Audio-Technica - AT875R Line + Gradient Condenser Microphone

AT875r is a fantastic budget starter shotgun mic, esp if you're shooting indoors. Honestly though, as much of a fan of audio as i am, these days, there's so many excellent sounding lav and wireless options for cheap. Problem with shotgun is that it IS an investment. It doesnt make sense to buy some $40 shotgun mic or cheap recorder. So at the bare minimum for good quality you're still looking at probably close to $500+. $150-200 for the mic, around the same for the XLR recorder, throw out like $70 for stand/mount/cables. Whereas like $80 gets you into a still solid sounding setup. Hollyland makes a bunch of cheaper options for wireless. The Tascam DR10L used you can get for under $100 and is zero fuss and great quality aside from syncing in post. IMO, get the cheap setup while you learn more about audio and build your platform, then once you have the money and experience, you can better know what shotgun setup works for you. Things like microphone positioning and acoustics in your space will likely have a more dramatic impact than your gear - or at least they have the potential to degrade your audio easily even if you have an expensive setup.

Audio Technica AT875R ($179), Rode NTG 4 or 4+, Audio Technica AT 897, and the MKE 600 you already listed.

I have a deep voice and gravely voice when I want. I was recommended the AT875R by a coach, the electro voice RE-20 by a former coworker who majored in audio engineering and a coach recommended the Rode NT1A. My current audio engineer is working with me on dialing them in for my upcoming demo. He says all 3 are bangers. I have to fiddle with the gain a bit but still working out the kinks. Oh you can disable the bass roll off on the RE20 and then enable high pass filter making sure 48v is turned off.

So I am a videographer, and I have a new client where I am a shooting a podcast for a small private clinic. We don’t like the typical “podcast aesthetic” with the microphones right in front of the speakers faces, and we opting for a more broadcast style set up where there are no visible mics. Some of the issues currently, is that the room is very small. We are shooting in a small apartment owned by the clinic, so the room we are using is maybe 10‘ x 11‘. (It’s in Tokyo, so pretty typical) The host, and the doctors sit across a small table, maybe 4 feet from each other. Currently the room very reflective, but we’re working on treating the room to eliminate some of the echo. But I realized on the last video, my biggest issue was with crosstalk. On the last episode, we had three speakers, and I only had two Lavalier mics, (Hollyland Lark 150) so I gave one Lavalier mic to the host, and used an Audio Techica AT875r boomed over the two doctors. These are going into a Beachtek DXA-micro pro+ plugged into my Lumix GH7. I like the way the boom sounds compared to the Lavalier mic but the issue is the host’s voice is picked up off axis on the boom, so when playing back the video, when the host is speaking, I’m also getting the host’s voice off axis from the boom, causing a kind of echo, or phasing affect. The host also talks a bit over the doctors, with lots of, “I see…” and “oh really, that’s interesting…” For future videos, I would like to use a two boom set up if possible, because I like the way they sound, but I’m worried about the cross talk and phasing. I know in post, I can take the time to duck the host’s voice from the other mic, but that that sees time consuming. Or I have to look into some plug-in that can do that for me. I might also ask the host to try not to talk over the doctors, and give more silent reactions. This also helps with the captioning. I’m also hoping that treating the room will have a significant improvement. I have two of the same microphones, and I now currently own the new Zoom H5 Studio, which has zooms F-series preamps so it should give me a bit better sound. I would like some advice on how to get the best possible sound in my current situation, and any tips to minimize cross talk or phasing between the two mics would be greatly appreciated.

I run and gun with an Audio-Technica AT875R Shotgun Condenser Mic. Shorter and lighter than a Sennheiser MKE600 which is also a great option besides the form factor.

First of all, there really is no such thing as a noise canceling mic. The entire purpose of a mic it to pick up the noise. There are some that are better at off axis noise rejection, but even then in a poorly treated room there are limited options. For your budget, I'd recommend looking at the Audio Technica AT875r, and the Behringer UM2 interface. You'll need a mic stand and XLR cable as well with that setup, but it should give you a highly directional mic within your budget. Then as far as use goes, talk within a couple inches of the mic. Generally you want to be about 6 inches away, but for better outside noise rejection I'd recommend getting closer and using a high pass filter in post to reduce the extra low end you get from proximity effect.

