3035 vs 4047

[PT]

Can anyone compare these two mics?

My main concern...Is the 3035 of lesser quality (sound and otherwise), or is it simply different than the 4047?

I'm interested in doing a poor man's Glyn Johns drum set up. I was thinking three EH 12AY7 pre's and three 3035's ('cause they're so damn cheap). I've read the 3035 has a pretty flat freq response. I've read the 4047 just sounds good.

What mic would sound better in this situation?

[lancebug]

I dont know about the 3035's but if cheap is important I think the cad m179 is the boss for minimal drum miking. I have a pair that I frequently use as overheads and in the recorderman setup and they present a pretty full picture of the kit. Also because they stay flat down to like 10hz they really get a killer thud when set up in front of the kick. I'm not saying they're as good as 87's or 414's but if cheap LDC's for drums is what you want it may be something they do better than a lot of other cheapies. I got mine for $150 ea new but I mostly see them around $200.

[ctmsound]

The 3035 sucks a monkey's ass compared to the 4047. They are two entirely different mics. The 4047 is king, the 3035 is not.

Ok, the 4047 is warm, smooth, with great frequency response. The 3035 is a smaller capsule that is not warm, not smooth, and less frequency response.

[river]

I'll have a double order of monkey's ass, please. I haven't used a 4047, I do have a 4050 and like it overall......very transparent and multi pattern, but I love my 3035's. They're warmer sounding than the 4050, handles transients & high SPL extremely well. They've become my 1st choice for vocals, electric guitar, and I've used them for acoustic nylon string, tenor & bari saxes. Next stop; grand piano. FWIW, if budget is a primary concern, I bought a couple of AT2020's recently because they're so inexpensive ($82 each on ebay) and their response is pancake flat. Only drawback is no pad or high pass filter, but for $82.............I've gotten decent results with them on piano and drum OH's.

[red cross]

4047 is such a strange mic. The treble can be really peaky, but without getting ear-splittingly harsh like some chinese condensors. I don't know if would call it a "dark" sounding mic like I've read on here before. Definitely has a slightly "scooped" kinda quality to its response though. It's a really interesting flavour to have in your mic locker. I like mine!

[mertmo]

I have a 3035 and I like it a lot, I think it's pretty damn useful. Definitely grainy, though. More focused than some other LDC's I have, but grainy too. Can be harsh on some things, and not necessarily because it's overhyped.
Sounds perfect on my taylor acoustic.
I have used the 4047 only once, in a vocal test. Recorded a few lines of myself singing a song with the 4047, TLM 103, 414tlII i think.

4047 is yummy, I wish I had one. Thicker, definately darker than the 3035. Not as good of a choice on my voice as the TLM 103 was, so I passed on buying it because that was my main concern at the time. Still, Im sure I'll pick one up some day, it had a nice sound to it.
I bet the 3035 would work well for the Glyn Johns drum setup, though.

[PT]

The 3035 sucks a monkey's ass compared to the 4047. They are two entirely different mics. The 4047 is king, the 3035 is not.

Ok, the 4047 is warm, smooth, with great frequency response. The 3035 is a smaller capsule that is not warm, not smooth, and less frequency response.

See, I don't want something that sounds like ass. If I have the choice to spend a little more money to avoid "ass", I will spend the money.

This really is my concern, that the cheaper 3035 would simply not have the sound quality that the more expensive 4047 (or other 40 series AT mics in that price range) would have. I don't mind a "different" sound. But I don't want a "worse" sound.

Please continue the discussion.

[kdownes]

i have a pair of 3035s an like them for some things, hate them
for others. i dont like the high end response. something about it is
not very pleasing to my ears. as room mics, crushed, with the top
rolled off they sound great. i also like them alot on toms. i will never
use them as overheads again.

[Cellotron]

I've never heard the 3035 - but I own the 4047 - and use the 4050 and 4051 in the studio all the time.

The 4050 and the 4047, besides both being able to take high spl's very well, are completely different mics - the 4050 is pretty darn bright but a good 3-pattern work horse, while the 4047 is "warmer" cardioid that I turn too more for things that I specifically want its color on.

The 4047 has a slightly rolled off high end and really thick mids - I've had very good success micing cello, acoustic guitar, bass & guitar amps, violin, viola, some various hand drums and percussion, and once in a while as a room mic with it. It's rare that I find that it ever works on vocals (although it can sound good on an occasional brighter female vox) - usually I've found that I actually prefer the various cheaper Chinese LDC's in my mic closet over it for tracking most voices.

