Buying my first condenser mic, Rode NT2000, Shure KSM44, Audio Technica AT4033

J

jj2929

New member
I have the choice to buy one of those mics second hand as people locally are selling them. I sourced those 3 from hours of research and they seem like solid choices, also money is around 600AUD max so its just what is available out of my list of preferred mics. The AT is the cheapest, with the shure being the most expensive. My goals are to mainly record myself (male singer) and my acoustic guitar (seperately) at my little home studio if you can call it that. Now i have a taylor guitar and my voice is pretty deep and barratone, not sure if that information helps. I beleive they all have diferent polar patterns which i’ve still not worked when to use each one but im sure that will come in usefull. The rode and shure come with cradle and hard case. Your advice and opionions please
 
I haven't heard the Rode but it is more comparable to the Shure feature wise as they are both multi-pattern whereas the AT is cardioid only. The AT is technically a small diaphragm while the others are both large diaphragm. To my ears the Shure has more of a "Pro" sound (flat response) that makes having a good sound in the room more requisite than the AT which is a very good sounding mic, though probably less detailed. I am sure the Rode is probably of the quality level of the Shure but may be more "colored" hope someone else can chime in. PS the AT 4050 would be a slightly less expensive multi-pattern medium diaphragm that is closer in sound to the Shure than the 4033.
 
Thank you for your reply. Can you tell me what the advantage is of the various polar patterns and how you can use each one in different situation and why it would a diference? For example with acoustic guitar?
 
I like Rode mics and I own 2 x NT 1000's as well as some others.

The NT2000 is a variable pattern NT1000, and if they are anything like the NT1000 they are well worth getting as the NT1000 is a very good sounding mic and very useful for vocals and acoustic guitar recording. I actually would like to have an NT2000 but I can't justify another mic at this stage, I own a lot LOL.

I also like Audio Technica, but I have not heard the 4033, however they get good reviews.

Hope this helps.

Alan
 
jj2929 said:
Thank you for your reply. Can you tell me what the advantage is of the various polar patterns and how you can use each one in different situation and why it would a diference? For example with acoustic guitar?
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Many people like the flat, largely uncoloured sound of Omni mics and their LF response tends to be smoother and more extended than directional types but, you need a good room!

The figure 8 pattern is very useful for rejection at the side nulls (though I doubt it is quite as sharp as a good ribbon?) and could be useful in the future should you want to try M-S recording.

Dave.
 
Mic polar patterns is a big subject that I would suggest doing deeper research on however the basic cardioid is most used for close up recording and especially vocal recording in "sub optimal" rooms. A figure 8 or Omni are, as stated , used to either get more room sound, mic multiple sources/farther away and/or in situations that require m/s or null rejection among other reasons. If you have a very good room they can give great results. Though you may not need different patterns, having them available is not a bad thing either.
 
Kind of echoing [MENTION=196554]Gtoboy[/MENTION], if you don't have a LDC mic yet, and don't have have a great room, i.e., you'll be using close micing, I wouldn't give much weight to multiple polar patterns. Sure, it can be a "nice to have" once you have more than once mic, IMO, but it's more useful when you've got a pair, e.g., for M-S recording. I use the omni capsule on my SDC for room measurement and nothing else. I've used figure 8 (Miktek LDC) to play around with M-S but nothing else.
 
keith.rogers said:
Kind of echoing [MENTION=196554]Gtoboy[/MENTION], if you don't have a LDC mic yet, and don't have have a great room, i.e., you'll be using close micing, I wouldn't give much weight to multiple polar patterns.
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I would not say this, as said before, figure 8 is so useful due to the side cancellation, one real use is when you are recording vocals while playing an acoustic guitar at the same time, the rejection is great.

Also even when say micing a guitar cab or acoustic guitar, having a figure of 8 pattern can add more air or room to the sound. Experimenting with patterns is a lot of fun.

Alan.
 
Add the Aston Spirit to your list. You can pick one up new in Sydney for around 600.
I find this mic to be extremely versatile and tend to use it more and mroe these days instead of some other high end mics I have here (AT's, AKG's, Rode, Shure etc). It's worth a look.

-Geoff
 
jj2929,

You have quoted the cost in Aussie dollars, if you are in Aus, where abouts are you, as I might be able offer you some mics (brand new and excellent quality) at an amazing price.

You can send me a PM with your details if you wish.

David
 
The AT 4033 is a very nice sounding mics, similar to the AKG 414 that I love. If you record real instruments in nice rooms in stereo, or want to record a group of people using one mic - omni are very useful, but one omni far less so. I could live without omni, and my single fig-8 never gets used now. Just how it is for my kind of recordings.
 
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