AES 2009: Audio-Technica 4050ST and 4080/81
Audio-Technica is showing off three new microphones at this year’s AES, all three of which belong in the 40 Series.
The first two mics of note are A-T’s first foray into the world of ribbon mics: the 4080 and 4081. Both mics were designed from the ground up by Audi0-Technica. The 4080 is more of a traditional side-address ribbon microphone suite for vocals, horns, strings, acoustic instruments, drum overheads, orchestras, ensembles, and guitar cabs. The 4081 is more of the smaller pencil ribbon for use with just about any that the 4080 or other ribbons can be used for.
Both of the ribbons will be available in November. The 4080 will be $895 retail while the 4081 will be $1,245. Both are pretty reasonable considering that they’re ribbons and they’re also A-T’s higher-end microphones.
Also being shown at AES is the 4050ST: A-T’s new stereo condenser microphone which is a stereo version of their ever popular 4050 condenser. The user can either record the signal that’s summed through the microphone’s internal matrix or you can record the signals as discrete mid/side signals and process them at a later time.
I was able to actually demo this microphone for a little bit on Friday, and man does it sound killer. For the price-point, you’d be hard pressed to find a stereo condenser this good.
The 4050ST will also be available in November at a price of $1,625.







great info