The RODE NT-1A

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roadwarrior said:
I am always amazed at the various dissing that goes on regarding various equipment selection. One instance I notice across the vast number of forums is their desire to slam the Rode product in general. I'd put a lot more faith and trust in opinions of those that are recognized professionals in the industry using them in droves. This list is pretty endless, and frankly there are very few large pro studios that don't have several in their mic closet. I have a few Sennheiser's currently but also went with a broad selection of the Rode's. This would include the NT1-A, NT2-A, NT2000 and now more recently the K2 (an astounding value). Over the years I've also owned several AKG 414's, 1000's Neumann U87, TLM 130 and U89. AFAIAC the Neumann's and AKG's have NOTHING on the Rode's. The Rode mics (all models) are consistently better in self noise, have better results without messing with excessive EQ, are built as good as it gets and offer an outstanding value without consideration for dollars spent. It is VERY easy to get all caught up with the "name game" or even model game. The serious achilles heel of the Chinese mics in general (and yes I am using a broad brush here) is their clear lack of consistency. This is one area alone Rode's excell and can be noted that if you buy one now and one in a few years they will both be super without any glaring issues.

As far as the high end of the NT1-A being Brittle I say "HOGWASH". I don't know what mic pre you are using but I'd say you have issues.....and it isn't with the mic. I use that mic for female vocals and it is also unreal on a Martin acoustic guitar as well. All in all it renders pro results with NO real achilles heel. If you feel you're hearing something irritating, take a stronger look at the preamp it's going through.
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I apologize if it seemed I was bad mouthing the rode nt1-a. I actually found it to be a high quality, well made mic. I just didn't find that its strengths to be a great match to many of my needs. I can in fact imagine that in many circumstances that it would be good on voice, accoustic guitar, etc. It just didnt reflect the type of aesthetic that I am striving for on these sources. On acoustic guitar I prefer a more natural, organic, softer tone. I get this from my CAD M9 and my M179's. On Male voice I prefer the sound of the V67 which cost me all of $30 used. After I got the M179's I found that I could stick them in front of almost anything any be happy with the results. Many times I try other mics and get even better results, but I am rarely unhappy with the sound of the M179's as a first try. That just wasnt happening for me with the NT1-a, and I didnt have anyplace where it felt like my ace in the hole. While I have not heard them in person, I have heard great things about the NT2, NTK, K2, and the Classic. I have obviously read reports from people that are very happy with their NT1's as well. All that I can assume is that their taste and aesthetic is very different from mine. I feel like the NT1-a has a pretty strong character and character is kind of like cooking with spices. Once its in the dish, its in the dish. For a utility mic I dont want too much character cause I may need to use it in a lot of different kinds of dishes. If it tells you anything about me I have a handfull of old electrovoice dynamics that I love and I think they all sound really cool on lots of things. Not very transparent at all, and colorwise probably the polar opposite of the NT1-a. I obviously have a certain kind of taste, and it is different from the taste of people that prefer the NT1. That said for a broad range of tastes and styles I think the V67 is probably the cheapest go-to for a masculine sounding male voice. I also like to talk a little anonymous s*** on recording forums. I hope none of us take any of this stuff too personally.
 
pmdiaz23 said:
You know i'm a peaceful man... I don't use strong language and when I do I get it thrown in my face... This guy calls me a BSer, a liar, and then a dumbass and I'M THE ONE THAT STARTED THE NAME CALLING?????

As for the other guy, read his post all he does is put people down. That happens to people who are inferior and need to use aggression to feel important. Kind like a wife beater.
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Read my post, I said you were acting like a dumbass, not that you were one. Second you were lying, there are plenty of threads about the nt1a and vocals.
 
jonnyc said:
Read my post, I said you were acting like a dumbass, not that you were one. Second you were lying, there are plenty of threads about the nt1a and vocals.
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No you said quote:
"to say you couldn't find info on it just makes you look like a dumbass"

Dude, why do you insist on calling me a liar. I did a search here for the NT1-a and VOICE-OVERS NOT vocals...
Vocals are usually related to singing, I'm not a singer. I work in TV and purchased one of these for Voice work I do.
Thats why i answered the other guy that sometimes you don't get an exact answer!

If you do a search for NT1-a and voice-overs you will find my post...
 
pmdiaz23 said:
No you said quote:
"to say you couldn't find info on it just makes you look like a dumbass"

Dude, why do you insist on calling me a liar. I did a search here for the NT1-a and VOICE-OVERS NOT vocals...
Vocals are usually related to singing, I'm not a singer. I work in TV and purchased one of these for Voice work I do.
Thats why i answered the other guy that sometimes you don't get an exact answer!

