AT4073A Shotgun

graywolf

graywolf

Well-known member
Interesting day, first time I can post, and I got an Audio-Technica AT4073a in the mail.

I got a rather good deal on this from eBay, but it did not come with the foam windshield. I intend to use it on camera (I do know the trade offs on that), and as a boom mic. Eventually, I will need a blimp, but I wonder if a furry windshield is not the best option to start?

I am just getting in to video, slowly, but do have some audio experience. However, this it the first high-end microphone I have owned. It tests out good. Kind of excited.
 
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Foam on it's own is not that useful. It can only handle the slightest of breezes so I would say yes that a furry windshield would probably be a good choice.

Good luck.
 
You could try a Rycote Softie (or Super Softie) which would work for light wind, adding the Softie Windjammer would augment it some... anything beyond that.. a Zep (on a boom) is usually necessary..
Don't know about Rode's 'Softie' version. The new BubbleBee 'Softie' is apparently liked by those who have tried it.
I have a Windtech system that works 'OK' on my [rarely used] 4071 long shotgun. The inner filter part is two-stage foam filter and has an additional outer furry 'windjammer'... It's no substitute for a full zep though.
 
The Rode softies are very good value and the WS6 or 7 with a PG2 grip will be a good low cost starter package.

I use them with my AT875r mics.
 
Golly, there are a lot of those furry windshieds out there. Been browsing the web looking for reviews. There seems to be two kinds so far, "we'll give you this for free if you will do a positive write up on it", and "I bought this for a lot of money so it must be good, but I don't know nut'in".

The problem is I live out in the middle of nowhere, can't just walk in a store and try one, so I guess I will order the cheapest one just to see if it works at all.

At the moment I am using the foam pop filter from a $15 eBay shotgun mic I bought some time ago. Interestingly the eBay foam, with the mic thrown in, was half the price of the proper foam for the 4073 by itself. The other interesting thing is the $15 shotgun is not quite a throw away.

Today, I plan on trying the AT4073A outdoors in a park, and downtown.

Here is a question on gain staging with this mic. Plugged into the old camcorder with 48v phantom power, I seem to have to set the gain at about 30%. Now the camcorder does have a -10db mic setting, would I be better off using that with the gain set to the center point? The first would leave more headroom, but put voices nearer the noise floor, while the second would raise voices more above the noise floor but possibly overload with sudden loud noises. So which would be the better way to go in run and gun type shooting (In more organized shooting, the answer would be choose the setting to give the best sound in that situation)?

An aside: why do the same posts go both into the Location Sound and the Audio Gear forums?
 
The low-cost windscreens likely won't work very well, so IMO, don't even bother. I would expect to pay at least $100 usd for something decent. FWIW, the new Bubblebeeindustries Windkiller is very highly regarded 'Softie' type windscreen by those (film sound pros) who have tried it.

The 4073a has a 71mV sensitivity (output).. higher than most mics and usually desirable. However your camera's audio (or preamp/mixer) gain settings are still dependent on the acoustical SPL. There's no one setting that fits all! For an interview or normal dialog, I would not use any (pramp) gain attenuation unless the 'talent' is yelling or speaking abnormally loud. For live amplified bands or other high SPL environments... for sure.
I have a few of the 40 series AT mics, including the 4073 and 4071.
 
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I wouldn't even bother with off brand softies. I'd stick (and do stick) with Rycote. Bubblebee's lav products are good, so I'm willing to bet that their new softie is also good. If you're on a budget, maybe Rode dead cat. I wouldn't buy used I knew the seller well and/or could see the item before buying; too hard to tell what sort of wear-and-tear it's had. I have had a 4073a for 15+ years, it's mainly deep backup now but it still works fine and I like it.

As for setting levels, I guess it depends. Does your camera have a good limiter?

The 4073a is a bit hotter than some other mics, so perhaps a lower setting than you might be used to.
 
I think you are misreading the forum. "Location Sound/ Post Audio" is one forum there isn't as far as I know a separate audio gear forum.

An argument could be made (in fact I think I did once) that these should really be separate. But realistically this is a site about filmmaking and 90% of the forums are about visuals and a LOT of users don't do much with sound. So it actually makes sense to have this one stop shop for sound. Plus there is a fair amount of redundancy of basics.