So - if you're looking for a single versatile LDC then I don't think the 4047 is the ticket - but if you're looking for an additional color option for your mic closet on the "thicker-er" side of things then I highly recommend the 4047.

I really like Audio Technica mics in general a lot - I find that they are built a lot more solid than the majority of the cheaper Chinese stuff out there - and they all seem to have very low noise too. I've always used their "40xx" series though - the "30xx" and the "20xx" series are the ones where they start to cut corners - and I think for not much more money it'd probably be well worth doing the extra saving so that you won't "outgrow" any mic you purchase.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[tguncle]

I dont know about the 3035's but if cheap is important I think the cad m179 is the boss for minimal drum miking. I have a pair that I frequently use as overheads and in the recorderman setup and they present a pretty full picture of the kit. Also because they stay flat down to like 10hz they really get a killer thud when set up in front of the kick. I'm not saying they're as good as 87's or 414's but if cheap LDC's for drums is what you want it may be something they do better than a lot of other cheapies. I got mine for $150 ea new but I mostly see them around $200.

I was having no luck with my cad 179 on drums this weekend, OH, snare, kick = ass, ass, and more ass. Really, the kit just sounded like ass and the cad 179 was doing a great job of reminding us of that fact We moved the Cad over to the guitar amp and blended it with a shure small condensor and got nice results. In the end I actually used my MXL V67G on the kick, and it made (the piece of thuddy shit that it is) sound great! I ended up using my 3035 on the bass cabinet this weekend and that turned out nicely... I also got a chance to use my new Shiny box 23C as a drum overhead for the first time and let me say, I am in LOVE!!!! that mic for the money is amazing...

[PT]

i have a pair of 3035s an like them for some things, hate them
for others. i dont like the high end response. something about it is
not very pleasing to my ears. as room mics, crushed, with the top
rolled off they sound great. i also like them alot on toms. i will never
use them as overheads again.

This concerns me about the 3035. I don't want a hi-end that will be hard to deal with. The descriptions of this mic say it's supposed to not be so harsh on the top and good for digital recording. I realize this could just be marketing hype

I wouldn't be using these mics as standard overheads. Still, in the Glyn Johns set up, the mic over the snare is a bit "overhead".

[river]

I'd say go have a look at the response charts at the AT website.
The 3035 in much flatter across the upper mids and has a bit less high end dropoff than the 4047, and the 4050 has a noticeable bump around 10k before dropping off up at 20k. The 4047 has more low end without the high pass filter engaged. I'd let you test drive my 35's if you were in Nashville. I can see why the 4047 would sound warmer than the 3035, but I have no complaints about excessive highs with them.

[trodden]

the 4047 is my "best" or i should say "favorite" mic, well my favorite condensor mic that I own. I use it with success on "in the tunnel" kick, single mono overhead (over the shoulder style), in front of kit drum mic/overhead, bass cab, guitar, and vocals. Lately i've been using a combination of an sm58 and the at4047 on vox (hardcore/metal/hollering screaming). I don't have much of a mic collection so this one gets used a lot. My only other condensors are a pair of mk-012's, cad e100, cad e300, cad 179... and currently the 100 and 300 need to be sent in for repair.

If i could afford, i'd get a second 4047, but,
I'd like to try some other high quality condensors as well, cause the 4047 was definitely a step up in quality as well as price.

[PT]

I'd say go have a look at the response charts at the AT website.
The 3035 in much flatter across the upper mids and has a bit less high end dropoff than the 4047, and the 4050 has a noticeable bump around 10k before dropping off up at 20k. The 4047 has more low end without the high pass filter engaged. I'd let you test drive my 35's if you were in Nashville. I can see why the 4047 would sound warmer than the 3035, but I have no complaints about excessive highs with them.

I am so wishing I was in Nashville right now. I won't go into where I am right now.

I've checked out the response charts. There's nothing about the 3035 that looks scary. In fact, I like that there is no real bump anywhere. It seems like it would be a "what you hear in the room is what you get" situation.

[river]

I'm guessing you have too much snow in your yard?

Mic choice is so subjective, but I haven't had a single client not like what they heard from the 3035. I think it's an amazing mic for the money. Do a search on ebay, you should be able to find them new for about $180.