If you do a search for NT1-a and voice-overs you will find my post...
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Sorry for misquoting myself. I did a search for nt1a voice overs and shootout came up with samples of the nt1a, so technically you're a liar. :D Ok enough of this bullshit.
 
I can only speak for myself. I can't see anywhere in MY post where it was a personal attack. Just a very strong opinion (I feel backed up by easily verifiable facts). To start calling anyone a dumbass or diminish their grip on reality is a very sad state of affairs indeed. Certainly lacking in intelligence and experience. Oh well..........you can lead that horse to water.....but.......
 
Huh... I thought this was a mic thread, looks like that topic got derailed rather quickly.

R0des... love and hate them. Especially the NT-1/NT-1A.

Older Chinese models, brittle on the high end, bad when it came to recording register changes and a bit too bright.

AU models, much improved, still very bright, not unusable by any stretch. For the home studio it is a great first or second condensor for spoken word and some (read SOME) vocals.

It's a good budget mic. It is not a U87 killer (as many people have stated on forums before) that some purport it to be. I own one of the newer ones and have been satisfied when I need a lower-end mic for a read. In no way does it truly threaten my higher-end microphones.
 
roadwarrior said:
I can only speak for myself. I can't see anywhere in MY post where it was a personal attack. Just a very strong opinion (I feel backed up by easily verifiable facts). To start calling anyone a dumbass or diminish their grip on reality is a very sad state of affairs indeed. Certainly lacking in intelligence and experience. Oh well..........you can lead that horse to water.....but.......
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...you can't convince him Rodes are better than Nuemanns. So what verifiable fact proves one mic is better than another, I'd like to see these facts so once and for all we can really see which are the very best and we can all stop wasting time. Like I said, Rodes are great mics and many pros use them but there's no need to say silly things like you did.
 
Tonight I did some tests with my NT1-A.

I mentioned earlier that I may have been having problems with the mic pre's in my DDX3216. Since my tests I changed my mind and that all of the noise on my test recordings came soley from my equipment, mainly my rather noisy PC.

I also tested the NT1-A with my Fostex VF08 and I was most impressed with the lack of noise. The NT1-A was picking up the birds twittering outside and every little step and fart I made but I could not descern any hiss or other sort of "electronic" noise.

What these tests also revealed is that I am in desperate need of a major studio overhall and that my cheap mic has really cost me thousands in terms of silencing my PC, acoustic treaments to my little studio or even finding another room in my house fit for purpose...

... are moveable screens any good :rolleyes:


BTW... I am in no way trying to say that the NT1-A is either a good or bad mic... but what I do know for sure is that it's the best mic that I've ever owned...
 
Synkrotron said:
I also tested the NT1-A with my Fostex VF08 and I was most impressed with the lack of noise. The NT1-A was picking up the birds twittering outside and every little step and fart I made but I could not descern any hiss or other sort of "electronic" noise.
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I could tell you a funny story about how it took me five hours to record an acoustic part cos it was sensitive enough to record the planes flying over, the car radio in cars driving past etc... the first hour was the noise the next four was me losing my patience... I ended getting up at 1am to record the guitar part

BTW... I am in no way trying to say that the NT1-A is either a good or bad mic... but what I do know for sure is that it's the best mic that I've ever owned...
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Same but I've tested a couple of others and I still want a couple of different options if ever I can afford it. But I can't say that I would ever think of getting rid of it
 
Well guys, I'll give you my assessment based on the gear I'm using. Oh and for what it's worth, I've been called a lot worse than an idiot in my day so I'll consider that a complement and all is forgiven :rolleyes: Anyway, I'm currently running my mics through a new Korg D3200 DAW Board (all in wonder you know those units) but I tend to use either a TC-Helicon VoiceWorks (which has a very sweet mic preamp in line with the effects it provides) or a ART TPS-II tube preamp (which I've seen plenty maligned on this forum and elsewhere). Frankly even a NT1-A sounds very formidable going through tubes as it tends to warm things up as it shouldn't come as any surprise. The NT2-A and NT2000 need no such assistance, and through the VoiceWorks sound punchy and sweet as all getout all across the board requiring little or no eq at all. I consider a mic that needs no eq a GOOD thing, not a bad thing. While I'm typically using my mics for either my Martin dreadnaught acoustic guitar, as well as female and male vocals, all the Rode's do well indeed. I will certainly agree that of all of them the NT1-A is the most boosted in the upper mid to high end. This can be used to one's advantage, but I would as I've said before NEVER call it strident or harsh.

