Rode NT2 opinoins please

[Jason001]

Hey guys,
I just bought a nt2, but won't have a chance to use it till the weekend. I was wondering if anyone has had direct expierience with it. What can I expect? It will mainly be a vocal mic, but I would like to use it for flute, pennywhistle, acoustic guitar, bodhram, and group drumming stuff too.
A higher priced mic is not an option.
I have too damn many kids!

J

[Blue Bear Sound]

I would say it tends towards sounding a bit bright, but smooth... I like it, but it doesn't work on everyone's voice...

Bruce

[Jason001]

Do you think that playing around with the position of the mic while recording would help find a "sweet spot" ? One that would work with the particular voice being recorded.

J

[Harvey Gerst]

Jason,
Part of the reason one mic may work great for one voice and lousy for others is that most microphone designs use tuned mechanical resonant filters to achieve flat response. IF the singer happens to have a lot of energy in that one frequency band, it can cause the filter to ring and create problems. Most inexpensive condenser mics have less than perfect capsule designs, lower quality control standards, and some even leave peaks in the response to give the appearance of extended top end. Large diaphragm condenser mics (by the very nature of their design) have uneven polar response, so yes, it might be possible to find a "sweeter" spot somewhere off axis.

I'll be going in to all this and more over the next few days in another thread.

[Jason001]

Thanks Harvey!
It sucks that $400.00 is a "cheap" mic. Not really!
Lets see, how many chickens is that?
Fortunately, I believe more in the content than the tools.
A good song is a good song, and I'm a composer first.
This "cheap" condenser has to sound better than the SM58 I've been using for vocals.
I'm not getting pissy with you. It IS an inexpensive mic. It sucks that you have to have money coming out of your ass to afford the "good stuff". Last I wiped there was no green!

J

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by Jason001
This "cheap" condenser has to sound better than the SM58 I've been using for vocals.

Not necessarily... it's more a question of the right tool for the job... sometimes an SM58 or even a 57 is the right tool. Depends on the vocalist, the style of delivery, the style of the song, etc...

Bruce

[Jason001]

My wife does the singing. She is an alto and sings Jazz, Blues. Out of 10 tunes recorded with the SM58, there are 2 that we will not go over with the condenser. The main reason is the performances, but they don't sound bad either. My main hope is that we gain a little clarity, especially in the low end with the NT2.
I guess I will find out Sat.
Today I used it to record a 68 Deluxe. I had a Sm57 in the grill and the NT2 picking up the ambience. After I got a good blend it sounded sweet. However, it will mainly be a vocal mic. I'm hoping.

J

[ross h]

Hello Jason,

I have an NT2 to do similiar recordings - fiddle, acoustic guitars, double bass, accordian, piano, banjo, mandolin and male and female vocal. I run it through an ART MP pre and then into a Roland 1680. The results are pretty darned good-although friends have told me it doesn't cut it compared to a Neumann etc. but, it's good to know someone else is limited in budget by having too many kids! Incidentally, I used it on my last album and have already sold over ten thousand dollars worth of product at our live gigs. Recording is a bottomless pit, always a new model with one more button! Somewhere you've got to draw a line in the sand and make the best out of what you can afford.
Best regards,

Ross H.

[ruebarb]

Don't know if this is any help, but I just uploaded a new song to my mp3.com website (www.mp3.com/ruebarb) - called Fall into Memphis ...but I'm sure it'll take a few days to get approved.

I did the vocals and acoustic with an NT2, and I like the sound of it...(electrics were direct) - I used a standard Mackie 24/8 board preamp with a touch of reverb, so most of the signal is pretty clean...I had some nasty bass overtones on the acoustic I tried to EQ out...(

It seems like my mp3 page is turning into a dumping ground for demos, but if you avoid the other two songs, and just grab the one called Memphis, it might give you an indication what an NT2 can do... The only reason I wouldn't use it at this point would be if I really dug the NTK, which is what I think my next purchase will be.

RB

[Jason001]

Hi guys,
This week we've been going over all the vocals with the NT2. I've been using it inverted, 4" - 6" away and about 3" above her sweet lips. I'm no mic guru, but I have good ears and it sounds great. I'm very happy with it.
I bought a notebook to use as a position log. I had her sing the first few lines to Amazing grace, then I would change the mic position and she would sing it again. We did this until she could take it no longer. For each position I wrote down tape position, mic position, compressor settings, Mp settings ( Art ) and so on. This is the first time I have played around with a condenser like this. I am amazed by the way positioning affects frequency. With positioning I'm able to get damn near any vocal sound I want. The position I mentioned above worked the best for her voice. I got the idea from those liner notes Harvey mentioned on another thread. Thanks Harvey!
Now, if I can just scrape up the cash to by that Avalon compressor!
In my dreams.
This weekend I'm going to try recording a wood flute ( wood, not skin ) with it. I'll let you know how it goes.

J

[PowerCouple]

As Blue Bear Bruce said, there are right mics depending on the job to be done.
We are not "recording Geniuses", but we love what we do, an we do own a Rode NT2 and it sounds great.
We used it on vocals, piano, acoustic and Spanish guitars, room for electric guitars, quenas, some percussion and lots of other stuff.
we also have a Presonus Bluetube preamp and they really do the job together.
If you already have it, use it, try it, experiment with it.
Tons of great recordings were done with pretty bad mics so you can get a really cool sound with a good or "average" (as some people define it) mic.
NOTE: again, as Bruce said, there are right mics for different jobs so don´t you ever forget you also have that good ´ol Shure. try both always.
Well. I´m getting too extense so just check this super-cool site I found where I put my songs
www.zixrecords.com
(I don´t know if they are under reformation yet)
The song is "Against the Wall" by Onch and the NT2 was used on guitars (all) vocals and percussion.

Hope this helps

PC

[jnorman]

jas - if you do plan to use the NT2 on flutes and pennywhistles, you will find it rather bright by itself, due to the pronounced lift it diaplys at around 6-8k. try blending it with a ribbon mic or even a large diaphragm dynamic to add some warmth to the low mids. i use a coincident pair of a rode NTK and a royer r-121 to track flutes in stereo. if you would like to hear how this sounds, go listen to some of the new rosewynde CD out on mp3.com - try the flute solo "caoineadgh cu chullain":

www.mp3.com/rosewynde