Rode NT1-A vs Rode NT2-A vs Baby Bottle

V

vpg0002

New member
I am in the market to buying a condensor mics for female vocals.

I have zeroed in on Rode NT1-A (bundled pack) for $229.00 from Guitar Center.

Apparently it is out of stock and not available for the next 2 weeks for sure (and maybe mor). Also I have been hearing that NT1-A is up for discontinuation pretty soon.

If so which of the following microphones should I be buying:
Rode NT2-A ( (sold as bundled pack for $399.00 from zZounds.com)
or
Baby Bottle ($399.00 from Guitar Center)
Or
is it better for to me to buy Rode NT1-A from another website?

I need to make a decision soon and would really appreciate any help provided.

-- VG
 
Jim Lad said:
Blue Bluebird.
There's also the Blue Spark which no-one around here has tried yet but is getting decent reviews.
Where are you?
Click to expand...

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your quick reply. I am in Seattle and have seen the Blue Spark last Saturday in GC.
Did not test it but heard from the sales associate that it is not in the league of Baby Bottle.

Maybe I should give that a shot.

-- VG
 
vpg0002 said:
I have been hearing that NT1-A is up for discontinuation pretty soon.-- VG
Click to expand...

Really? Wow now that's news! I thought that is was one of their bigger sellers.

Have you gone to GC.com and order it from there? It will usually cost you a little less too. With price matching and if you find it at a lower price you get an additional 10% off. And it's not that hard to find things cheaper with a little surfing.
 
I own 2 NT2-A's, and have used an NT1-A on occasion. I only used the NT1-A on vocals, but compared to the NT2-A, it seemed milkier, almost mushier on the high end. Depending on the source it could be considered "smoother" but I felt it was a bad thing, it didn't have the crispiness I was going for like I got on my NT2-A.

I use my NT2-A primarily on drum overheads, but also use it on piano, acoustic guitar, and vocals, and its great and versatile.
 
vpg0002 said:
I am in the market to buying a condensor mics for female vocals.

I have zeroed in on Rode NT1-A (bundled pack) for $229.00 from Guitar Center.

Apparently it is out of stock and not available for the next 2 weeks for sure (and maybe mor). Also I have been hearing that NT1-A is up for discontinuation pretty soon.

If so which of the following microphones should I be buying:
Rode NT2-A ( (sold as bundled pack for $399.00 from zZounds.com)
or
Baby Bottle ($399.00 from Guitar Center)
Or
is it better for to me to buy Rode NT1-A from another website?

I need to make a decision soon and would really appreciate any help provided.

-- VG
Click to expand...

The microphone that is up for discontinuation is NT2-A and not the NT1-A as stated by me above.
Sorry about that.

-- VG
 
I strongly dislike the NT1A, and think it sounds harsh and reedy.
Click to expand...
Well put and in a language suitable for all ages, I might add.
Haven't tried it myself though but when it says right on the box "World's quietest studio microphone", I've got to be giving it some thought.
 
I owned the Rode NT1a and recently sold it. I found it to sound brittle and harsh. When listening through headphones to my vocals it felt like it was scratching my ear drums. Definitely better mics out there for the money.

I have been looking for a used oktava mk-319 which I will get modded by oktavamod. My other consideration is to buy a blue baby bottle.

To the comment about the bluebird being a better mic, it just depends on what you want. Look at the frequency response curves. Baby bottle is much flatter than the bluebird (and because it doesn't have the HF emphasis, many consider it to be a darker mic).

I'm no expert, I've just been doing a lot of research lately to make my purchase decisions and figured I'd share what I've learned
 
I'll put the Bluebird through some vocal trials this weekend but I can tell you from it's work on acoustic guitar that I didn't find it dark.
Plus; I'm really trying to avoid that high emphasis you described.
You get that on one track and it's fine but if you start throwing in accompaniment with the same mic, you may find it to be a little too much.
 
NT1a is going to discontinue? That's a shame, it's been good to me. I hardly use my Shure SM7b for vocals any more... I should probably just sell it to be honest. :|

Pertaining to the OP, I've not had any use with NT2-A or the Baby Bottle.
 
I got an email a couple of days back from Rode saying both the NT1-A and NT2-A will not be discontinued and are very much shipped to all around the world.
I wrote this based on a communication that I received from GC sales rep.
Sorry for creating the confusion.
 
vpg0002 said:
I got an email a couple of days back from Rode saying both the NT1-A and NT2-A will not be discontinued and are very much shipped to all around the world.
I wrote this based on a communication that I received from GC sales rep.
Sorry for creating the confusion.
Click to expand...
GC Reps know a lot obviously - no wonder they are revered by everyone....
 
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