Rode NTK and tube mics in general

J

johnnynoony

New member
I'll admit I'm a newbie but I have scoured all of the information available to me in fear of being chastised by the "elders" and have a simple question(s). There is a lot of tossing and turning between the 4033, 4050, C1 and blahblahblah- so hard to try and decide. But I've heard some people state they would never buy anything but a tube mic(maybe not here- but I've heard it)- I suppose for the same reason we could get in with amps(another can of worms). Is there a major difference in tube mics vs.? And is the Rode NTK a good utility mic especially for someone deciding on a home recording set up(?Yamaha AW4416, recording male vocals, acoustic/electric guitar, drums, piano, music alernative/modern rock, Yamaha msp 5's?) Sorry for the long post and I thank you ahead of time for your patience.

Dave
 
The NTK is a well respected mic for different applications.

Get a mic becuase you like the tone. Whether it uses a tube or not is pretty irrelevant. There are smooth and warm non tube mics and harsh and thin tube mics.
 
People who will not buy anything but a tubemic doesn't know shit about microphones..... buy a '57 and stick it up their ass next time they open their mouth.
 
Yes, tube mics are much warmer and smoother. And while tube pre's are also warmer, for some reason they are much more uncomfortable.
 
So, in keeping with the spirit of the thread and of the board...

What's the BEST tube mic for sticking up somebody's ass? I'd start a poll, but...I don't wanna get flamed...;-b
 
I can call for the best AND priciest tubemic up someone's ass:
Neumann M149.
I believe this mutha is 4" in width... Should be a real John Holmes-experience for the "receiver". ;)
:D
 
H2oskiphil said:
So, in keeping with the spirit of the thread and of the board...

What's the BEST tube mic for sticking up somebody's ass? I'd start a poll, but...I don't wanna get flamed...;-b
Click to expand...


Nonono! It's: What's the best tube mic UNDER $200 for sticking up somebody's ass?.

And then someone comes in saying It really depends on the reciever's ass. Is it a very big ass or just a tight little hole? etc.

Jesus, this is getting out of hand.

:D :D :D

Cheers
/Henrik
 
tube mics

God, I tell you, you ask a simple question and people just can't get off their scatological tangent. A tube mic is just another color for your palette. For versatility on a budget, I would consider studio projects C3 and a Shure SM57. For a tube mic, I use AKG Solid Tube, not because I think it's better than an NTK or SP T3, etc., but because I got a deal on it, and it's a perfectly good tube mic. Based on its size, I do not suggest using the Solid Tube for certain recreational activities discussed above.
 
johnnynoony,
I hope you understand nobody was making fun of you or your question.

I'm far from an expert in this field, but if you are pretty much starting out, my personal advice is to try as much different gear as possible. That also means I think you should get two or three inexpensive mics that are very different in charachter, rather than get a single expensive mic. (For example a large diaphragm condenser, a small diapragm condenser and a dynamic). The reason is you will get better results using different mics on different instruments. The other reason is that you will learn so much more by trying the different types of mics on different applications instead of just using one mic for everything. You will gradually learn what it is you want from a mic, so you can make wiser decisions in the future when you are considering the high end stuff.

For the same reasons I will also encourage you to to borrow stuff from friends, or hang out in other studios and listen to their gear. You can make shootouts of your own and listen to shootouts posted here to learn about how different mics sound.


So if you don't have them already, I would recommend you to get at least one Shure SM57, Marshall 603 (I haven't tried that myself but some people I trust praise it) and Behringer ECM8000. If I'm not totally way out of line, that should set you back about $200 and leave you with a very good start on a mic locker. When it comes to large diaphragm condensers, I guess it's about what budget constraints you have. In the inexpensive end Studio Projects and Marshall seem to have quite a few followers. I myself have the Rode NTK and the Audio Technica 4050, which I suppose are middle of the road price wise. Two pretty different sounding mics, both very good ones.

And - finally - to answer your question:

No, there is no reason whatsoever to ignore all mics that don't have tubes in them. Whoever says they wouldn't buy anything but a tube mic is an idiot who won't get very good recordings.

Hope this helps!

/Henrik
 
Thanks for the reply Henrik. I was actually looking at the AT4050 and it seems to have gotten a lot of praise and the reviews are excellent. What's your take on that mic and how is it compared to the 4033? Thanks again for the info.
 
Haven't tried the 4033, and I only had my 4050 for a couple of weeks, so I haven't been able to try it a lot. It's a little less pronounced in the top end than my NTK, which makes me think it would be excellent for female singers, or male singers with some treble content that you'd like to tame a bit (some squeaky heavy metal singer perhaps). It also has a bump in the low mid frequencies, that has made some people call it a bit nasal. I agree. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. Some people find that bump very useful when micing guitar cabinets, but I haven't tried that myself yet.

For my own voice (that has been described as a mix between Billy Corgan and Freddie Mercury, go figure) I prefer the NTK. It also sounds great as a front mic for a drum kit.

Remember that the 4033 is a small diaphragm mic, even though its housing makes it look like a large diaphragm one.

Cheers
/Henrik
 
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