In this video review for Pro Tools Expert, Technical Editor James Ivey reviews the Audio Technica 4080 and 4081 ribbon microphones. With music of singer songwriter Joel Tavares and his song Rain Down, James records a pair of AT4081 Ribbon mics in a Blumlein configuration to capture an open sounding stereo image of the acoustic guitar.  James uses the AT4080 to record Joel's vocals. The 4080 is much more of a traditional dark sounding ribbon mic and works perfectly as a vocal mic for this track.

Audio-Technica AT4080

With the AT4080, Audio-Technica achieves the beautiful ribbon microphone sound while solving the problems of fragility and low output that have plagued ribbon mics since their inception.

The 4080 has that classic warm, smooth sound of ribbon microphones of old without the hangups. This handcrafted ribbon mic offers a robust build for long-lasting, reliable performance and higher output for maximum compatibility with microphone preamplifiers. 

At home in recording studios or on stage, the AT4080 features Audio-Technica’s MicroLinear ribbon imprint technology protects the dual ribbons from lateral flexing and distortion making for a better, cleaner sound. 

Audio-Technica AT4081

The AT4081 offers many of the same features as the 4080 but with its low-profile stick design, this microphone is a natural for use on a wide range of instruments (horns, strings, drum overheads, orchestras and more) and guitar cabinets in recording studios and on a live stage.
The 4081 also sounds a little brighter due to the lack of padding to protect the ribbon when being used for recording close vocals. 

The AT4081 also features the MicroLinear ribbon imprint designed to protect the dual ribbons from lateral flexing and distortion and damage.

You can check out the full recording of Rain Down in the video below.