason you can't find what you want somewhere else, B&H is, as I said above, honest. You will get exactly what you paid for. I just expect more from the place I buy professional equipment; B&H is the Costco of professional video/audio equipment.

(Disclaimer: above comments are just personal opinion, take with however much salt you deem neccessary)

If you are planning to buy some equipment, call B&H and then call the closest professional sound house. If you do that, I think you will have all the info you need to decide who to buy from.

Cheers
 
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