Got an NTK today.......

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Sage97

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.... and I've been playing with it for 2 hours already with vocals and can't seem to get anything good. It goes through an RNP and RNC and have tried different settings on the RNC (even bypass) and still can't get anything good. I was thinking about the NTK as an option to my AT 4040s. I love the sound that I get with the AT using the same gear.

What am I doing wrong? This is a used NTK on ebay and the seller has excellent rating and appears to be very respectable so I doubt that I have a dud. I tried different positions as suggested by different threads here but still.

The sound that I get seems to be very warm (lots of low end) but clarity seems to be very poor. Cant seem to get good mids or highs.

I've read here that the NTK may not be for everyone. Do you think this is true in my case or do I just not know what I am doing?

Any assistance from you knowledgeable forumites would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
 
Sage97 said:
.... and I've been playing with it for 2 hours already with vocals and can't seem to get anything good. It goes through an RNP and RNC and have tried different settings on the RNC (even bypass) and still can't get anything good. I was thinking about the NTK as an option to my AT 4040s. I love the sound that I get with the AT using the same gear.

What am I doing wrong? This is a used NTK on ebay and the seller has excellent rating and appears to be very respectable so I doubt that I have a dud. I tried different positions as suggested by different threads here but still.

The sound that I get seems to be very warm (lots of low end) but clarity seems to be very poor. Cant seem to get good mids or highs.

I've read here that the NTK may not be for everyone. Do you think this is true in my case or do I just not know what I am doing?

Any assistance from you knowledgeable forumites would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Prob.the wrong mic for you..I have found it a bit congested in the mids also and the highs to be..edgy for lack of a better word..Rodes seem to be on the brite side of the spectrum...However I've only tried it once..Others seem to like them..But if it doesn't work for you,it doesn't work :)
 
Could be you have a dud or the tube is going bad. There are many replacements for that tube. Here is a discussion on this very thing.

http://www.3daudioinc.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000883

All that said, the RNP would not be my preamp of choice with the NTK. But, because you say you are not getting good highs, it indicates to me that something may be wrong. The NTK has a well known bump in the high end that many people don't like and if your not hearing it, something may be up.
 
This is odd - my NTK is, as the others have said, very bright. Middleman may well be right about the tube.
 
My NTK is incredibly crisp and detailed.

Rode offer free replacement / repair for the life of the mic.

They don't advertise it, but they will at least check it out for you. I know they're in Australia, but there might be a local service centre. You could email them for advice. They are really conscious of reputation.

Change XLR leads first (from the power supply to the preamp), then look for a repair centre if that doesn't help.
 
The tube is very easy to change and an inexpensive fix (if that's it) I agree that my NTK is boosted in the highs and if anything I have to kick the lows a bit in the eq. I use it with three different pres and it is good with all of 'em
 
Middleman, I really appreciate the link you provided. If I need to spend around 80.00 - 100.00 just to make this mic work, it may be a wiser decision for me to return this used NTK and buy a new one.

There is another one mentioned in the thread - the Eurotube JJE88cc at 8.50. I don't know anything about this one but I do believe that "you get what you pay for" holds true in just about everything in life.

Thanks again guys.
 
How do you know which tubes will fit into an NTK or any mic for that matter?
 
Now I know this isn't the case with any of you guys, but I once was baffled at the lack of high end in a mic I had put up on a vocalist. As I began changing out the mic, assuming it had a problem, I noticed I had it up backwards. He was singing into the back of it.

The mic was the Rode NTK, and as I turned it around, the sound opened up beautifully. Doh!@
 
screws said:
Now I know this isn't the case with any of you guys, but I once was baffled at the lack of high end in a mic I had put up on a vocalist. As I began changing out the mic, assuming it had a problem, I noticed I had it up backwards. He was singing into the back of it.

The mic was the Rode NTK, and as I turned it around, the sound opened up beautifully. Doh!@
Click to expand...


Double doh!! :D :o :D

Works perfectly now!! That's what happens if you buy used and the manual is not included. From now on, I will label it "front" and "back"

Anyway, I finally understand why you guys like this mic so much. Count me in as one of the NTK fans, just try to forget my newbie stupidity.

Screws, thanks for your help.
 
There should be a little circular dot (about 1/8") somewhere on the mic below the grill to indicate that side faces the sound source.
 
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