AUDIO TECHNICA 4040 Mod

[4toes]

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone has ever done a mod to this mic...

the story is I got screwed by guitar center when I purchased this mic.

The salesman who sold me this mic said it was very very good (depending on what good is)

so I took it home tested it on several different pre's and was very disappointed (I had it coming)

They wouldn't let me return or exchange it or anything!

So here's some pics, and hopefully someone can help me with this.

Maybe a capsule change, transformers, and so forth.

4toes

here's the spec sheet
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/resource_library/literature/0c8b78f4de66c1df/at4040_english.pdf

 

[xhavepatiencex]

I have one of these and actually think they are pretty decent, but if anyone has done anything to one I would be curious what.

 

[iban]

Some days ago I opened my at4033 and all the components were smd 

 

[craigmorris74]

I wouldn't call it a great mic, but it's a pretty good workhorse style mic.  Many folks have had lots of luck with it.  It's a transformerless mic, and the components are mostly SMD, so I don't know what mods could be done to change the sound.

 

[buschfsu]

i dont get it, do you not like it or think its broken?

 

[TheJames]

I've used a pair of these mics for OH's, acoustic guitars, and occasionally vocals for a few years now.  They aren't awful but at this point I will say that I'm not in love with them.

A couple of things to note about the mic.  It is a WIIIIIDE cardioid and as such picks up alot of room sound.  (this is part of the reason I like them in OH position as they grab more of the kit than a tighter cardioid pattern mic will)  Another thing to note is the presence peaks in the microphone.  Note that there's about a 5db boost around 6k, then a dip at 9k and another 3db or so rise a little past 10k.  These two characteristics (wide pattern and peaky HF response) are characteristics of the capsule/headbasket and can't really be cured without addressing them.

What you could do (and what I might look into) is try swapping out the SMD electronics with a submini tube circuit.  Looks like a little circuit board could be made to fit inside the mic with a transformer and tube mounted on it.  You'd have to replace the three pin XLR with a 5-7 pin.  The capsule is single-sided so there's no omni/fig8 polar pattern switching options.

Looks like a variation of the Royer tube mod might work out in here.

 

[rodabod]

Well, most of the sound is in the capsule in my opinion. If you don't really like its general character then I would sell and buy something else. It doesn't look like a great candidate for modifying.

 

[Rossi]

I agree with Roddy; the basic sound characteristics are in the capsule and headbasket. Audio-Technica do make good mics; the problem is you bought one whose sound you don't like. Personally I don't like the 4040 much (at least not on my voice), but I do like the 4050. My advice would be to either talk to the store manager (be insistant and repeat that you are not satisfied with banjo palace) and try to get something else. Or, if that doesn't work, sell it.

 

[rattleyour]

I gave mine the craigslist mod.

 

[4toes]

haha yeah tried to take thing apart a little more, and I'm having a hell of a time doing so.

i think the "craigs list" mod might do the trick **

if I can't figure anything else.

but yes it's not really an ideal mic to modify

 

[PRR]

Never met the 4040.

I think the A-T 2020 is the BEST $99 mike I ever met.

Different, but as-useful-as, some $300 mikes I owned when $300 would buy a nice used car.

A-T 4035 is good stuff also.

The electronics in this series ARE good, and unobjectionable. Smearing chop-liver, or tube-sound, on the mike will change it, but the capsule is the important thing. And for practical purpose, unmodifiable. (You could try filling the rim-holes with tufts of wool....)

But may I say: any mike that doesn't rattle "can" be used for fine recording. You have to work with it and find out where it wants to be. Some sure are easier to find sweet-spots than others, some need less fix-up in mix-down. But mike use is a human art, not a box-product.

Once upon a time, I had a very well developed routine for my concert hall. An ex-student and now Gitar Centre worker came in one night, set up AKG 414s into a snazzy rack-o-stuff, and recorded the same show I did, for a client. A week later he called and asked to buy my recording; his was so poor he could not offer it to his client. You know what 414s cost. My mikes were $5 capsules, but I'd learned how to leverage their faults and virtues, and had worked out all the kinks.

> The salesman ... said it was very very good

Look yourself in the mirror and say that to your own face.

Everything a salesman can sell IS "very good". Anything he can't sell is "oh, I got something better!" That IS his job. To not make-the-sale would be like you recording with your mike unplugged. And in the current economy, the rake-off on your $299 sale may delay repossession of his house and/or closing of that store.

The salesman can help you find stuff you want and stuff he wants to unload, and can take your money (except these days they often don't trust the floor-staff with boxes or money). It is his job to talk and push unwary customers... your job to ignore that. (There ARE real exceptions, salesfolk who won't push a sale until they understand the customer's situation and expectations... but not many in the hundred-buck microphone shops.)

Read the online reviews, by "experts" and by customers such as MusiciansFriend.com  Use many grains of salt: half the customers know less than you do, and many "experts" make a paycheck by praising just about anything which might buy an ad in their publication.

 

[Rossi]

I think the A-T 2020 is the BEST $99 mike I ever met.

Different, but as-useful-as, some $300 mikes I owned when $300 would buy a nice used car.

Yes, very solid mic. It was my usual recommendation for low budget buyers until I reviewed the new 2035 which is just a tiny bit more expensive and lower noise; the sound is about the same. Their 2050 is also a cool low cost mic; a little light in the bass department, but 3 patterns at that price - whoa! Pretty good figure-8 mic for MS recordings.

But I would also agree that the 4040 sounds a bit hard and sibilant. The 2020 and 2035, although cheaper, sound better on voice.

 

[rodabod]

I think the A-T 2020 is the BEST $99 mike I ever met.

Did anyone ever check what capsules they used in these?

 

[Rossi]

It has an electret capsule. I can't remember exactly, but I think I was unable to open the AT2020 for inspection. The 2035 has an electret capsule, too, maybe the same type. That one was slightly smaller than one inch, around 20-22mm, I'd say, edge terminated. The 2050 has a capsule of the same diameter but dual diaphragm and externally polarized; that one looks similar to the 4050 capsule (sounds different, though).

I actually like the fact that AT come up with their own capsule designs instead of just copying the ever popular K67.