Is my mic broken?

TeanerysTheUnic

New member
Hello
I've had my Rode NT1-A for a few years. I've recently had to transport it, and while I thought that was done safely, just now I've noticed new recordings have sounded a lot worse than they should. Like the quality is from a way cheaper microphone. Is is broken and in need of replacement or is there another, possibly fixable issue?
I use the mic with a U-Phoria UM2 that goes to my PC.
 
Hi and welcome to HR! :)

Any chance you've set it up backwards and are now singing in to the back of it?
Sounds silly, but you might be surprised how often that has happened!
 
Ok. Worth checking. :P

Is the environment substantially different?
This would be more pronounced the further away you operate from the microphone.
Failing that, can you post a clip? After, at least; Before and after if possible. :)
 
It's always in the same place from me so it can't be that either. Here's a comparison. 'Mic Test', the worse sounding one, is from just now.
Thanks for the help btw!
 

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Is the environment substantially different?

You're in a different physical space though, right?

I hear a fair difference there. I mean, there's a big difference in the energy of the reading which distracts,
but the 'Test' clip sounds like it's lacking high end. If I didn't know otherwise I'd have guessed it was converted to a lower quality mp3. :(
 
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Exactly the same physical space for both the microphone and me. Only difference I can think of is my voice being a little less cheerful in the test recording. Same recording software, same export kind, everything.
 
Any chance the mic has been exposed to damp air/humidity? Brought (transported) in from the cold into a room that has moisture in the air? Similarly using a condenser mic without a pop filter, it's possible moisture in ones breath to get on the mic capsule and degrade the sound. Does the mic have more than usual background hiss/noise?

If it is moisture on the capsule, it usually can be dried out with desiccant packs and the mic in a ziplock plastic bag for a day or two.
 

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If its moisture, you can also put it in a baggie with uncooked white rice to draw moisture out.

I know it is a favourite on American Crime dramas but I recently heard it doesn't work!

Going back to OP's other post now.

Dave.
 
I hear differences - but what interested me were the plosives. In one the P's and B's (butterfly) were obvious, but in the other, we had the Ps but not the Bs. The breath intake was quite different too. My conclusion being that either the physical position to the mouth was different or the capsule is behaving differently - something is indeed wrong and I think the idea of warming it would be my starting point. A couple of days in a boiler room type warmth would be my first call - mainly because I don't have any desiccant.
 
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