ATTN: Audio-Technica AT897 users- I may have a problem...

vincemango

vincemango

Member
hello all,
i am experiencing a problem with my recently purchased AT897 mic. if i make any sudden jerks or bumps i can hear this strange, but brief, 'electronic distortion' sound (that's the best way i can describe it). it can also be heard constantly in high wind situations. i have it attached to a shockmount/boom pole and i have to be really careful when i rotate the pole due to this 'problem.' because i'm fairly new to the world of sound, i'm not sure if this is normal. perhaps the mic is just REALLY sensitive.....? other than the abrupt strange sound, the mic sounds great. anyhoo, i thought i'd ask some of you guys before i contacted B&H.
 
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if it couse when the mic get bump it may be some electronc componet which doesnt behaive well
do you hear the distortion with low fq switch on as well ?
 
ahhhhhh, the distortion went away with the low fq switch on. thank you! so, what i was hearing was normal then? what kind of situation calls for the low fq to be switched off?
 
what you probably hear is low fq distortion , coused by hard bump and wind bumps which overloader the mic preamp stage
the solution is get better suspension and better wind protection
if you run it directly to the camera stay with it in on position as the dvx doesnt have low fq roll off on its inputs .
 
since this mic do not have very high point for low fq , you can stay with it on for all purpess of dialog recording , esspesially if you recording close speach .
for music recording go back to normal .
another thing , work alwais with pahantom power if it awailible , this mic preform diferently with internal battery - worse .
 
Yep, my immediate reaction is you're hearing wind noise across the mic. The best low cost solution for minimizing wind noise is the K-tek K-zepp (you can get it from Coffey or Trew).

Phil
 
oh.... issue... haha i guess my question is.... is it a lot of bang for your buck? what shotgun mic should i buy for 400 or under?
 
it is very little bandg for my buck .
i have one shity rode for camera use , it is enouth bang for the camera mic .
it is very little for anything else .
look for used 4073 or even me 80 with k3u , a bit long for camera use .
 
the rode ntg1 (or ntg2 if you don't have phantom power) are decent at about $240.

Like oleg says, the Audio Technica 4073a is a really good mic for $550 (new). You should try to get one if at all possible.
 
Sounds like an internal problem, maybe something not quite right with the element. It sounds like something is loose or something. It's no supposed to do that. (I have several) My advice is to call AT and talk to their techs or customer service people, get it resolved, don't just decide to work around it.
 
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