First home studio mic for a dark mezzo/contralto female voice - Rode NT1-A suitable?

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m1ch4L

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Hello. My girlfriend is getting more serious about singing and I want to buy her her first proper home studio microphone for Christmas. My overall budget for mic + audio interface is around EUR 300. After reading several reviews, I am considering the following combination:

  • Rode NT1-A
  • Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

Do you think this microphone will complement well / suit her somewhat darker low mezzo voice (sort of Amy Winehouse-like)? Or do you recommend a different microphone (in this price range please) for her type of voice. As said above, it would be her first home studio setup. I will also try to improve the acoustics of the room by hanging up some acoustic foam panels or drapes.

I was also considering the new Rode NT1, as according to reviews it has a flatter response curve (and is less harsh in the highs/ less sibilant). However it costs more and then I would have to buy a cheaper audio interface (e.g. Behringer). However, from what I have read, investing into a decent audio interface is also very important. Which brings me back to the Rode NT1-A. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Where will this equipment be used? Is it a good room/space for recording? Condenser mics are great at picking up details, but that includes every little thing that's in the room, and not just the singer's voice. That's the only concern with starting out with a condenser mic.

I do like those packages that come with a stand and pop shield, both of which you'll want with whatever microphone you get. (IMO)

And, the reviews for those U-Phoria line of interfaces from Behringer seem to be just about all positive. I don't know about the Traktion DAW software, but the price on those things is remarkable for the features. Pretty good comparison video here:
YouTube
 
Dear Keith,

thanks for suggesting the Behringer U-Phoria series, I somehow missed that (was previously considering the Behringer Xenyx QX1002USB - I know, it's a mixer, not merely an audio interface). The room where this will be set up is our guest room/office. With time, I will buy some acousting foam and/or a "U-shaped" acousting cover that can be mounted behind the mic on the stand. in our appartment building, we also have a music roum with acousting panels all over the walls, so she could be recording there as well. So the room should not be an issue.

If I bought the Behringer UMC202HD U-Phoria 2x2 192kHz USB Audio Interface (instead of the more expensive Scarlett 2i2), that would leave me enough money to buy the newer Rode NT1 (instead of the NT1-A). Do you think the NT1 would capture a dark mezzo female voice better than the NT1-A? Thank you again.
 
The NT1 appears to have a flatter response and is 2dB more sensitive - all on paper. For any given singer, one or the other response curve might be better, or not, but flatter is generally easier to work with.

The sensitivity matters a little because it means you won't have to turn the interface gain up quite as high, and that can be important, though it matters entirely on how much clean gain the interface preamps provide before noise or distortion enter in. (FWIW, both those mics have more sensitivity than my AKG c214, and I can get enough gain out of my old Focusrite to make that work fine.)

Even though those mics have "internal" shockmounting of the capsule, I would still get a package that has an external shockmount for that microphone as well as a pop filter (a must for vocals), along with the stand.

The one little nit with those is the lack of a roll-off (HP) switch. Obviously they don't think it's important, but I like them because our houses are shakier than you build them over there!

P.S. Audio-Technica has some affordable LDCs as well that generally do well in "shootouts" so they might be an option to look at, unless you are commited to the RØDEs. (I have mics from both of those companies, as well as a few others, so don't have a preference, so long as it gets the job done.)

Good luck. I look forward to hearing a recording one of these days.
 
The slightly higher sensitivity of the NT1 might actually be a problem? Generally when recording in poor acoustics you need to be very close to the mic to reduce the influence of the room (which is why many people say dynamics 'reject' room effects, they don't, all about sensitivity and 'critical distance') .

I too have read nothing bad about the Behringer interfaces but one parameter that always suffers in budget gear is headroom. Belting into a -30dB'ish cap' mic at 50mm could cause the mic pre to overload or at least get close <script src="https://adservice.google.co.uk/adsid/integrator.sync.js?domain=homerecording.com"></script><script>processGoogleTokenSync({"newToken":"FBS"},5);</script>to it and sound a bit 'gritty'. Neither of the mics suggested have pad switches on them (and I agree, a HPF is very nice to have as well) . Maybe budget for an inline 20dB mic attenuator?

And! IF you want "flat" look at SMALL D capacitors...The M5s get some good rep

Dave.
 
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