Audio-Technica AT 2035 Reviews

Good first condenser for beginners

build quality is good. Looks amazing, feels substantial. Low noise floor. Limited to cardiod polar pattern but sports a level pad and low cut filter. It sounds very modern, with a distinct upper mid and high frequencies bump. Perfect for dark vocalists but with some voices it can sound peaky and harsh, exagerating sibilants. When enhancing during the mix and mastering process, for example using saturation and harmonics, it has to be tamed. I used it extensively even on cello, and using a lot of eq it can deliver on many different sources, but I think that its main use is for crisp modern vocals. It has been reliable and the shockmount, albeit made of plastic, has proven to be sufficient once the screw has been firmly tightened.

Outstanding

In my opinion, one of the best overall mics for this price range. You get so much more value than what you pay!

At 2035

Got the mic, working fine so far, good quality, nice sounding vocals.

Its hard to get something better for this amount of money i think.

Amazing sound and decent price

Very happy with the mic. From home recording to POD CAST recording the quality is pristine.

Excellent

It's the best choice for a home studio, take's out a very clean voice near a pretty good audio interface , i use Scarlett Solo 2nd gen.

Nice and versatile

I use this mike in my home studio for various applications, including video voiceovers, solo vocals and acoustic guitar recording. In my opinion, the mike is equally good in all those departments: the sound is very clean and warm. The mike is pretty sensitive, so you need to use a pop-screen. Although I have to admit that for guitar I somehow prefer AT 2020 which seems to give a "cleaner" sound (in the sense of being raw) that can be tweaked afterwards. I use the mike with Garageband and Audacity both on Mac and PC and in both instances it is a plug'n'play situation. All in all, I like the mike and trust the brand. And yeah, it is a very solid piece of metal. )

Can't get any better

I use it in my home studio, mainly for vocals, but i used it on acoustic guitars & my Vox AC15C1 amp(with the -10 db option), still flawless (Especially if you record at a good acoustically treated room).

Compared it to NT1-A, the AT2035 is a bit warmer and truer?

Satisfied with my purchase & my next mic upgrade would be an AT product for sure.

Pretty natural sounding mic for the money

I have used this mic for male vocals and acoustic guitars and it performed well for the money, delivering what one can perceive as "natural" sound. I compared it to sE X1 and they are pretty similar. The build quality of the mic itself is great, the plastic mount however does not impress, but it's still doing the job. This is definitely a great step up from cheap condensers (I've used MXL DRK before) or dynamic mics for a home recording studio.

Very Good Mic for Voiceover

I use this microphone mostly for Voiceover and it performs exceptionally in my experience. Since purchasing it, I have recommended it to many people looking for an excellent quality V/O mic for a reasonable price

Very clean and robust

Great mic for the price for home-studio use with USB interface like Steinberg UR-22 or Focusrite 2i2 or similar.

I bought AT 2035 specifically for cello recording, but it is incredibly versatile in general. The most important selling points for me were: low noise and good sound.

And for me and my ears its a win-win on both of them!

Its amazing how quiet the mic is, and how much soft, subtle details I can now capture, with almost zero noise.

Cello is considered one of the most challenging instruments to record, but AT 2035 does a great job with it, you just have to find a sweet spot. Judging from youtube reviews, its also great on vocals, acoustic guitar, guitar cabinets.

Cons:

Sound

Low noise

Robust build quality

Shockmount

The only downside I can think of is that its very sensitive, just like a good condenser mic should be. So you need your computer to be as quiet as possible, and your recording space to be isolated from unwanted sounds.

I was choosing between Rode NT-1A and AT 2035, and I'm very happy with my choice.

A pretty solid microphone for acoustic instruments!

I bought this microphone two years ago.

I primarily use it to record my flamenco guitar, althought sometimes I use it to record friends (oud, mantolin, singers). It has prooved to be a very good microphone (for this price range) and a microphone that can be used in various musical/recording circuimstances!

I am really happy with it and consider it to be an important microphone in my home studio.

I would recommend it mostly to acoustic players and/or people that are looking for their first condenser microphone (for their home studio etc.)

Finally, its construction is very solid; all its pieces are well put together and in my case, after two years of almost everyday use, my microphone still looks like a new one!

Cheap but great!

I am a musician and a producer and own a recording studio for almost 10 years already. I wanted to get a cheap condenser for everyday use in the studio - voiceovers, vocals, acoustic guitars and stuff like that.

I narrowed my options down to 3 microphones - AT2035, NT-1 and P220. I knew that they all are quite similar sounding and I just had to pick one. I picked this and have been very happy with my choice!