Depending on what exactly your budget is there's a few different options, but the cheapest that will still give a "professional" sound is the Behringer C-2. It's about $60 for a set of two and is at least on par with any other \~$100-$150 mic. It certainly isn't perfect, but it holds it's own against mics that cost a *lot* more. It's an XLR mic, so you'll also need the mic stands, XLR cables, and an interface with enough inputs. For the interface I generally recommend the Zoom Podtrack P4 or P8, but if you're going to have eight people at the table total then you'll need to look for something different (or get two P4's, if that's cheaper). You'll also need to go over some mic technique with the players. The C-2 is great, but will pick up a lot of outside noise if it isn't used correctly (which goes for *any* mic, especially with that big of a group). Basically you want each mic about 4 inches from each speaker, and to have the mic pointed at the person's mouth but the mouth pointed slightly to the side of the mic. And have the people speaking across the table as usual, instead of just to the mic. This lets you keep the gain lower so the mic mostly picks up the person speaking into it without picking up everyone else at the table too much. And as for how it sounds, [here's a short clip from my own table with that setup](https://soundcloud.com/user-40755283/dnd-clip-behringer-c2-mics?si=6428cfb25c204f608334a974f2779735&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing). Also, if you have a higher budget I'd recommend looking into the AT875r for your mics, but at eight people that puts the cost of the mics alone over $1,500, where with the C-2 it's \~$240 to cover everyone (so less than the cost of two AT875r).

The while "dynamics are better than condensers for untreated rooms" is a myth that gets spread because its simple advice and most people getting into podcasting dont know enough about audio production (and dont need to know more about it for their use) to understand the nuances of what advantages you can get from different mics. As for why I went with the C-2, its small and cheap. I would have preferred AT875r shotgun mics for everyone, but i could get enough C-2s for everyone at the table for less than one AT875r. And with the size, the mic doesn't get in the way of playing the game. It also has good clarity and a wider frequency response than most dynamics. It certainly isnt the best mic out there, but for the price its great. Then for room treatment, it doesn't matter what type of mic you use. In a small untreated space you'll get a lot of reverb. In a bigger or better treated space, you dont get the reverb. We record in a mostly untreated space, but its open and has some non parallel walls which helps a lot. I tested multiple mics in that room and other rooms, and the room itself made a lot more difference than the mic itself. So at that point the decision just came down to the mic that had best sound that was within budget.

u/Brangusler I use the AT875r, pretty happy with it. But can you tell me how important a good quality XLR cable is? I bought a relative cheap one for €15, a 0,3m short one for plugging into my Sony XLR-H1 XLR Handle Unit of the Sony FX30. Thanks in advance!

I've sometimes found that a mediocre mic in a good location sound better than a million dollar mic in the wrong location. An 875r is probably a good choice for a boom in a small room. But a boom is the wrong location in your room. What I hate when I rarely watch a podcast is a huge mic between the talent and the camera. e.g. an MV7 can look bigger than the talent's face, and that creates the "psychology" that the talent is trying to "play radio DJ" which IMHO is very inappropriate for a conversational podcast. However, I don't mind seeing a small, well-placed mic if the result is good sound. First and foremost I think it's imperative to make that room as dead as possible. Of course adhere to the 3:1 rule. How are the shots framed? Do you use two over-shoulder cameras, pretty much framed straight on? Or are you shooting from the side so you see the participants mostly in profile, facing each other? Use small mics, keep them low in the frame. If lavs are still too far away (this will become more forgiving if you make the room really dead) what about something like a lectern mic for each participant, colored to match the backdrop (which seems to be one of the walls) and low in the frame. Lectern mics can get pretty small, almost down to Countryman size. They will be very unobtrusive, and much closer than a boom.

If I was choosing between an AT2020, a Blue Yeti and a Rode NT1 I would definitely pick the Rode. In fact ahead of those other two I would put the Shure PGA181 (a highly underrated cheapie but definitely needs a pop filter) and the AT875R shotgun.

Just noticed the Neat King Bee II is surprisingly inexpensive on Amazon, that's always punched above its weight in shootouts; the Blue Ember is another cheapie I reckon always sounds good. I commented previously that I'd be looking at Rode NT1, Shure PGA181 and AT875R and stand by these too.

Cheap 416 soundalikes? Shure PGA 181 with a pop filter or AT875R. Both need an interface and some room treatment. Please, no Yeti. Despite what many say here about USB mics you could absolutely get away with an sE Neom. I've used a (now discontinued) sE USB mic for hundreds of commercials and promos while travelling without issue. I do use a portable booth to tame reflections however and wouldn't use USB in my primary setup. Have a listen to [this](https://youtu.be/-ahtOmKwGXU)