RODE NT5s?

[NeveSSL]

What do you guys think?

I've heard great things about them. Not had a chance to try them yet, though. I let my wife play a Taylor acoustic (she is just learning) the other day and she fell in LOVE, so I have a feeling instead of taking a diving trip to central Florida, we'll be buying a used Taylor 414.

With that in mind, I'm also thinking I need some good pencil condensers, and thus I'm asking about the NT5s. They seem to at least be an absolutely amazing pair for the money.

Any thoughts?

Brandon

[WhiteStrat]

Originally Posted by NeveSSL

What do you guys think?

I've heard great things about them. Not had a chance to try them yet, though. I let my wife play a Taylor acoustic (she is just learning) the other day and she fell in LOVE, so I have a feeling instead of taking a diving trip to central Florida, we'll be buying a used Taylor 414.

With that in mind, I'm also thinking I need some good pencil condensers, and thus I'm asking about the NT5s. They seem to at least be an absolutely amazing pair for the money.

Any thoughts?

Brandon

I'm not sure I'd call 'em "absolutely amazing" but that's only because I haven't used any of the holy grail mics. I do know that since I got a pair of NT5s (picked 'em up used, off someone here on the board) I haven't used any other SDCs. They work wonderfully with my acoustic.

Samples may not be helpful--different guitar, different player, different room--but I've got some links I can post. Just let me know if you want to hear them.

[NeveSSL]

Thanks for the reply, bro.

Absolutely amazing may have been a little strong, but considering the price they seem to be pretty darn good.

I'd love to hear some stuff, especially acoustic guitar. But I'd love to hear anything as they will be workhorses considering my limited selection of mics I have at the moment.

Brandon

[ausrock]

If you're thinking of NT5s, I'd suggest you seriously look at Studio Projects C4 mics as well

[WhiteStrat]

Originally Posted by NeveSSL

Thanks for the reply, bro.

Absolutely amazing may have been a little strong, but considering the price they seem to be pretty darn good.

I'd love to hear some stuff, especially acoustic guitar. But I'd love to hear anything as they will be workhorses considering my limited selection of mics I have at the moment.

Brandon

Here's some acoustic guitar tracked with the NT5s. The guitar is a cedar top Seagull Artist. It's a "lesson" page I did on stereo recording acoustic guitar. There's various stereo recording samples--some double tracked, some single tracked, but they're all done with the NT5s.

http://www.spottedmuse.com/acoustic_mics/

[NeveSSL]

Originally Posted by ausrock

If you're thinking of NT5s, I'd suggest you seriously look at Studio Projects C4 mics as well

Will do. Any thoughts on the C4s?

Thanks for the link, White Strat. That sounds great! Love that acoustic, too. Cedar tops are sweet.

Brandon

[WhiteStrat]

Originally Posted by NeveSSL

Thanks for the link, White Strat. That sounds great! Love that acoustic, too. Cedar tops are sweet.

Brandon

No prob. Good luck on your quest.

[NeveSSL]

Thank you, sir. You too.

Brandon

[soundchaser59]

It will be a long time before I use a matched pair of mics to record acoustic guitar again. Only because whatever shortcomings you find with one mic, you are stuck. The other mic will have the exact same problems/issues. Nothing you can do to get around it but start eq'ing or grab a third mic. The NT5 is nice for the money, but it is not high end enough that you can expect it to perform admirably with no issues.

I woulda liked the NT5 a lot better if I had only bought one instead of a pair. It would be a great compliment to an LDC for acoustic guitar. I have two C414's and I dont even use both of those for acoustic guitar, I always use one 414 and one something else.

I think matched pairs are great for big sources, like overheads or choir mics, etc.... but for acoutsic it's better to have one SDC and one LDC, preferably one with variable pattern selection.

[Ironklad Audio]

The NT5 is nice for the money, but it is not high end enough that you can expect it to perform admirably with no issues.

i don't know that i agree with that...there's a number of guys at the very top of the engineering game who have nothing but love for the NT4, which is the stereo version of the NT5

my only beef with these mics is that they lack a pad and roll-off switches...which, of course, can be found now in the NT55 - but for that $$, i prefer the SM81

long story short, they're not the very best SDC's out there, but for the price they do the job admirably

[NeveSSL]

Originally Posted by soundchaser59

It will be a long time before I use a matched pair of mics to record acoustic guitar again. Only because whatever shortcomings you find with one mic, you are stuck. The other mic will have the exact same problems/issues. Nothing you can do to get around it but start eq'ing or grab a third mic. The NT5 is nice for the money, but it is not high end enough that you can expect it to perform admirably with no issues.

I woulda liked the NT5 a lot better if I had only bought one instead of a pair. It would be a great compliment to an LDC for acoustic guitar. I have two C414's and I dont even use both of those for acoustic guitar, I always use one 414 and one something else.

I think matched pairs are great for big sources, like overheads or choir mics, etc.... but for acoutsic it's better to have one SDC and one LDC, preferably one with variable pattern selection.

The very point of having a stereo pair is that they're identical, which includes both positive and negative aspects.

What kind of issues are you having that keep it from performing admirably for you?

And I have usually used an LDC with an SMC (414 being one of my favs on acoustic) as well. I will have a GT67 soon hopefully, which should do LDC duties rather well.

Brandon

[omtayslick]

Here's a different opinion. My 2 cents, take it FWIW.

I've only used the NT5's on one occasion, and it was on overheads, not acoustic.
A friend picked some up because of all the "good for the money" reviews.
We both didn't like them. We found them to be tinny, strident sounding, and lacking in body. All other mics we tried on this kit sounded fine. He promptly sold them, got a pair of SM81's, and never looked back.

Here's a review.
http://www.sweetwater.com/insync/rev...w&review_id=34

I think that it's a less than stellar review considering these guys are trying to sell these mics.

Like I said, just my 2 cents. Everyone hears differently, and of course there are other variables as well. Placement, room, source, etc.

[NeveSSL]

Thanks for the reply, bro.

You know, you sparked an idea in my mind...

SM81s are definitely on my list of mics to get. They're great and pretty much classic SDCs at this point. Soooo.... If I'm also getting a GT67, I'm kind of wondering if my money would be better spent on one SM81 as opposed to a pair of NT5s. This may also serve my long-term goals better... I'm just not sure.

The cool thing is that I get student discounts from one of the Nashville rental facilities (Gear for Days, I think its called), so once we get the guitar I may just rent some SM81s, NT5s, and maybe something else if they have it. Needless to say, I think that's probably the best solution. We'll see, though.

Thanks again!

Brandon