The ATM25 is a dynamic hypercardioid mic. It may also be the best mic that Audio-Technica makes as far as value for money. It tends to street at wildly different prices from $150 to $200. It's designed to be a low frequency microphone. In essence, it's the mic you use on bass cabinets, kick drum and other low frequency sources.
The problem I've always had with a couple of low frequency mics is that the tend to sound good on one kit but sound like crap on another kit. They sound great on one bass amp but like absolute crud on another. I've found the ATM25 tends to be the better choice for these apps on a consistent basis.
On kick drum, the ATM25 works up close when you want to focus on the beater sound. It also works a little bit out in front of the kick drum when you want to capture the kick as well as the front of the kit.
I recently used the ATM25 on acoustic bass. I did not plan on it. In the particular session, I could not use a condenser mic due to bleed issues. I had to pull the ATM25 off the drum kit and go with a different dynamic mic for the front of the drum kit. However, the ATM25 came through. Its hypercardioid pattern gave me enough isolation on the acoustic bass so that the session was saved.
The ATM25 also works well tracking dialog.
The Bottom Line: I've found the ATM25 a more consistent performer than some other low frequency microphones. It's my personal favorite for this application. Highly recommended.
Link relating to this review: Audio-Technica
