1 Blue Baby Bottle or 2 Rode NT1a's

[billisa]

I've been using a pair of Studio Projects B1's for several years and they've been excellent doing commercials and vocals for music (primarily with male voices).

I've just been given some $ to go and spend on something and I was thinking of getting 1 Baby Bottle or a matched pair of NT1a's.

I love the idea of 5db self-noise. If I got the NT1a's I'd probably sell my beloved B1's...

Are there any other $500. mics people really think highly of for male voices? Are there any real negatives to the Baby Bottle?

[sdelsolray]

Sure, there are plenty of $500 mics, give or take, that you might really like and find useful. Since your talking about VO and VOX applications, the rub is that only you can for sure identify what those mics might be.

Here's a few single mics you might want to look into:

tube:
SP T3
ADK TC
CAD VSM 1
MXL V77 (used)

solid state:
SP C1 (the new one)
ADK TL
ADK Hamburg or Vienna
AT 4050, 4040 or 4047
AKG 414 UBLS or TLII (used)

dynamics:
Shure SM7b
EV RE20

[mshilarious]

Originally Posted by billisa

Are there any real negatives to the Baby Bottle?

Per se, no. But it is a love-it or hate-it mic. I'm in the "love" commune, but be prepared to hate it.

I don't think the BB would necessarily be my choice for a second mic, especially for a quality go-to mic. I think I would look at KSM series, or AT 40 series first.

[scrubs]

Unfortunately, a mic may totally rock on one voice and suck balls on another. I like the NT1 on deeper voices, but it's probably too thin sounding for general voiceover work. Here's an interesting mic comparison on spoken word:

http://www.transom.org/tools/recordi..._shootout.html

[up-fiddler]

Originally Posted by mshilarious

.... or AT 40 series first.

This has been good for me too. (4050) I would be careful with the T3. It seems to work better with higher pitched and softer vox. Loud baritones seem to freak the T3 out. At least, that has been my experience. Listen to mshilarious.

[homestudioguy]

The single pattern RODE NTK tube or the 3-pattern sE Electronics Z3300A.
I'm a baritone voiced male and like my voice through them both although I own the sE Z3300A.
(My own Tube Mic is an sE Z5600A which is out of that $500 range)
Z3300A: http://www.seelectronics.com/Z3300a.html
Z3300A Review:http://www.seelectronics.com/revpdfs...Uuk_z3300a.pdf
NTK: http://www.rodemic.com/?pagename=Products&product=NTK
NTK Review: http://www.rodemic.com/?pagename=Testimonials

[kojdogg]

I'm generally a big Rode fan and even though I'm selling the ones I have (have sold an NTK, an NT1000 and an NT4 in the last six weeks) to make room for a couple of BLUE's (a Blue Bird and a Blue Berry (the former of which I'm selling too, however).
I believe that they are awesome values for the money-- I used an NT1000 for a few years as my main mic and got good results with it for vocals of all kinds (from rap to singer/songwriter), acoustic guitar, piano and drum overheads.
Are you considering getting the matched pair of the NT-1a's?

[billisa]

Originally Posted by kojdogg

Are you considering getting the matched pair of the NT-1a's?

That's exactly what I'm thinking.

[kojdogg]

Originally Posted by billisa

That's exactly what I'm thinking.

That would be a versatile pair to have for stereo micing, overheads, piano, etc.
IMHO I'd decide what's more important to you at this time and/or what will benefit your recording efforts the most (they could be different things)-- a dedicated vocal mic or a set of versatile matched pair.

[billisa]

Originally Posted by mshilarious

Per se, no. But it is a love-it or hate-it mic. I'm in the "love" commune, but be prepared to hate it.

I envision the Baby Bottle as being my primary vocal mic. What could make me hate it?

[Big Kenny]

Too much mid range boost for me, kinda lackluster. Dragonfly is a totally different story.

[ljmaxx]

Originally Posted by billisa

That's exactly what I'm thinking.

Before you buy a matched pair of NT1A'a check these out.

http://tinyurl.com/ymtfk9 You can get in touch with the seller and buy them at the starting price. I did last year and they get used a lot. Big K is right on the money with his assesment of the Baby Bottle.

