Open Box Audio-Technica AT4053B Hypercardioid Condenser Microphone Level 1

For those in the know, this is one of those industry standard microphones sporting the usual practical bells and whistles: high sensitivity, fast transient response, very low distortion, very low noise, high headroom, LF roll-off switch, pad for loud sources, brass housing, windscreen and interchangeable capsules for various polar patterns. This hypercardioid version has a flat response, making it useful in nearly any situation, and is at home in the studio, on stage or mounted on a boom pole for location work. Like many high-end mics, it is not intended for use as a hammer, nor being dropped on concrete from great height, so handle with respect and give the roadies an SM57 to hang.

This is my favorite microphone of any that I own, and I prefer it over my more expensive shotgun for indoor film work on a boom. It has a great frequency response curve that yields rich and bright recordings for speech, capturing both the low frequency and high frequency vocal components well. This is certainly a step up from an NTG2 or NTG3. Unlike a shotgun, a hypercardioid has very little off-axis frequency distortion. Off-axis frequency distortion is caused by widely varying polar patterns at different frequencies, and shotgun microphones are particularly susceptible. This makes off-axis sound sources sound tinny and distorted. The problem is particularly noticeable if an actor is moving away from the mic. Indoors, it better to use a hypercardioid like this one for film work than a shotgun for this reason. Solid, durable construction.