opinions on these mics?

[Melsi]

The SE Electronics Z5600a, The Blue Baby Bottle and The Rode K2

would be interested to hear peoples opinions of these mics compared to eachother as they are all in a similar price range and im kinda stuck which one to buy.

(Buying purely for vocals not interested in micing any instruments or anything)

Thanks any advice would be much appreciated.

David

[roadwarrior]

The Baby Blue Bottle is an outstanding mic.....especially for vocals. I have a K2 and it is my "go to" mic currently for most voices. I find on my own voice however I actually prefer the NT2-A, but it's all about taste. I don't know anyone personally that hasn't found the K2 to be a superb mic for many purposes. Does exceedingly well on acoustic guitar as well. Built like mics 4 times it's price. The other thing about it I really enjoy is it's extremely low self noise, which is a hallmark of the Rode line. Either way you aren't going to stray far from excellence....but the versatility of the continuously variable pattern and power supply on the K2 is a winner for sure.........

[homestudioguy]

Originally Posted by Melsi

The SE Electronics Z5600a, The Blue Baby Bottle and The Rode K2. Would be interested to hear peoples opinions of these mics compared to each other as they are all in a similar price range and im kinda stuck which one to buy. (Buying purely for vocals not interested in micing any instruments or anything) Thanks any advice would be much appreciated.
David

I tested the RODE K2 and the RODE NTK (not on your list) mics with my baritone voice at a Sam Ash store in Chicago this past summer. Both are very nice mics but I immediately preferred the NTK as it was "smoother" sounding as opposed to the K2 which is brighter sounding than the NTK.
I own the sE Z5600A which I preferred over the K2 as it has a combination of the "smoothness" and some of the hi-end.
My 2 cents!

[roadwarrior]

Now THAT is an interesting experience. I've worked with the NTK next to a K2 and found exactly the opposite. I can't speak for the SE, but I wouldn't be surprised if it stacked up. They are highly thought of. Even if they are Chinese. It's a different deal as it is manufactured by ONE specialized Chinese manufacturer that seeks the higher sonic ground and does not manufacture for others (unlike all the other Chinese manufacturers.) Even Rode themselves tout that the K2 is a significant step up from the NTK in both smoothness and overall dynamic range. A preamp can vastly effect this outcome however. So that's a variable I can't speak to outside of my own experiences. One of my favorite setups is a K2 run through a ART TPS-II. All the statements like "sweet" "warm", "rich" and "airy" would apply. But as I say YMMV with whatever setup you may be using.......

[homestudioguy]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior

Now THAT is an interesting experience. I've worked with the NTK next to a K2 and found exactly the opposite. I can't speak for the SE, but I wouldn't be surprised if it stacked up. They are highly thought of. Even if they are Chinese. It's a different deal as it is manufactured by ONE specialized Chinese manufacturer that seeks the higher sonic ground and does not manufacture for others (unlike all the other Chinese manufacturers.) Even Rode themselves tout that the K2 is a significant step up from the NTK in both smoothness and overall dynamic range. A preamp can vastly effect this outcome however. So that's a variable I can't speak to outside of my own experiences. One of my favorite setups is a K2 run through a ART TPS-II. All the statements like "sweet" "warm", "rich" and "airy" would apply. But as I say YMMV with whatever setup you may be using.......

Interestingly enough I ran both RODE mics through a Focusrite VoiceMaster Pro and used HD280?pro headphones at Sam Ash. The NTK just seemed to have more of a buttery smooth sonic characteristic to it compared to the K2.
As for sE, I have acquired a high respect for their mics and have essentially sold any mic that is not sE and now have their Z5600A, TITAN, Z3300A and SE3. They are all awesome in their own right plus it appears that Heavenly Sound (sE in China) is doing right by their employees, strategy and concepts and are sticking to their guns by not manufacturing for anyone else as they said that they would.

[recordingpro]

K2 is much better than the NTK on most stuff - you just need to know how to use a variable pattern mic versus fixed pattern. The baby bottle is great also. If i could buy only one - i'd buy the K2 before the baby bottle just because of the variable pattern.

[Big Kenny]

Don't care for the baby bottle, too much mid range accent.

