Does the Audio Technica 4053b ever go on sale?

I have never seen it on sale new. AT keeps very tight MSRP and does not allow sales below that price. The only way you can get it for less is used on ebay, and even then it's never much cheaper. I have read people claim that they bought it used off ebay for crazy prices like $100, but I have an automatic price alert on ebay that I put for the 4053b, and it has never hit anywhere near such low prices in the 2-3 years I've had this alert on. So to answer your question: I don't think it's ever lower when new, and rarely much lower when used. So you either think it's worth the $600 and pay up, or skip it for another mic. I've skipped it. I certainly see no point in buying used if the discount is barely $100-$150, at that point why take a chance on used - buy new for a bit more. Or skip it. The AT-4053b need competition for sure - I have faith in the Chinese :), in time they'll come up with something that rivals the quality and only costs like $200. That said, I don't stress over it. It's used primarily for dialogue indoor - and there are plenty of cheap good quality mics that can do the job, doesn't even have to be hyper, I've used $100-$200 cheap cardioid mics that sound (to my ears) just fine for dialogue. YMMV.
 
I was lucky enough to get a like new 4053B on eBay for $300 - and I'm glad I did, it's a nice mic & will certainly be useful in my kit but I don't think it's $600 useful. If you had a $600 budget I'd grab a NTG-3. If you have a smaller budget the NTG-2 is pretty versatile & a good value for the money.
 
What you might do is call a couple of places and see it they will sell it cheaper. In many cases it is only advertised prices the manufacturer regulates. Another possibility is to buy a used omni version I have seen them for $200-230, or so, on eBay, and buy a new hyper capsule for the $250 list.

I had been keeping an eye out for a AT4053A, but those seem to be impossible to find, so I wound up buying a pair of Lyxpro that seem to be about equal to the Oktava's for only $80 off Amazon (see the cheap chinese microphone thread).
 
I have both Rode NTG-3 and AT4053b (amongst other mics) in my kit and they are both superb - but are best used in different situations. The AT is a hypercardoid and ideal for sound capture on a boom stand in say a small/medium sized room (where the NTG-3 might sound odd due to wall reflected sound entering via it's interference tubes). The NTG-3 is better outside and (if push comes to shove and you really have no alternative... as an on-camera shotgun). However, as a shotgun mic on-camera be aware of it's (moderately long) length - it can creep into frame (especially with a WS7 windshield on) in wide shots, on shorter body cameras such as my C100 or FS5 (it's fine on my PMW-300).

If you really want an amazingly good budget mic you should also look at the AT875R - I have one in my kit also. It's a remarkably versatile mic in how you can use it (in-door, outdoor and on-camera shotgun) and sounds way better than it's £130 (ish) price tag would suggest.

Bottom line though is that good mics cost money - but if and when you can afford them they will last you a lifetime and, if used correctly, deliver the goods time after time.
 
graywolf said:
I had been keeping an eye out for a AT4053A, but those seem to be impossible to find,...
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The difference between the AT4053 versions "A" and a "B" seems to be only whether manufacture of the mic requires any cadmium; the "A" did while the "B" does not so that it could meet the EU RoHS requirements. Everything I've read and heard is that they look and sound exactly the same.

Perhaps the "best" alternative to the AT4053 is the Audix SCX1-HC. Similar but different, and the Audix is somewhat less expensive.
 
Bruce Watson said:
The difference between the AT4053 versions "A" and a "B" seems to be only whether manufacture of the mic requires any cadmium; the "A" did while the "B" does not so that it could meet the EU RoHS requirements. Everything I've read and heard is that they look and sound exactly the same.
Perhaps the "best" alternative to the AT4053 is the Audix SCX1-HC. Similar but different, and the Audix is somewhat less expensive.
Click to expand...
The A & B versions, as Bruce stated are mostly for RoHS compliance. The specs state the 4053a has a slightly higher sensitivity. The Audix sounded decent the one time I use one, a little lower sensitivity (17mV) than the AT. Neither are in the same league with the MKH50 or CMC641 though.
 
My way of figuring is that the AT4053A would be a better match for my AT4073A. But for the time being I will get by with those very cheap, but not bad sounding, mic's.

I am still wondering why I should buy a mic that costs 10x as much, when I cannot hear the difference? And don't tell me ruggedness, no good quality sensitive microphone is rugged. Drop it on the concrete floor and toss it in the trash.
 
