Terrible Sinking Feeling

S

StevenLindsey

New member
Well, I just took the plunge and ordered an NTK from Bayview Pro Audio. $499 with the shockmount. I hope this thing lives up to its reputation. Ouch. 500 bills for a stupid microphone. This thing is going to make my Blue Tube sound like an Avalon...............isn't it?

A question about my next purchase - I'll be upgrading from the Blue Tube and the pres on my old Soundcraft mixer. I'm looking at $500 to $1000 - RNP, Grace 101, the little Summit box, the Toft that's coming out soon, something along those lines. Considering that the NTK is tube and that I'll be doing mostly acoustic guitar and vocals in a bedroom, what would be a good match for the NTK. My voice is sorta low to mid-rangy ( and not that great, I might add. One reason I went for a mic that might color me a bit. ) I already have: 2 SM57s, SM58, MXL603, Behringer B2, 2 ECM8000s. The RNP - It's reported by some that it's a bit noisy. Is this correct? I want an amp that is as silent as possible with a lot of gain. Any ideas will be appreciated, as usual. Thanks.
 
The preamps you mention are good options... Others also to consider around $1k or under are DaviSound TB-6, a Brent Averill Neve or API type, Great River ME-1NV, John Hardy M-1, and Sebatron vmp2000 when available. I'm sure there's a few others I can't think of off the top of my head. One of the Old School Audio preamps is another option too, but it'll cost ya close to $1.1k or so at fisrt due to the PSU cost. Preamps for it after that will only cost you around $500 each though. Then there's even a few more when looking around the $1.2k or $1.3k range.

I know, too many options that it can get overwhelming! But with some further information for your application, I think it can be narrowed-down.
 
Although there's a marked tendency to get flamed for expressing opinions on "vaporware", the (soon) arriving product line from Toft Audio should be on your shortlist to try.
Plus you can get a compressor and EQ into the bargain.
And there is a "dual" model with pre's/compressors/EQ.

Chris
 
Maybe you can take your new NTK to a local studio and ask them how muxh they want to let you test drive your mic through some killer preamps. :)
 
Actually, I own an NTK and an Avalon AD2022, but I've gotten some of my best vocal tracks with the NTK going into Joemeek twinQcs. You can never tell what combination will sound right on any given song.-Richie
 
I've been looking at the 2 channel Toft thing. I don't think it has a DI though for bass or guitar. I will need the Hi-Z input. Does the Sytek 4 channel have DI? I guess you could run that through a quad compressor like the Behringer and have a pretty good chain? Maybe an eq on two channels. I doubt any of our local "studios" would have much of a selection to try. Most of the work I've heard through local studios has been pretty bad. That's a thought though. Thanks much for the suggestions so far. And believe me, I am using the Search function. It's great to see the stuff that's pertinent to other peoples' situations, but somehow it's comforting to get information that seems specific to your own personal agony. I know that some of you can relate. This money ain't easy to come by and I am risking death every time I spend a chunk of money on this gear. ( Wife ) I still have 3-5 thousand planned for this stuff. If I disappear suddenly, you'll know what happened.

Since most humans can't stand to be around me, I have to record all the instruments in my songs myself. :D Recorder: Korg D8, soon to be D1600 or AW4416. I generally do acoustic guitar parts first, sometimes using two mics and two tracks. Then bass, DI'd. Then drums through my mixer, using the pres, 5 mics, sent to stereo tracks on the recorder. I would like to use the better amp for my overheads. Then maybe electric lead or fill, DI'd. Then any keyboard parts, sometimes in stereo, sometimes mono - probably will just use the Blue Tube for keyboard. I have a Blue Max compressor also. Then any shaker, tambourine, or other miscellaneous junk. Mix all this down ( because of track limitation ) and then do vocals. I do my own harmony vocals, usually two to four parts. Maybe this'll help with any further suggestions, if any are forthcoming.
 
I checked the Toft thing again. It does have an instrument input. If the 2-channel job comes in at $1000 or less, it ought to be pretty nice! Oh well, gotta have a little while to save up anyway.
 
Well, C7 was right. I am not disappointed with the NTK. I've only had a couple of hours so far to listen, but my first impressions: Depth, realism, quiet, detailed...... I'm kinda surprised how well my old behringer B2 hangs in there though. Acoustic guitar sounds great with a 603/NTK combination - they compliment one another well. The only bad thing is that now I'm even more keenly aware that I need a decent preamp and a recorder with better AD converters. Question for NTK owners: Can you run the NTK with other mics with the universal phantom power on the mixer? Will it hurt the power supply? The owners manual did not address this. I need to be able to run the NTK with my other condensers. Thanks again.
 
Your NTK doesn't care , and neither does your board. Sending 48v of phantom power to the NTK's power supply is like shooting at the Rock of Gibralter with a spitball. Rock on.-Richie
 
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