Rode NT5 vs Neumann KM184 my Review.

[John Mayes]

So I got my pair of Rode NT5's in yesterday and after running them through the tests on Acoustic guitar I gotta say I'm impressed! But let me start at the beggining....

So I get the case in and my first impression was that the case was a little on the wimpy side, although not a huge problem as I usually put all my mics in the cases I get from lowes, but still is a issue to some.

Upon picking up the mics I find that these little suckers are heavy for a Small Diaghram Condenser. Heftier than the KM184's for sure. Don't know why but that is always a good thing to me. Anyway the clips that come along with the mics are nic and solid albiet a bit hard to get the mics in but will hold them secure for sure. The supplied windscreens are nice and thick but not tooooo thick. All in all everything looks and feel like top notch stuff.

I first tried out the KM184's and did some sample tracks in postions I knew sounded good on the little beater guitar I have around (Larrivee Mahogany sitka Parlor) I knew the guitar and the mics so I put the mics in postion that I usually get good results; one at the 12th fret about 1 foot away from the fingerboard and pointed directly behind the bridge about 8-10 inches away. I ended up moving them around a bit and the bridge mic ended up a bit closer to the soundhole with the KM184's. So I tracked a few things, fingerpicked, strummed, pounded on it just for refrence.

I plugged in the NT5's and put them in the same spots and I quickly found out that the NT5's are different beasts when it comes to this guitar and these mics. The sound was too dark and not as detailed as the Neumanns so I moved the mic back behind the bridge about a inch or two and put the mic about 12-16 inches away. At that point I was liking what I was hearing through the headphones so I tracked the same things with these mics as the Neumanns.

Overall the NT5's were a bit darker and fuller sounding, but a bit less detailed, and crisp. But that is not a bad thing to me, at least not for some situations. If you got a really bright sounding guitar such as a Taylor or others these mics would work great at filling the spaces some I think.

Conclusion is that even though the Rode's were different sounding they are/were worth every penny I paid (212.50 plus shipping). I also own a rode NTK and If I was not a fan of Rode Mics after the NTK (which I was beacause it is a GREAT mic) then I sure am now. If your in the market for a new flavor of SDC's I would highly reccomend them. They may not be my first choice for every guitar, and are maybe not as versitle as the Neumann KM184 they are darn close...DARN CLOSE. And for 1/4 the price they are real hard to beat!

I'll try to get some sound clips soon and post them for you all to hear.

John Mayes
www.mayesguitars.com

[ds21]

Thanks for the review, mine should be here by tomarrow! Didn't get quite as good a deal as you, but close $221.00

[tdukex]

Thanks for the review, John. Now I wish you'd get a pair of Marshall MXL603s and do a three-way comparison.

[bleyrad]

cool, thanks. let us know if you use them for overheads...

[Mark7]

$212!

You can't get them for less than £250 over here

[ozraves]

John--

Wow, some nice guitars there. It's nice to see a fellow Okie here. My experience with the NT5 mics are pretty much right on to yours. I've got a pair of KSM141 mics here now that I could maybe loan to you to see what your opinion is of them. I'm in Norman everyday so... Let's eat lunch sometime.

Steve, Mojo Pie

[John Mayes]

Steve,

For sure man. Anytime. I actually live in Noble, but my shop is "in Norman" it has a norman address but It is actually out by thunderbird lake. But lunch sounds cool man. Anytime. My home and Shop numbers are on my website or you can e-mail me.

Cheers,

John

[Armistice]

I paid $600 Aussie dollars for them when they were newly released, and that was majorly marked down - they're now somewhere in the $400 street value over here (and this is where they make them!) - interesting seeing the prices you guys are getting them for now.

I'm only just getting usable sounds but I have a very warm guitar - the combo of the darkness of the mics and the "warmth" of my Maton guitars is not really a winner.

I'm saving up for at least one 184 now - I'm not even going to tell you what they cost over here! Hope they're good...

[ausrock]

Armi,

That $212 equates to approx. $340 Aust. Ridiculous, isn't it.

Re the Matons...........what other mics have you tried on them?

[Armistice]

Hey Aus, how are you doing?

I only have the NT5s and an NT2 - not much variety I'm afraid - I got up the other morning about 4am after several abortive sessions due to planes flying overhead (I live near Bankstown airport!) and seem to be on the flight path for Sydney Airport most nights as well and tried the set up with the NT5 on the headstock which we were talking about the other day (hijacking someone else's post again - sorry!) - I'm going to edit it up tomorrow and see what I come up with, the particular piece I'm working on has other instruments coming into it fairly quickly so I can get away with not-quite-perfect tone on the acoustic (actually used the 325 in the end, mainly because it has a better set up and lower action at this point in time and this piece has the tendency to generate incidental noise in a couple of spots and ease of playing becomes a major consideration) but I just always get this underlying tone with the Rodes that don't seem to be working - and I know the guitar doesn't sound like that!

So, I figured, what the hell, you're only here on the planet once, as well as saving up for a Les Paul I'll pick up a 184 - they have them at Turramurra Music on the north shore - probably $1000 or so I suspect.

I'll be EQing and comping together numerous takes tomorrow morning and I'll let you know how it goes - if you have any other mic recommendations I'm happy to listen!

Have a good weekend

David

[ausrock]

I'm waiting on a pair of MXL 603's, but doubt that they will arrive from the US for at least a week and a bit. I don't recall seeing a bad word about them anywhere, so it will be interesting when they arrive.

I don't know who has them in Sydney, but they have an RRP of $269 each...........it may be worth trying to get a pair on trial and give them a go.

We are wanting to start tracking acoustics at the moment, but I'm trying to hold off as long as I can hoping the 603's will get here. I have a few new sets of strings for both the CW80 and the 525, but won't put them on until we are ready to start.

I'm also hangin' to record this.........http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/sho...t=Jim+Williams


Good luck.

[petimar]

I recently purchased a matched pair of Shure KSM137s to go with pairs of KM184s and KM84s.

The 184s are to bright for my tastes, and I find I don't use them much. The 137, which I bought for stage playing, are very nice for the price. I found them more of the natural sound of the acoustic instruments (fiddle, mandolin, mandocello, guitar) than the 184.

Alas, nothing I've tried beats the KM84s.