Good luck.

[nuemes]

Keep in mind the room you're using in the decision process.

The Baby Bottle picks up a lot of room so you'll need a good sounding space or vocal booth to get a quality recording. I've had the best experience with the Baby Bottle on female voices, not male.

The AT4033 (@ $300 used) can be excellent on many male voices and picks up less room sound than the Baby Bottle. Not very good with female voices.

If the room you have is crappy or you have no vocal booth a SM7 ($300 at GC if you haggle) would be a wise choice; it can be great on both male and female vocals.

If you're recording commercials and vocals for pop/rock the SM7 would be an easy pick over the other two.

[billisa]

Originally Posted by nuemes

Keep in mind the room you're using in the decision process.

I record vocals inside a cage/booth made of pvc pipe and mover's blankets. Reverb is added later.

[HangDawg]

I have a baby bottle in may sell you for a good price. I want to get something different. I haven't found a vocal it works good on yet. I have better luck with the groove tube GT55. It almost always works well on male vocals.

[billisa]

Originally Posted by HangDawg

I have a baby bottle in may sell you for a good price. I want to get something different. I haven't found a vocal it works good on yet. I have better luck with the groove tube GT55. It almost always works well on male vocals.

How much for the BB? Condition? All accessories?

Thanks,
Bill
billisabk@sbcglobal.net

[billisa]

So it seems the wise choice for me would at least be a Shure SM7B. I've been happy with my SP-B1's on voiceover, but the SM7B seems to have universal acclaim for this application... Is the SM7B a quiet mic in terms of self-noise?

Part of me wants at least one exotic mic that's super quiet, detailed, and not suitable for only one purpose or voice...

Thanks for all the help. Anticipating what I might buy is more fun than actually buying!

[HangDawg]

Originally Posted by billisa

How much for the BB? Condition? All accessories?

Thanks,
Bill
billisabk@sbcglobal.net

Oh, I was thinking around $350 maybe. It's got the box/bag/metal pop filter. It's in great shape, I've only used it a couple times and that was on accoustic guitar. No one has been spitting into it. I want to get another high end dynamic like re20 or sm7. I seem to have more use for dynamics.

[billisa]

Originally Posted by HangDawg

Oh, I was thinking around $350 maybe. It's got the box/bag/metal pop filter. It's in great shape, I've only used it a couple times and that was on accoustic guitar. No one has been spitting into it. I want to get another high end dynamic like re20 or sm7. I seem to have more use for dynamics.

I'm going to try my local GC to see if I can bring in my SP-B1, headphones, and try out a BB. I might very much be interested in your BB. Thanks for your patience.

[HangDawg]

Originally Posted by billisa

I'm going to try my local GC to see if I can bring in my SP-B1, headphones, and try out a BB. I might very much be interested in your BB. Thanks for your patience.

Cool, just let me know. I've been flirting with the idea of getting rid of it. I'd rather sell to someone here than a random ebay person.

[KonradG]

i absolutely love my baby bottle. unbelievable mic in every way. but i can agree with everybody when they say its a love it/hate it type of mic. im on the love it side

[KonradG]

oh btw, bought it w/ pop filter and shock mount and a Blue Mic Cable for 410

*New*

[nuemes]

Originally Posted by KonradG

oh btw, bought it w/ pop filter and shock mount and a Blue Mic Cable for 410 *new*

Lowest I've ever seen it was $500; it's gone up since then.

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by billisa

I envision the Baby Bottle as being my primary vocal mic. What could make me hate it?

Have you ever heard a Baby Bottle???

I'm not fan of the NT1a, which I'd rate as
"mediocre". But the Baby Bottle ... I've heard
it on both male and female vocals
and I'd rate it a as "awful".

[billisa]

Originally Posted by Brackish

Have you ever heard a Baby Bottle???

I'm not fan of the NT1a, which I'd rate as
"mediocre". But the Baby Bottle ... I've heard
it on both male and female vocals
and I'd rate it a as "awful".

Well that just settles it then.