The "noise floor" you are talking about is going to be in your camcorder. Padding the input sends a lower signal in thus making the "noise floor" a bigger percentage of the mix.

If this were a mixer you would generally want to adjust the trim to get your faders into the middle more but here you are dealing with essentially just mic preamps. I haven't met one yet that actually got noisier at lower settings so I wouldn't use the pad unless you can't keep the mic from clipping your inputs. Practically it probably makes very little difference unless using the pad makes you turn the gain up past the 3/4 point.
 
Noiz2 said:
I think you are misreading the forum. "Location Sound/ Post Audio" is one forum there isn't as far as I know a separate audio gear forum.
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There is "Filmmaking:Location Sound/Post Audio" AND farther down "Production Tools:Audio Gear". However anything posted in either one is shown in the other. Does seem to me that "Tools" & "Techniques" should be separate. However, I can see that it might be a modifiers nightmare with people posting willy-nilly. In that case there ought to be one forum labeled something like "The Audio Side". On the other hand, I am a late comer here.

If this were a mixer you would generally want to adjust the trim to get your faders into the middle more but here you are dealing with essentially just mic preamps. I haven't met one yet that actually got noisier at lower settings so I wouldn't use the pad unless you can't keep the mic from clipping your inputs. Practically it probably makes very little difference unless using the pad makes you turn the gain up past the 3/4 point.
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OK, I will go with the lower setting. Thanks.
 
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graywolf said:
An aside: why do the same posts go both into the Location Sound and the Audio Gear forums?
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Because they aren't separate forums. The "Audio Gear" link redirects folks to this forum.

Which camera are you using, by the way? It would be helpful to be able to reference that specific camera's inputs and settings.
 
Alex H. said:
Which camera are you using, by the way? It would be helpful to be able to reference that specific camera's inputs and settings.
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Now, I am going to get sneered at (grin). I have a couple of Sony PDX10's (MiniDVcam tape with XLR's, for those who came in late) . Bought them cheap to learn about video with, I am a long time photo and audio guy, but never got into video. Actually, the second one was so cheap ($85) I could not pass it up. I started with the first one a couple of years back, then got sick (I'm in my 70's), and now are starting all over again as I have a hard time remembering what I learned then. So the Sonys are toys to learn with. If I get good at it, then is the time to drop the big bucks into it.

BTW, the first one came with a $20 Chinese mic, and the second had no mic on it. I bought one of the Sony ESM-NV1 that came with the camcorder originally but it was defective. So while looking for another I came across the AT4073A for $180. Since they seem to normally go for $300-400 bucks that was a no brainer. And, of course, it will work with my other audio gear. So far, I like what I hear.

I need to edit the clips from this afternoon into something watchable, but I can already tell that the 4073 makes a soft breeze sound like a hurricane.
 
graywolf said:
The first would leave more headroom, but put voices nearer the noise floor, while the second would raise voices more above the noise floor but possibly overload with sudden loud noises. So which would be the better way to go in run and gun type shooting (In more organized shooting, the answer would be choose the setting to give the best sound in that situation)?
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On a lot of the Sony cameras, for example, you can take mic input #1 and assign it to both Channel 1 & 2 with gain set to manual. Then on the teeny tiny gain controls, set one to top out to say -3, and the other to -12 on the VU. In post mix back and forth between channel 1 & 2 as needed. Almost indestructible in those run & gun crazy level nightmares.

BTW, this is my favorite audio forum because it's on a very practical, down to earth level. I've checked out some of the more hardcore film audio forums, and they are so out there in terms of extravagantly expensive hardware, and technical esoterica, that it's hard to relate to real world situations.
 
Mini DV

Mini DV

I have 2 of these, one for my long shotgun:
AurayWSS-2014 Professional Windshield for Shotgun
and a shorter one for my other shotgun. They are less that $100 on B&H Photo, and do surprisingly good job.
The wind thing is part of using good mics, the more sensitive and nuanced they are the more they pick up wind and room noise. Good mic technique becomes more essential.

