Rode Nt1a or Blue Spark? Help :)

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fulong_wu

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Hi, my name is Chris. I have the GXL 2200 but I'm planning to upgrade to a new mic. Which one's better? The Rode Nt1a or the Blue Spark. I'll mainly be using the microphone for vocals :) Thank you very much :) Any advice or personal experience shared would greatly be appreciated.
 
Is your room treated? I'm just going to guess that it isn't. I would recommend a dynamic mic for a room that isn't ideal for recording. What did you read that told you to go with a condenser mic?
 
Personally I would go for the Rode as a well known and respected mic.
The Blue Spark does not seem to have any overiding advantages over the NT1a and you seem to be paying a bit more for bling!

Yes to a dynamic but maybe the 10-20quid/$ saved can be put toward a Reflection filter?

Dave.
 
Hi, thank you very much for all your replies :) i cant deny it, im a noob so i apologize if i do misunderstand terms and stuff. By treated you mean like a sound proof room? Right now it isnt, but it will be after i get a new mic. Ive read about dynamic and condenser mics and condenser mics will be the ones i'll be using considering my setup plans :) ive heard a lot about blue spark mics being very nice when it comes to female vocals, and ive only owned 2 mics so far, so my comparisons arent reliable. Im planning to get an audio interface with the new mic. Any combo recommendations from you guys? I do have experiences on recording and vocal editing and ive had quite a few so far. But still not even close to professional level. Around $300 dollars is my budget ceiling :) thank you guys
 
fulong_wu said:
Hi, thank you very much for all your replies :) i cant deny it, im a noob so i apologize if i do misunderstand terms and stuff. By treated you mean like a sound proof room? Right now it isnt, but it will be after i get a new mic. Ive read about dynamic and condenser mics and condenser mics will be the ones i'll be using considering my setup plans :) ive heard a lot about blue spark mics being very nice when it comes to female vocals, and ive only owned 2 mics so far, so my comparisons arent reliable. Im planning to get an audio interface with the new mic. Any combo recommendations from you guys? I do have experiences on recording and vocal editing and ive had quite a few so far. But still not even close to professional level. Around $300 dollars is my budget ceiling :) thank you guys
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No, "we" do not mean sound "proofing". This might be highly desirable to the home recordist but is rarely structurally nor economically possible (we tend to have small rooms and full blown SP would make them even wee'er and sound worse!) .

Sound "treatment" is the introduction of materials that evens out the bass response somewhat and kills standing waves and "honky" resonances (one hopes!). In addition, for accurate monitoring, treatment is used to improve the stereo imaging....But I am just an old valve amp jockey! No doubt one of our Top Blokes Acoustical will be along shortly?

Audio Interfaces: I own and have the greatest regard for the Native Instruments Komplete Audio6.
At around 2/3rds(and 2 fewer ins and outs) the price is the Steinberg UR22. Not got one (yet!) but it seems to get good reccies' all over the shop.

Dave.
 
Wow, thank you very much for that knowledge sir :) Right now im aiming to make good music and imma do it one step at a time, im learning every day :) at d moment, im pretty good with having decent gears at affordable prices :) i cant afford any of those gear that costs an arm an a leg. You have great experience in this field sir :) which mic do you prefer? The spark or the rode nt1a?
 
fulong_wu said:
Wow, thank you very much for that knowledge sir :) Right now im aiming to make good music and imma do it one step at a time, im learning every day :) at d moment, im pretty good with having decent gears at affordable prices :) i cant afford any of those gear that costs an arm an a leg. You have great experience in this field sir :) which mic do you prefer? The spark or the rode nt1a?
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No! No! I am but a mere (deaf!) technician. The arty part of this Home Studio, the bit with the musical talent and ears has sugerred off to France this two year (And FK! I miss him! But ya gotta let 'em go doncha?) .

I dabble a bit with software and read a lot and am ok with the electronics and the decibabble but there are plenty of PROPER recording people here to help you.

