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Coles Electroacoustics 4040

Bidirectional Ribbon Microphone

The 4040 is a passive ribbon mic designed by the manufacturer of the famous Coles 4038. It shares many of the characteristics of its older sibling, such as a uniform figure-of-8 polar pattern (both front-and-back and top-and-bottom), while offering updated construction techniques and an extended frequency range.

The mic ships with a soft bag, a foam-lined plastic storage case, and two stand adapters (one of which has a swivel mount).

ProAudioReview

[I]t was immediately apparent that the 4040 was the progeny of the 4038. The response and characteristics were similar in many instances…

Favorite uses of the 4040 essentially mirrored those of the 4038: trumpet, trombone and other brass instruments were especially flattered by the 4040; overdriven electric guitars sounded great and sidled nicely into complex mixes; when used as a room or overall mic, the transients and punch of rock drums and larger percussion setups shined though the 4040.

Like the 4038, response is uncolored and even throughout the frequency range. Though the top end is extended compared to the 4038, which rolls off around 15 kHz, it is hardly as dramatic as the literature describes.

Lynn Fuston / EQ Mag

This is a completely new design from Coles and it looks and sounds nothing like the 4038… It has drastically more top end than the 4038 and feels like the low end extends another octave. While it doesn?t have the “uniqueness” of the 4038, it still sounds wonderful. On drums, it was great. The low end “oomph” of the floor tom was delightful. For guitar, it has a lot of power and body that some of the others did not. On saxophone, it felt scooped in the midrange compared to the 4038.

MIX

The 4040 is extremely sensitive to structure-born noise, moderately sensitive to plosives and virtually immune to sibilance…

[Its] huge proximity effect demands this mic to be placed farther away from the source than most other mics to achieve a balanced tone… [F]or adding a warm summer glow to icy, biting instruments, the 4040 is quite simply an outstanding choice.

The Coles Electroacoustics 4040 is also known as: 4040 Studio.

The mic was released in 2003.

Specifications

Pickup Patterns	Pads & Filters
Bidirectional (0.6 mV/Pa; 20 - 20,000 Hz)

Ribbon Construction	Impedance	SPL/Noise
	300 Ohms (Low)	Max SPL: 125 dB

Weight	Length	Max Diameter	Interface(s)
998g (35.20oz)	145mm (5.71'')	66mm (2.60'')	3-pin XLR male (1)

Power Specifications

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