I have about 300 DV mini tapes I am going to be throwing away. If you'll pay shipping you can have them. They have stuff on them, but only been recorded and played back once for capture. You can tape right over or black them if you want.
 
graywolf said:
the 4073 makes a soft breeze sound like a hurricane.
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The 4073 is quite sensitive to air turbulence. Along with a good windscreen, you can try the on-board HP filter. Unfortunately its usually too high and/or steep for me (150Hz/12dB). If that cam has a 'wind' or other low-cut function setting, try it (but their usually after the input stage and YMMV) It's best put a filter as far upstream as possible.
Incidentally, wind can and will enter through the 4073's HPF switch port and around some XLR connectors, so a little gaffer tape to block these access points may help.
 
ric8138 said:
BTW, this is my favorite audio forum because it's on a very practical, down to earth level. I've checked out some of the more hardcore film audio forums, and they are so out there in terms of extravagantly expensive hardware, and technical esoterica, that it's hard to relate to real world situations.
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Only part of that that I would correct is the "real world" comment. They are working in the real world just not in the circles you are working in. Those forums can also be a bit impatient with questions that are "basic" so I agree that this is one of the better sound forums if you are not working on big budget projects because it has a nice mix of folks who are or have worked at many levels and it's generally pretty welcoming to folks asking very basic questions.
 
I suppose that "real world" comment did sound a bit pejorative, whatever world you are in at the time is the real one. I apologize! The interesting thing is that as one's knowledge grows, expectations increase. I was fine for years with $100 mic's going into my Sony camcorder XLR circuits for commercial/industrial work, interviews etc. Then I started doing some narrative work, where the nuance and emotion in an actor's voice are an important part of what we were trying to capture. I bought a Zoom H6 and a Sennheiser MKH50 and it was like the clouds lifted and the sun shown through! The delicate tremor in a whispered voice rendered beautifully in a mix is a beautiful thing and can totally make a scene. My worlds have changed, and I'm a believer.
 
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ric8138 said:
On a lot of the Sony cameras, for example, you can take mic input #1 and assign it to both Channel 1 & 2 with gain set to manual. Then on the teeny tiny gain controls, set one to top out to say -3, and the other to -12 on the VU. In post mix back and forth between channel 1 & 2 as needed. Almost indestructible in those run & gun crazy level nightmares.

BTW, this is my favorite audio forum because it's on a very practical, down to earth level. I've checked out some of the more hardcore film audio forums, and they are so out there in terms of extravagantly expensive hardware, and technical esoterica, that it's hard to relate to real world situations.
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My Sonys definitely have that ability. In fact, the Audio Level button is directly above that little adjuster wheel, so it is easy to adjust levels.

I browse several video forums, but the reasons you mention are why I actually signed up on this one.
 
ric8138 said:
I have about 300 DV mini tapes I am going to be throwing away. If you'll pay shipping you can have them. They have stuff on them, but only been recorded and played back once for capture. You can tape right over or black them if you want.
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Thank you very much for the offer. However, do to the age of these camcorders, I decided that I would only use new Sony tapes in them. I worry about an age damaged tape damaging the camcorder. Luckily, I can still get new tapes of about $2 each. Of course at that price you are offering about $600 worth of tapes. I am sure that someone will love to have them. Once again thank you for the offer.
 
Well, I am bad at taking advice and have ordered a cheap furry windscreen ($26). Softy style, one piece with the rubber ring at that back. I figure if it does not work out, I am not going to cry over the price of a case of beer.

I have sequenced together my mix of sound cuts, but need to cut about 90% of it out. Includes indoor voice (me), outdoor in the park with the wind, downtown with traffic. Some of the wind and traffic cuts and just missed clipping with everything set to unity gain. The AT4073A is a sensitive mic. Still need to shoot some very quiet stuff to check that out, but I do not know anywhere that quiet around here. Wonder if they have sound stage over at the university I could borrow for about 5 minutes.
 
graywolf said:
Still need to shoot some very quiet stuff to check that out, but I do not know anywhere that quiet around here. Wonder if they have sound stage over at the university I could borrow for about 5 minutes.
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Where are you? If you let people know they may be able to help you with locations.
 
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