[pohaku]

Each of the Blue mics seems to have a pretty distinctive sound. They don't seem to make "general purpose" mics (maybe except for the Blue Bottle). So you really need to try one before you marry it to make sure it fits. My experience with them so far has been catch and release (although I'd really like to try a Dragonfly).

[recordingpro]

Originally Posted by Big Kenny

Don't care for the baby bottle, too much mid range accent.

It does have that - but I'm not sure it's too much. Depends on what you're recording. It definitely helps cut through on some mixes.


Melsi, If all your doing is vox save a few more bucks and get a Pearlman or keep your eyes open for a used Rode classic (the original)

[recordingpro]

Originally Posted by pohaku

Each of the Blue mics seems to have a pretty distinctive sound. They don't seem to make "general purpose" mics (maybe except for the Blue Bottle). So you really need to try one before you marry it to make sure it fits. My experience with them so far has been catch and release (although I'd really like to try a Dragonfly).

Have you used a Kiwi or Cactus??

[Melsi]

thanks for all you help guys, it seems that the rode k2 is the most versatile mic for all voices similar to the se z5600a.

think the blue bottle is out the window i havnt heard many decent opinions on it with all the reviews i have been reading.

so its beween the z5600a an the k2 hmmm

would love to hear 2 different recordings of them using same outboard gear same settings to hear the difference.

anyways thanks guys

[recordingpro]

Originally Posted by Melsi

would love to hear 2 different recordings of them using same outboard gear same settings to hear the difference.

anyways thanks guys

It wouldn't do you any good - the same voice thru 2 mics will most likely sound different - 1 might suck and the other be audio nirvana. change the singer and the results could totally change, now the suck mic is perfect and the other sounds like trash. Same with any other instrument. That's why matching the instrument/voice to the mic is important.

That baby bottle is absolutely excellent on many vocals, instruments and guitar cabs and totally blows away the K2 at times. sometimes the K2 is the "it" mic.

The baby bottle is killer on djembe, the K2 sounds great on low D whistles a cheap mk219 (unmodded) is great on high whistles but almost nothing else just cuz it generally sucks but for whatever reason it works good in that application. My big bottles make killer drum overheads and great on vocals. My U47 sucks on some people but great on others and my Tele 251 is the same way

The point is , don't think that 1 mic is gonna be the "be all, end all"

[recordingpro]

Originally Posted by Melsi

think the blue bottle is out the window i havnt heard many decent opinions on it with all the reviews i have been reading.

Stop listening to opinions and go listen to the mics

[Melsi]

yeah your right its just im on a budget and can only get 1 mic so the most versatile mic would probably be the best, i have ordered the se z5600a as it has 9 different polar patterns and just seems it will fit all my needs.

[homestudioguy]

Originally Posted by Melsi

yeah your right its just im on a budget and can only get 1 mic so the most versatile mic would probably be the best, i have ordered the se z5600a as it has 9 different polar patterns and just seems it will fit all my needs.

This thread made me pull out my Z5660A and spend some extensive time with it. Of course, everything is based on my voice.
Ran it through a Focusrite TrakMaster Pro pretty wide open. No compression no hi-pass filter, no mid-range cutting, just straight pre. The 9-polar patterns really do give you some different tonal characteristics right off the bat. The more omni you go, the more you'll want your room acoustics to be right. Awesome mic is all I can say. I used it with vocal and acoustic guitar and moved myself to get the best balance of both and it worked well. It works incredibly well on acoustic guitar. Spend some time with positioning and polar patterns and you'll most likely find a number of tasty acoustic guitar sounds worth remembering. There is a Z5600A review on the sE website done for Electronic Musician that is fairly recent that may give you some more info. The case is a monster as is the shockmount. The mic also comes with a wooden case that fits inside the larger case. Mic cable is heavy duty too.
Enjoy!

[Melsi]

thanks for the feedback and taking the time to get your z5600a out aswel.

I let you know how it goes, until then im reading up in my polar patterns

Thanks guys.

[pohaku]

Originally Posted by recordingpro

Have you used a Kiwi or Cactus??

Not yet. Those are on the list to try as well. I've heard good things about both.