AKG Solidtube vs Rode NTK...

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exitflagger

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Sorry ... this is another "which mic should I buy" post.

I'm looking for a nice warm tube condenser within my price range (around £400) for recording vocals and acoustic guitar onto my AW4416.

Both the AKG Solidtube and the Rode NTK get great reviews.

Anyone had much experience using one or both of them?


Cheers
 
As it turns out, I have extensive experience with both of these mics, and have used them both as main vocal mics. The Solid Tube is a good mic for high SPL's (read Rock and Roll). It sounds dark and distant until you remove the stupid internal pop filter, and many who use it also replace the tube with a Telefunken. The NTK is smoother and not as dark, but lacks the Solid Tube's bass rolloff and pad.
The Solid Tube has gotten a lot of bad press, unfairly, I think, because it was rolled out at too high a price point, and got a bloody nose in honest price wars with the likes of NTK and SP T-3.
Now that the price has come down into the range you are quoting, I think it is a very good buy. That said, I traded mine even up for an NTK because the Rode simply fits my voice better. It should also be noted that the AKG fits the voice of the guy I traded it to better than NTK. All that aside, I think the Solid Tube is a better mic. Aside from the bass rolloff and pad, it comes with a decent airline case. The cable that comes with the Rode is better, though and your going to be pretty much stuck with it. Solid Tube also comes with a shockmount, unlike NTK, but don't try to hang it inverted!
In the end, I believe Solid Tube is an excellent vocal mic that needs to have its internal windscreen ripped out. Even though NTK works better on my voice for most purposes, there are a lot of times I wish I had my Solid Tube back!-Richie
 
Thanks for the advice Richie...

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go for the Solidtube.

I talked to someone recently who uses it in a DAW set-up with a JoeMeek Pre and gets nice, warm results (which I've heard).

Is taking the windscreen out a reversable option? Or, once it's out, is it out for good?
Also, have you heard the difference a Telefunken tube makes?


Cheers, ...eon
 
Have you given any thought to the Studio Projects T3? It seems to have lots of options, adjustable patterns, etc. I've heard it's better than the the NTK - not sure how it stacks up against the Solidtube.

EC
 
Exit, I wish I could help you more, but I can't. A friend of mine took out the wind screen, and he's in Afghanistan. It brightened it up and improved the sound markedly, and I never had any desire to put it back in. The tube upgrade was never done to my mic, there I'm only passing on other people's upgrades. I am sure that the windscreen does nothing but mess up the sound of a perfectly good mic.-Richie
P.S.- The SP T3, although a mic I've never used, if it's compareable to the SP mics I have used, is probably a winner, but if the price point is like the other SP prices I've seen out of Europe, it is probably quite dear.
 
EC,
I've read good things about Studio Projects stuff but haven't heard any in action myself. The option of switching patterns sounds tempting, but Richie's right... they are a bit more expensive here.
If there was a huge quality difference, it might be worth considering. But I'm sure the Solidtube will suit my needs pretty well.

Thanks for yer posts, ...eon
 
Richard Monroe said:
A friend of mine took out the wind screen, and he's in Afghanistan.
Click to expand...

Holy Christ, do they send people to Afghanistan for doing that?
 
"It sounds dark and distant until you remove the stupid internal pop filter"

whoa, learn something new everyday! Im gonna go pull min windscreen out and see if I start to like that mic!
 
akg solid tube

when i first got this mic it was definitly to muffled, i went in and removed the internal pop filter and my gawd!> i love it now! awesome sound, very rich and open now. I should mention the person i bought it from had replaced the tube with a jann phillips 12ax7. I definitly think people should do those two things to this mic before giving bad reviews . it makes all the difference: )
 
Just bought mine a few weeks ago and love it to bits just the way it is.
Still working on placement and volume settings but my goodness, what a lovely mic.
 
Does anybody know what brand the original 12AX7 valve was in the AKG?
 
Found this Jim
A nice little read but no word of the brand :

Insider’s View

The microphone itself is very sturdy. The case is diecast and substantial with a robust look to it that is at once familiar without looking like anything in its past. The single dual-triode vacuum tube (12AX7) serves as an amplifier and line driver (cathode follower). The output of the microphone is transformer-coupled. With the exception of a zener diode, there are no solid-state devices within the microphone body.

The newly-designed one-inch capsule has a six-micron mylar membrane and has been tuned for a rising frequency response. The same membrane material is also used in the C12VR and C414 microphones.

The circuitry for the new microphone is housed on two glass-epoxy circuit boards, and the tube (12AX7) has a rubber support to ensure that it stays in its socket. The circuit boards mount to a molded plastic support assembly without screws, and this assembly also holds the capsule. The capsule is enclosed by a live-rubber mount, suspended by four legs molded around its periphery, effectively shock isolating it from its surroundings. This entire assembly bayonets into the top half of the case without fasteners. Three screws secure the bottom half of the case to the circuit-board support.
 
Come to think of it, now Isn't the perception line assembled in China?
If you can't find a listing of it anywhere (I couldn't) then maybe they don't say what it is on purpose.

What's in yours now?
 
Thanks MS.
I'm trying a Mullard out in mine today and coincidentally the tube that came out was a JAN Phillips 12AX7WA.
The "JAN" as you know, stands for "Joint Army and Navy". The "W" also indicates that it is a military tube and the "A" is the batch designation.
Anyway, I've seen a couple of threads where the Phillips 12AX7 was mentioned and am wondering if maybe that was the stock tube for some of them.
 
I've looked and looked
Seems like the only way to find out is to have an AKG representative stop in and tell us or have someone who just purchased a new one to open it up and post the results here!

Wait the one that you mentioned is the original tube?
 
I think so.
Could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I didn't change out the tube and I don't have any record of buying that one.
 
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