Rode NT1 or Sennheiser MK4 for Voice Over?

Basilosauridae

Basilosauridae

Member
I recently posted about upgrading from a Shure SM58 to an EV RE20 for voice over. I really like the EV RE20 overall and will keep using it, but I do think some of the nuance is lost with it and most VO most people recommend a condenser mic, so I'm thinking of adding one to my gear collection.

The two most recommended condenser mics in my price range are the Rode NT1 and Sennheiser MK4... thoughts? I am a woman with I guess a medium to low voice, which is why I chose the EV RE20 as my last purchase... which of these condenser mics do you think would sound better with a woman's voice? I also understand that a condenser mic will be less forgiving than the EV RE20...can anyone help me understand exactly what that means and why that is?

Also, is there anything I should do different with my recording space for a condenser vs the cardiod mic?

Thanks! All thoughts and feedback are appreciated.
 
I moved from New Orleans to San Diego (taking care of mom), and started using the Rode NT1A for Zoom meetings. I got several comments that my mic sounds much better compared to a Blue Mouse and several small diaphragm condenser mics. That's good news as the NT1A is reasonably priced and very, very popular. Never tried the NT1.
 
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Basilosauridae said:
. thoughts? I am a woman with I guess a medium to low voice, which is why I chose the EV RE20 as my last purchase... which of these condenser mics do you think would sound better with a woman's voice? I also understand that a condenser mic will be less forgiving than the EV RE20...can anyone help me understand exactly what that means and why that is
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Either of those will be much stronger. You will need phantom power. The powered microphone has a stronger Mv/pa sensitivity. It is less forgiving.

Sound better for a woman..Try a SDC small diaphragm condenser. It sometimes helps vocals.

Condensers are difficult to work with and get a lot of the bad parts, of the room noise.
 
There are a number of versions of the NT1. The earlier ones were often criticised for being hyped in the high frequency ranges. The newest version is the black one, and that has been seriously re-engineered. It is quite different to the earlier versions. It's widely acclaimed, and worth considering strongly, specially given its price.
 
If you go to Audio Test Kitchen, you can listen to the MK4, the NT1 and you might add the WA47Jr. There are several songs on there where you can just listen to the female vocals. It might give you a bit of a comparison.

I like the NT1. It is VERY quiet. I have been using it for my vocals lately. It's not hyped in the top end, so it tends to suppress sibilance a bit. I remember on one of your other posts there were a couple of comments about that. Listen closely to the S sounds on the vocals of the song Weekend.

The MK4 and 47Jr have been on my radar for a while. I think the MK4 sounded more like a U47fet than the 47jr. (listening to piano parts for weight and air). The downside is that it doesn't come with a shock mount, just a basic one. The 47Jr had a nice mount, as does the NT1. If you need isolation for the mic itself, that is important. I almost snagged an AKG P420, currently at $150. I just don't know if I need it since I have 2 SP B3s, an MXL V67g, MXL 992 and the NT1.
 
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Basilosauridae said:
I recently posted about upgrading from a Shure SM58 to an EV RE20 for voice over. I really like the EV RE20 overall and will keep using it, but I do think some of the nuance is lost with it and most VO most people recommend a condenser mic, so I'm thinking of adding one to my gear collection.

The two most recommended condenser mics in my price range are the Rode NT1 and Sennheiser MK4... thoughts? I am a woman with I guess a medium to low voice, which is why I chose the EV RE20 as my last purchase... which of these condenser mics do you think would sound better with a woman's voice? I also understand that a condenser mic will be less forgiving than the EV RE20...can anyone help me understand exactly what that means and why that is?

Also, is there anything I should do different with my recording space for a condenser vs the cardiod mic?

Thanks! All thoughts and feedback are appreciated.
Click to expand...
The NT1 is a good condenser mic at a good value price point. As pointed out earlier, it will need phantom power to operate. Dynamic mics use a diaphragm, voice-coil and magnet to pick up and convert sound waves into an electrical signal. Condenser mics use an electrically charged diaphragm which is caused to vibrate by soundwaves. As the diaphragm moves, an electrical signal is generated directly proportional to the sound. Phantom power is what charges the diaphragm in a condenser mic to make it work. I forget which interface you're using, but it will probably provide it.

When people talk about the condenser being less forgiving, it means that because of its greater sensitivity it will make any of the weaknesses in your recording space much more obvious. You're more likely to pick up things like boominess or echo, the sounds from fans or refrigerators, mouth noise, etc. They pick up a great range of tones, but are less "forgiving" of less than perfect spaces.

Also, a mic can be both condenser and cardioid. Cardioid is a type of pickup pattern - cardioid, omni and figure 8 are the most common patterns. Basically speaking, cardioid mics pick up most of the sound from the front of the mic. Figure 8 uses the front and back, and omni picks up everything around the mic fairly evenly.
 
If it's for podcasting or Zoom, have a look at these, price is very good and I know someone that uses them for making podcasts and they work great. Good rejection of surrounding noise and room acoustics.

www.rode.com

PodMic | Dynamic Broadcast Microphone | RØDE

The PodMic is a broadcast-grade dynamic microphone optimised for gaming, streaming, podcasting and other voice-based applications. Find out more.
www.rode.com www.rode.com
 
witzendoz said:
If it's for podcasting or Zoom, have a look at these, price is very good and I know someone that uses them for making podcasts and they work great. Good rejection of surrounding noise and room acoustics.

www.rode.com

PodMic | Dynamic Broadcast Microphone | RØDE

The PodMic is a broadcast-grade dynamic microphone optimised for gaming, streaming, podcasting and other voice-based applications. Find out more.
www.rode.com www.rode.com
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The OP is doing voice over and commercial recording. I think she already has an RE20 and an SM58. I'm guessing that she's trying to find the best match for her voice.
 
There are two kinds of Voice Over mics. I don't mean the technical things, but in a studio where you constantly have different VO artists in, you need a mic that will do all of them well. If however, your need is for a mic that will do just one person the best that can be done - instead of a choice of perhaps two or three, you are presented with a massive choice. I bet there is even a voice that would benefit from miking with an AKG C1000. (That is of course, a joke - they make a better hammer than they do a microphone).

A Shure SM58 probably really suits a very large number of people. The folk on Youtube with RE20s and SM7Bs rarely sound wrong, but equally - some people just sound terrible on any mic, just a little less terrible on some.

I'm lucky enough to have some nice mics, but I also have some very cheap ones and when you have an expensive one, and choose to use a cheaper one, that's an artistic choice. If you don't have the expensive one, and only have the cheap one, then you won't be able to make choices and the snobby folk will laugh at you. If you have a U87 and choose a Samson C01 nobody laughs, because they think you know what you're doing.
 
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