First of all - it is a solid microphone. The build quality is great, it is heavy, feels durable and looks professional. Soundwise I feel like this microphone gives me relatively flat representation of whatever I record with it. It doesn't have that boominess and uncontrolled bottom end that other cheap microphones do. Since I bought it I have had a chance to record some stuff with the Rode NT-1 too and I have to say - I feel like I made the right choice buying this. To me the bottom frequencies sound much better on the AT2035 so that the NT1 sounds a bit unnatural and glassy in comparison.

But let me tell you - whatever microphone you choose to buy - just buy it and don't look back. You can do wonders with any decent sounding microphone as long as you know what you are actually doing. In this price category every microphone I've tried sounds more or less similar and lets be honest - you can't expect this or any other 150$ microphone to sound like JZ Blackhole, Neumann u87 or stuff like that. Every microphone in this category will have its limitations and flaws that you have to learn to work around. Learn about microphone placement, position, recording techniques and you will get great results no matter what you use.

Great Mic!!

Hard to recommend a mic, as everyone is different, voices suit different mics etc, etc. But this was my first condenser purchase and was totally happy with the purchase. A pretty flat mic with a touch of presence, and can tolerate high levels very well

Great bundle for reasonable price!

Mic that stands up against mic's costing 3-4x the same amount.

Now as good as potentially the Origin Mic's range, but ultimately, a fantastic microphone that is highly transparent and handles mids very well without being 'honky'

Coming from an SE X1, I would highly recommend this mic.

Extremely happy.

Each mic will be the best for each persons voice.

My best singing voice is rather resonant, breathy, light and airy. Singing from a considerable distance, this mic captures every nuance of my voice, and for such good price. I had heard AT wasn't legendary in mics...I was quite unsure between Rode's NT1, or AKG C214, great mics no doubt, I am however completely satisfied by my choice of AT. In a mere throw of luck because of the incorporated switches, and the design which I greatly like. Also very solid, you can tell its good quality. No seriously, I need to stress, you do not need thousands not even further than, will there be differences? Maybe...but is it worth so much more money. I'd call it diminishing returns.

Watch youtube comparisons of Neumann's U87 and see what I mean.

I recommend it (at least on the type of vocalists that I can comment as i've said at the beginning)

Very good for its price

I bought this microphone to record acoustic guitar and vocals at my home. To make it clear, my recording room is not acoustically treated. (yet)

But, with some well known tricks like proper room-mic positioning and blanket behind the singer-performer, my recordings turned out very good...Even without heavy post eq or compression. Make sure to position Audio Technica logo toward to sound source.

I use Roland Duo Capture EX audio interface to record.

And as for the mic itself, it seems very solid and has low self-noise. Soundwise, it's clear and well balanced. It handles close miking situations so far.

All in all, it's a very good microphone in it's price range...

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.

Very Good.

Excellent microphone for the price. Very warm sound. Perfect for Vocals and acoustic instruments. I am very happy with my purchase and would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a high quality low end microphone.

Great value and lightweight small studio mic

The AT 2035 is a step up from the very popular low price AT 2020 from Audio Technica. I read quite a number of online reviews comparing both and was swayed towards the 2035 for its slightly warmer low end and cleaner top end. It also includes a low cut and pad switch which I don't think you get on the AT2020.

The mic is supplied in a cardboard box with a simple but effective padded zip carrying case, a plastic suspension mount and a mic stand adaptor. The mic itself is of excellent build quality and although a bit lightweight, the supplied suspended mount works well and provides a snug fit for the mic. One of the advantages of the AT2035 is its realtively small size and lighter weight which makes it great for positioning infront of a keyboard player as myself. Using a K&M mic stand I am able to extend the boom fully with the mic horizontal and it remains steady without falling.

Sound wise I connected the 2035 to a Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 DSP which also provides the 48V phantom powering. Immediately I noticed the extremely low level of background noise and warmth to the mic, despite it not having the common 1 inch diaphragm of similar studio type mics. The sound is clean and smooth, a step up from my previous tbone mic. I've also tried it with a few percussion instruments including a shaker (always a good test for splashiness) and it performed extremely well. The mic handles high volume levels and despite not using a pop filter screen with it, I didn't notice any plosive interference.

I would definitely recommend the AT2035 to anyone looking for a decent all purpose small studio mic and not wanting to break the bank. Its key feature I would say is its small form factor and low mass, making it very flexible for use on extended booms and lighter mic stands. The low cut filter and pad are useful extras to have on hand should you need them. I can also vouch for it working extremely well with the Saffire Pro 24 DSP interface.