rode nt-1?

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Jouni

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A friend told me they'd be good, 200 a piece, thought I give it a try, have you got any experiences?
I'm recording, everything, acoustic, drums, metal, ..reviews say it's good for "allaround"..
 
Does anyone know if the NT1-A is any better than the original, nearly-universally-panned NT1?
 
cominginsecond said:
Does anyone know if the NT1-A is any better than the original, nearly-universally-panned NT1?
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You know, it's funny. When the NT1 first came out, I don't think it was panned at all (except by the true gear snobs). Everybody was amazed that Rode had managed to make a decent sounding LDC for under $500. Long before SP came along, the NT1 was touted as the mic that sounded as good as mics costing 10x more, and it put condensers in the hands of home studio guys (most of whom had little experience with condensers, so that might have skewed those early reviews). Unfortunately, I think Rode fell victim to poor quality control and the rise of digital recording, where it's "bright & detailed" sound became "harsh & strident."

I own one of the original NT1's and find it very usable. Yes, it is susceptible to sibilance and probably wouldn't be great on a screechy voice, but I'm glad to own it. The NT1a specs a little better (with lower self noise), but my impression is that it doesn't sound any better, perhaps worse.
 
the original NT1 was chinese made. But sounded pretty good for th$$ the New NT1a is built in australia, very consistent, I don't find it brittle at all as a matter of fact I find it relatively smooth on the highs, so much that I don't recomend it for anything but male vocals. I would get the studio Projects C1 for the same money if you want to do other things with it, They work good and are a little more transparent. Neither mics are that great alltogether, but for that price range thats what I have found.
 
I seem to get panned more than the mics around here :p But in all seriousness, if you use a current NT1-A, and find it brittle, better start looking at the rest of your signal chain. They DO have a rise in the upper mid range for good reason. They are a darn site quieter (low self noise) than nearly ANY microphone on the market. They are nicely assembled and are solid and immune to RF interference. They are outstanding on an acoustic guitar, woodwinds and any other stringed instrument to be sure. ON voice, unless you are doing that yelling and screaming crap (rap, grunge, punk etc.) they are wonderful mics indeed. If put through a tube pre they exude some rather impressive ouput. I am astounded when I see someone (as in above this post) slam it. Snobbery is one word...I'd have another but wish to keep it clean here........
 
I have owned an original NT-1 since they became available several years ago, and I don't find it harsh in the least. Maybe I'm lucky, but this early production NT-1 has been a great mic. It gets used quite frequently for vocals, acoustic guitar, acoustic bass and voiceovers with excellent results. Contrary to what petermiller wrote, the carton mine came in says "assembled in Australia". The brochure from that ear shows the Australian assembly line too. The mic body shell and PCA were fabricated in Autralia, although the diaphragm was fabricated in China. Anyway, I own one and am very happy with it.
 
I just got a NT1a last week. I used to have a hure ksm27, wish I woulda kept that mic cuz this Rode isnt as good for my voice it is fairly brittle. Takes too much EQing.
 
I have an NT1-a and it is great. I think some folks are not liking, but its a matter of taste and also the pre you use.
I have recorded my own voice and It's great. I also record my girl w/ this mic and she also sounds good.

here is a sample of voiceover stuff we've done. The second VO was EQ poorly cause I was just getting use to it.

 
I don't know the nt-1a but have 2 nt-1's, chosen from a lot of ten (from among the first shipments to LA years ago). Most of them sound lifeless to me. I managed to find two that have a rich bottom and some "glisten." I've heard a few mic comparisons using nt-1's and those mics don't sound at all like mine, so there is wide variation.

Pros - very low noise, versatile with various instruments, CLARITY, well built, if you have a choice look for the ones with higher output.

Cons - Some (most?) sound blah, inconsistent capsules and output levels, cardioid pattern is a little wide.

I really don't find this to be a very useful vocal mic unless the singer has a rather dark sound. It's pretty good for percussion, live ensemble recording, guitars and mellow sounding instruments. Don't think I would use it on a violin or anything screechy.
 
at my school we had a NT1 and i thought it sounded great. when i A-B'd it to a U87 it sounded very close. sure, they're not identical and the u87 was nicer sounding but for about $2200 cheaper i'd love to have one in my mic closet. its well worth the money you pay for it
 
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