Audio Technica Six-pack

Just as Spinal Tap have amplifiers that go up to 11, Audio Technica have six‑packs that go up to seven — as Paul White discovers after counting them twice!

If you have something good, put it in a pack of six and then market it — it works with beer, it works with cola, and now it's the turn of microphones. In Audio Technica's case, their 'six‑pack' contains seven microphones, which is a very positive start! What they've actually done is bundle four different models: the ATM10a, ATM33a, ATM31a (two of each), and a single ATM25. These come complete with standard clip and pouch accessories, plus a heavy‑duty canvas bag to keep them all in.

Shuffling The Pack

The ATM10a is an omni‑pattern, back‑electret microphone with a nominally flat response reaching 20kHz, augmented by a gentle presence rise from around 5 to 8kHz. It may be run from phantom power or from an AA battery, and is suitable for recording acoustic instruments, as a drum overhead, and for similar applications. This mic was reviewed in SOS January '96, and was shown to combine excellent value with good all‑round performance and an open, detailed sound.

The ATM33a made its SOS debut in the same issue, and is a cardioid microphone of otherwise quite similar specification to the ATM10a. This model is particularly useful for recording acoustic guitars, cymbals and percussion in an environment where the more selective pattern of a cardioid microphone is preferable. Again, it scored very highly both on performance and value.

Aimed more at vocal recording, the ATM31A is another back‑electret, cardioid model with the same narrow body as the previous two mics, but with the larger wind basket that you might expect from a vocal mic. Once again, it manages an impressive 30Hz to 20kHz response, and there's a slight presence rise centred at around 6kHz, with a second peak in the 12kHz region. This conspires to give the mic a subjectively natural, open sound with plenty of air and detail at the top end. Again, both battery and phantom power operation is catered for.

Finally comes the small but seriously chunky ATM25, a dynamic microphone designed for work with bass instruments, such as bass guitar amplifiers and kick drums, or on louder brass and woodwind instruments. This model has a hypercardioid pattern and a bass peak at around 80Hz, which is further augmented by the proximity effect when the mic is used close to the sound source. The quoted response is from 30Hz to 15kHz, and there's a slight mid‑range dip, followed by a gentle HF rise — which is a characteristic of several 'classic' kick drum models. Cosmetically, this model reminds me of a small Electrovoice RE20, and it is quite capable of withstanding the high SPLs found inside kick drums or in front of bass amp speakers.

Pack It In!

This is actually a very good value kit of microphones; even when priced individually, these models perform far better than their price might suggest. The idea of including three identical pairs in the package is a good one, because it gives you the chance to experiment with stereo recording or put similar mics on two singers or players. Similarly, providing two omni mics is very useful, as most people tend to stick to cardioids through instinct, which means they might never find out how natural and open omnis can sound in the right room. Omnis also make excellent drum overheads.

Providing a choice of battery or phantom power operation for the back‑electret models frees users from the constraints of always using a desk with built‑in phantom power, and taking the range as a whole, it should be possible to cover every eventuality — from miking a drum kit to recording vocals and acoustic instruments. The ATM25 could also work well on electric guitar, but you'd need to compare it with something like the ATM33a to see which gives the best sound in your particular environment. As a rule, dynamic mics give more of a British rock guitar sound whereas capacitor mics are favoured by US engineers.

Ultimately, your recordings are only as good as your microphones, and your microphones are only as good as your credit card limit. With this well thought‑out pack, you can get professional‑sounding results for less outlay than most professionals pay for a single microphone.