AT 2035 : Excellent mic for the money

I bought this mic to replace my current large diaphragm condenser, a Stagg MCO-7w (budget copy of the Neumann U-89), as it was getting old and a little noisy. The main things I was looking for in a new LDC were low self noise and neutral frequency response, since I would be using it in less than ideal locations on several different sources. The AT2035 delivers brilliantly for its price.

With preamp gain turned right up I could hear noise from the mic, but with the setting that high I could also hear sounds from around the house better than with my own ears so I guess that's expected behaviour from any mic. When using it to record soft acoustic guitar from 1-2 ft away there was only the slightest audible noise after I increased the output using gain and compression in my DAW. I'm guessing a good room and proper gating could have gotten rid of even that.

The frequency response is pretty flat from the front. I haven't done any comprehensive tests to measure or listen to the off-axis response.