"I am still wondering why I should buy a mic that costs 10x as much, when I cannot hear the difference?"
- Whatever floats yo' boat Tom. If your a OBM and throwing in the gear, that's another story. I charge a rental fee on top of the labor. Generally $600-700 for me and a basic sound package in the NY metro area. Mixer, recorder, boom/mics, 2 wireless. Additional wireless, IFBs, lock boxes and such is à la carte. Sometimes I'll throw in a cam hop for my own convenience. Using sub-grade gear would be ripping off the client.
 
As I have said before, if you are getting paid, the equipment is free to you get what your want or think your client wants.

Me, I am a hobbyist. That means everything comes out of my personal pocket. That means what I can afford that can do the job. If it don't work I have thrown way the money. If it costs more than it needs to, I have thrown away the money. The hard part is figuring what fits between those two extremes. Luckily for guys like me, we seem to be able to get more for less than ever before these days.
 
Thank you everyone. I clicked helpful on you all.
My main objective is a good indoor mic. $600 is the top of my budget.
How close is the AT875R? It's a lot less
 
firehawk said:
Thank you everyone. I clicked helpful on you all.
My main objective is a good indoor mic. $600 is the top of my budget.
How close is the AT875R? It's a lot less
Click to expand...

The AT875R is an interference tube (aka shotgun) mic. You can use it indoors, as long as you know what you're doing. No interference tube mic responds well to "early reflections" like you get from being too close to a wall or ceiling. In those situations interference tube mics tend to artifact (typically comb filtering). Which is why people not working on sound stages often pick hypercardioids instead. That is, the hypers don't artifact like the interference tubes in the face of early reflections. But no mic, not even hypers, will save you from "small room sound" under those circumstances. Because small room sound is pretty much the result of early reflections, from walls that are close, because the room is small. If you get my meaning. :grin:
 
Thank you again, Bruce for explaining that, lol :)
I want to reduce the chances of messing it up and increase the chances and ease of good indoor audio. I'm not that hot at audio and my help is worse than I am so I try to keep all that in mind selecting gear.
 
Strategically placed sound/moving blankets can reduce reflections. The grip dept. truck usually has a bunch.. 'stolen' from sound. That's where many of mine went. Every movie I work on, I lose a few.
 
As I understand it, not a lot of experience with film sound, both hypers and shotguns pickup sound from the back. Shotguns also pickup weird reflected sound from the sides. One of the ways to deal with the back sound, if you have a carpeted floor, is point the microphone up from the floor, the carpet absorbing a lot of that reflected sound.

I don't imagine that helps much with the side sound on the shotgun. Maybe my ears are bad, but I do not seem to have a problem in my living room with my shotguns (at4073a, and a cheap plastic Chinese one). It may be that the funiture is breaking up those reflections however.

ADDED: Just though about this, I do not usually record at the high levels many do. That may be part of the difference.
 
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graywolf said:
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I don't imagine that helps much with the side sound on the shotgun. Maybe my ears are bad, but I do not seem to have a problem in my living room with my shotguns (at4073a, and a cheap plastic Chinese one). It may be that the funiture is breaking up those reflections however.
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Click to expand...
The way any mic sounds indoors depends on the room acoustics and the location of the mic in the room and relative to the sound source (human mouth, in this case).
In a certain room, at a certain location of the mic, one mic may sound much better while on another situation another mic may sound better.
If recordings are expected to be done in various locations, it's a mistake to choose a mic based on tests done only in one location.

As for the ears, basically it's a matter of being trained in noting nuances of sound.
 
I got my AT 4053b on ebay, for about $100 off. I recall it was an open box or something, from one of the retail sellers. I buy a lot, though, and memory is a bit cloudy.

Anyway, I love this mic! I was struggling with a Sennheiser ME66 inside, and I hated it. The AT is like a dream.

I am an amateur, so I seldom get paid. The higher-priced mics are way beyond my budget.

My basic kit is the AT for interior work, and the Rode NTG-3 for exterior. It's good enough for independent, zero budget flicks in flyover country like Sacramento, Ca.
 
I have a 4053a and a 4073a and have shot two features with them. Based on my experience, I think the reason you aren't seeing them for sale used is that their users are happy with them and won't give them up for anything. Both are extremely sensitive mics, but especially the 4073. The signal to noise ratio is so good that camera or less expensive mixer preamps suffice, where lesser mics would require the pots higher and therefore noisier.
 
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