Rode M3 or NTA-1

[senidge]

Hi guys, i was wondering if anyone out there could help me. In probably about a months time, i'm going to be buying a new mic to use at home. Now, the problem i have, is i've narrowed it down to either the M3 or NT1-A and i can't decide which is best for me.
Mainly i'll be using it for my acoustic guitar and vocals. The style i play is picking, mostly (though i dont use my finger nails, just finger tips) but i will use it for strumming too. I'm aware that the NTA-1 is very sensitive and on my last mike i could hear myself breathing all the time (though it's because i have polyps and i can't really breath through my nose, corrected by surgery soon), will it be a problem? It'll be going into my pc, through a mixer that has phantom power, so no issues there. I just can't decide. i'll probably even get both at some point or an other, but at the moment my budget is tight as i'm saving for a deposit on a house and for a new music pc i'm going to build, the one i'm using now is old (about 8 years) So what one would people buy, considering my budget and uses? oh and sorry, i meant the NT1-A

 

[ido1957]

Nt1-a...............

 

[kwokwok]

Speaking of experience of owning both…

The m3 is GREAT value of a mic and its my stationary live indoor mic of choice for vocal … great gain and sounds really full from even a meter away.. and it’ll sound great as a backing acoustic recording…
(havnt really used it for studio vocal so cant really comment.. but I would imagine it being too ‘full’ to not cut through without some eq)

But having said that for acoustic guitar I would still use my NT1A just for its clarity and clean sound.. I personally find it quite high ended on my acoustic
For the breath sound problem.. a pop filter will help .. and angling will help.. I don’t usually have the NT1A right infront of my mouth but nose level point down towards my mouth instead .. it feels awkward not singing at the mic but yea it avoids a lot of breathing air problem

In the end the nt1A is around double the price of M3 so its hard to compare

With all that crap aside.. I vote NT1A

 

[senidge]

Hi, thanks Kwokwok. yeah i know that it's double the price, which i have no problems going up to at all and like i said, i'll probably end up getting both anyway but i'm really stuck deciding for the moment, what mic to get first. becuase money is so tight i'm just having trouble deciding. i love the sound of the NT1-A on the youtube videos (though i know i shouldn't go only by this) and the little samples on thomann.de site but i also like th m3. it's nice to get a sensible answer though and any advice on these two mic's is always well appreciated. I'm looking forward to experimenting with the positioning of the mics and one day using two decent mic's for the acoustic at the same time. I wish i had more money though.

 

[kwokwok]

hahahah dont we all wish we were sponsored by some big brand to do things we love..

if you are HONESTLY going to get both ANYWAY... i'd suggest getting the m3 first.. play with positionings and angling to learn the mic... then when u get the NT1A you'll get a big smile on your face when u hear the upgrade in clarity and crispiness~ (where if you get the nt1A first you might not fully appreciate it as much.. and when u get the m3 you'll just feel .. meh...~)



p.s. did i mention the NT1A is the quiestest mic i have EVER used (not that iam in anyway professional by the way) ...

 

[senidge]

well, i have actaully got a mic already. A Shure PG48 I think, not looked at it in a while. i've managed to get an acoustic recorded on it but a load of background noise and hiss too. The gain needs turning quite high otherwise the guitar sounds odd. so whilst i don't already own an M3 the Meh factor is already there. I think maybe the M3 would be alot better than the shure (i know they're two different types of mic) but i don't know when i'd get round to saving for the NT1-A again. I've had my eye on that for ages (about 9 months at least) and there always seems to be another mic i'm thinking of at the same time. Here's something i recorded on the PG48 (or whatever the thing is)
http://myspace.com/01senidge
only track 1 though. both were done using cubase LE and my wifes old emachines computer that i stuck an EMU 0404 in. Anything that sounds better than that is good in my opinion.