Recording - January 2017 - 32

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

Audio-Technica ATM350a Microphone Systems
A go-everywhere instrument mic can now, literally, go everywhere
clip, complete with mini zeppelin wind
screen. The gooseneck worked great
when the clip could get a grip, but it
could also easily be knocked off of drums
and was hard to fit on woodwinds with
thick bells or in pianos with wide bracing.
Now the ATM350a has been reintroduced with a choice of mounting options.
I think Audio-Technica's mic shockmounts
are some of the best around, and the
ATM350a System is equally impressive.
Note that the ATM350a mic is not sold
separately; it's always packaged with one
of the mounting options, with other
options available separately. In the writeup below, I'll do my best to pinpoint
exact prices for the various mounts and
mic/mount combinations.

Back in April 2007, reviewer Darwin Grosse took a look at four models in AudioTechnica's Artist Series. One of those mics was the ATM350, a miniature condenser
microphone with its capsule detached from its body via a long cable. It was
designed for clip-on use on instruments ranging from violin and sax to drums and
piano. This versatile mic has been updated and is now sold as the ATM350a, complete with a redesigned collection of mounting options that make it even more useful.
The ATM350 becomes the ATM350a
The ATM350 is a cardioid condenser with a very flat frequency response from 40 Hz
to 20 kHz. Specs include -49 dB sensitivity, 122 dB dynamic range, 67 dB signal/
noise ratio, and 149 dB maximum SPL. The ATM350a, which takes over for the
ATM350, now has 130 dB dynamic range, 65 dB signal/noise, and 159 dB max SPL.
The mic capsule measures 1.49" x 0.48" and is attached to a 13' cable with a
detachable output amplifier on the other end. The amplifier includes a lowcut filter (80
Hz, 12 dB/octave). The cardioid capsule is detachable and the UE-H hypercardioid
and UE-O omni capsules are available options.
The ATM350a's flat frequency response is well suited to high SPL and often brash,
bright acoustic instruments. It has a very honest, natural pickup and lacks the typical
upper-mid and high presence peak of many condensers, so it could be perceived as
rounded and darker by comparison. However, its unhyped smoothness makes it well suited for sax, trumpet, snare, toms, clarinet, violin, and piano. On well-tuned snares and
toms, the ATM350a sounds great-I really like it on deep-tuned snare drums. I have been
using one on saxophone and trumpet for live recording and performance for years.
The ATM350's only downside was that it only offered two mounting options, the
AT8468 Velcro® violin bridge clip (still included) or a universal gooseneck mounting
32

RECORDING JANUARY 2017

New mounts
Central to the new system are two newlydesigned thick, rugged, yet flexible goosenecks. The AT8490 ($30) measures 5" and
the AT8490L ($40) is 9". On one end is still
the zeppelin-style windscreen which the mic
slips into, and on the other is an octagonal
metal peg which fits snugly and screws tightly into one of various mounts. Nearly all of
the bundled mic/mount products include the
mic and its output amplifier/lowcut filter
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