And do you mean you can't even afford the UR22? If so a second hand unit such as a Tascam 122/144 or an M-Audio Fast track pro will serve for now, especially since you are set on a capacitor mic.

My PERSONAL preference would be the NT1A.

Dave.
 
Haha, well whatever you do sir you still know better than i do :) thanks... Actually i also prefer the nt1a, but recently i've read a lot, and i mean a lot about the blue spark being nicer compared to the nt1a... Im confused. I have been eyeing on the nt1a for so long now and like in just a day or 2, my brain tells me to get the spark. Which really means i dont know anything about the mics im choosing, lol. I know each mic offers something that the other cant. No mic is best for everyone. If u said u prefer the spark, i wud have decided to get the spark. And now u just added another point to the rode. Hahaha. I dont have all the money to buy just any mic i want unfortunately. That's why im just choosing whichever mic works best for me. I wish i cud go for a test run but its just not possible where i come from. Can you give any more reasons why u choose the nt1a sir? Thank you very much. Im looking forward to record disney songs, pop and that kind of stuff, i dont know if that helps...
 
Hello again,

Had you mentioned the fact that you are recording a female voice, I would have likely not suggested a dynamic mic. And Disney songs!!! Funny, I am going to do a rock version of Hot Dogs theme song. :)

The Rode NT1a will suit you well. I have one myself. Just keep in mind, it is going to pick up every little noise in your room. You will want to keep it as far away from noise sources as possible (computer fan, heat vents, etc...).
 
jimmys69 said:
Hello again,

Had you mentioned the fact that you are recording a female voice, I would have likely not suggested a dynamic mic. And Disney songs!!! Funny, I am going to do a rock version of Hot Dogs theme song. :)

The Rode NT1a will suit you well. I have one myself. Just keep in mind, it is going to pick up every little noise in your room. You will want to keep it as far away from noise sources as possible (computer fan, heat vents, etc...).
Click to expand...

Yes, female voice and "not heavy" songs nails the Rode for me as well but from a "technical" point.

The NT1A is claimed to be one of the quietest microphones available (OP, this means VERY low hiss) and this will be useful for a gentle sound source.

You could also try singing quite close to the mic (with a pop shield!) as this will help keep out noises off. In the software post tracking you can then apply a goodly degree of low frequency cut which will remove a lot of "room rumble".

I stand to be corrected about this last by the experts who might also venture a filter frequency? I would opt for around 200Hz?

Dave.
 
The NT1a is very quiet, meaning it does not create much noise itself. But it is very sensitive to everything around it. I can hear my dogs in the back yard from my basement that is on the opposite side of the house...

The mic comes with a 'pop' screen, but the mic is very sensitive to air movement. If possible, use a mic (boom) stand that can hang the mic above you. Keep it just above your mouth. The goal is to not have your breath focused directly into the mic. Just off axis but close will give you the best results. There is something called 'the pencil trick' that kinda sounds funny, but it helps to train mic control. You want to be as close to this mic as possible, but not breathe air into it. Oh, and drink lots of water. It will pick up sticky mouth noises too. :)

Oh, and the roll-off frequency varies depending on the voice being recorded. 200Hz is a close approximation. Use a HPF on playback, and move the frequency up (Hz) until you start to hear your voice lose depth. Then pull it back a bit. You are looking to get rid of the low frequencies that are picked up by the mic, that have nothing to do with the performance. There will be a bunch of that down there.

Also, it is your voice that will determine proper placement of mic. Some singers have more 'sibilance' than others. Some need to back off to get it to sound right. Experimentation of placement is a big part of getting it right for you.

Best to you. :)
 
Hi, I'm the same guy who started this thread. I don't know what I did but for some reason, this forum banned my first username due to spamming. How is starting a thread an act of spamming? I've only posted 2 threads and the first one was like 5 months ago :( Is there anyway to recover my first username? anywayz... Thank you very much for sharing what you guys know. Definitely learned a lot :) One last question though... A lot of people stated that the spark can be nicer to female vocals and that it's neutral enough to handle any kind of voice... What does this mean? Thank you...
 
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