Buying a condenser mic

P

pure.fusion

New member
Newbie question.

Im buying a mic today, Rode NT-1A. A "cheapy".

When I get it home, apart from the obvious check of does it "work" or "not work", what should I check for when buying a condenser mic? ie Excessive noise, or ?????? - i don't know, *that* is why I am asking at this post!

Do they usually come problem free?

Cheers.

FM
 
I heard NT1A is a very good budget microphone. I bought Nt2A, but that`s only because they didn`t have the NT1A. They should come problem free. Good luck!
 
Hey dude.

"They should come problem free" ?

Totally appreciate the reply, thanks. But knowing *nothing* about condenser mics, or mics at all for that matter, this is kind of a rubbery answer.

So, are you saying

Rode NT-1A's should come problem free ? (ie Rode is a reliable brand)
or
condenser mics should come problem free? (ie Condensers are reliably built by anyone)
or
Mics in general should come problem free? (mic in general are reliably built by anyone)

...and if it wasn't problem free, what am I looking for (other than the fact that it totally doesn't work!) ?

This was the info I was searching for.

Cheers,
FM
 
Are you serious? It will work, and it will sound cheap. If it does not work it is broken,take it back.
 
Yes. I'm serious. Why else would I post here if I wasn't?

It certainly doesn't hurt to ask the question. Someone more helpful and/or knowedgeable at this forum could have chimed in and provided some history and or general info on the topic and at worse case I'd have ended up with a coupla short, non informative, non qualified answers like yours and gone and bought one anyway.

FM
 
It will sound great for your situation I'm sure. Yes they're cheap but that doesn't mean they'll sound totally crap. You'll get what you need out of it.

You'll know if there's something wrong with it.

If you really want to make sure though, things I'd look out for would be excessive hiss or hum, pops/clicks, sudden level changes.

You should be fine though.
 
I've used them, and I've been quite impressed.

The two things that you should listen for is a windy type noise at the bottom end (about 100hz) or a high pitched hum. If either of these are there then return it, because 99% of these mics sound really clean and nice. Rode is a good brand, and has good quality control. (general rule is mics made in rich countries like Germany, Australia, Japan, USA etc. have good quality control, mics made places like Mexico, China, Russia tend to be cheaper, and have less quality control, ie the one in the shop will sound different to the one that you buy.)

Remember though that if it is the first time you have plugged a good mic in ,it might show up some other problems that you weren't aware of, so if you take your mic back, try it out with the stores gear, because any problem in the sound could be your pre-amp or adc or something like that, rather than the microphone.
 
Hey FM if you are only use to dynamic microphones your first LDC will sound different and beautiful right out of the gate but be careful for it's a bit of a different ballgame with a LDC they are a lot more sensitive (and I'm sure you know that it'll require phantom power).
But the really great thing about the NT1a is that it's a perfect candidate to be modified into a great boutique microphone that will rival microphones costing a whole lot more than you paid for it!!!



:cool:
 
pure.fusion said:
Hey dude.

"They should come problem free" ?

Totally appreciate the reply, thanks. But knowing *nothing* about condenser mics, or mics at all for that matter, this is kind of a rubbery answer.

So, are you saying

Rode NT-1A's should come problem free ? (ie Rode is a reliable brand)
or
condenser mics should come problem free? (ie Condensers are reliably built by anyone)
or
Mics in general should come problem free? (mic in general are reliably built by anyone)

...and if it wasn't problem free, what am I looking for (other than the fact that it totally doesn't work!) ?

This was the info I was searching for.

Cheers,
FM
Click to expand...
Yes dude,
Rode microphones are known to be very sturdy and like all the other microphones should come problem free. You can even register online if you wasnt a 10 year warranty for it. Of course you have to pay some extra money for that.
 
What are you going to use this for, What are you going to plug it into, what are you going to record with?

Even if the mic is perfect if the rst of the chain is not there it may not be problem free
 
dreib said:
Are you serious? It will work, and it will sound cheap. If it does not work it is broken,take it back.
Click to expand...

It won't sound cheap, it will be fine, I use them all the time, love the NT1 on guitar cabs. Quotes like Dreib's do nobody any good, if you have things to say about quality give a reason, compared to say a C12, OK the NT1 will sound cheap. So sell the car and buy a C12.

Cheers
Alan.
 
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