The mic preamp used would no doubt effect this as they all do, but apparently in MY particular setup they do not bring any bad habits to the output. My new favorite mic is the K2. I had a associate bring over his relatively new U87 Neumann and AKG 414 over for a test run against my new K2. We used both through the TC-Helicon VoiceWorks just to keep things even steven. He readily admitted that the K2 ran rings around the 414 (which as no surprise was brighter and not as sweet and appealing in the upper mids). Against the Neumann we both agreed there was more "air" with the K2. NOT harsh artificial high end boost, just more sense of space at the top end with NO sense of harshness or artifically boosted upper frequencies. The Neumann was in NO way richer, nor did it offer any better low end, in fact we agreed the low end of the Rode K2 was perhaps a bit MORE solid and tight.

As is nearly ALWAYS the case YMMV as the preamps and boards being used will without doubt effect the end result. In MY setup the top Rode's rule. As for the NT1-A, I wouldn't hesitate to use it where I wished to get a nice open upper register and super quiet output. Also, by the way, I checked out that gentlemans's site mentioned in this thread, who was using that Chinese tube mic. The guy from England? Anyway I must say for his setup and use it is sure doing the job. Sounds excellent indeed. So there certainly isn't just ONE opinion on a given product, nor ONE result for using any product mentioned. For me all I can say is I'm now a huge Rode fan, and will likely stay one. I don't fix what isn't broken....
 
roadwarrior said:
I had a associate bring over his relatively new U87 Neumann and AKG 414 over for a test run against my new K2. We used both through the TC-Helicon VoiceWorks just to keep things even steven. He readily admitted that the K2 ran rings around the 414 (which as no surprise was brighter and not as sweet and appealing in the upper mids).
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I am relatively new to looking at mics but do you know which C414 model was used? Thanks!
 
It was a 414B-XLII. He bought them both back in November of last year. I just got my K2 a week ago from Sweetwater. I think I'm pretty much done as I have a mix of mics now that give me about everything I care to produce from them.
 
Question, would you consider the K2 in an XY or figure 8 configuration for concert band or stage band recording? Also looking at the Davelectronics preamp for two channel minimal miking.
GT
 
lancebug said:
Having owned both, I believe that the mxl v67 is hands down a better male vocal mic at half the price new. I wouldnt like the v67 on a ton of other sources but it has no less utility than the NT1-A. There are other mics that are better utility than either of those as well for the same or less than the NT1-A. Not that the rode is a bad mic. I would consider it highly if noise floor were a central issue, but it hasn't been so off it went. For me it just didnt do one thing really well that I couldnt live without. I recently aquired a beyer m99 dynamic mic. This is an awsome male vocal mic, but you pay for the quality.
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agreed , but the question was about the nt1a and I usually find it to be very usable for male voc. that being said if you are recording a screamer I'd give him an SM58 and despense with a LDC altogether. just depends on your aplication (crooners require a u47) so on and so on.
 
petermiller said:
agreed , but the question was about the nt1a and I usually find it to be very usable for male voc. that being said if you are recording a screamer I'd give him an SM58 and despense with a LDC altogether. just depends on your aplication (crooners require a u47) so on and so on.
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I agree it is very useable as well. I just think I prefer the V67 and some others first. I guess the others are more expensive than the nt1a but my V67 was $30 used. You gotta admit for sheer value its pretty crazy.
 
It is comparing so well with high end super expensive so much microphones that the difference barely isn't even noticable! This is so true!
 
I have a NT1A and a NTK into a Focusrite Trakmaster with the digital card.

Very detailed and good on a lot of source material. Sometimes I also use a Beyer M88 on vocals when these Rodes don't suit.

These work fine and represent good value for a home setup.
 
I use a Rode NT1A through a Focusrite VoiceMaster Pro. Extremely sensitive and detailed setup. Very nice. :)
 
I agree with all of the last several comments. I think we are living in a wonderful time where there are far more choices than say just a decade ago. The V67 is an astounding value, as are so many of the Chinese offerings. About the ONLY thing I would say negatively about them is that they still lack the consistency from one copy to another. You can now buy 2 NT1-A's and they will be a near clinical match. Can't say that about most of the Chinese offerings, however if you get a good one, as I'm sure many have, they sure do "bring it" where performance is concerned. The whole argument about whether or not a mic is "good" or not is indeed more taste than actual quality in most cases. I don't cook with pepper all the time, nor do I use oil in all the foods prepared. Sonic choices are just the same. If you want a big bottom, crisp high end, air at the top without overly crisp sound, fat mids, tight bottom etc. a specific mic choice as well as a specific preamp choice will provide. THAT is what it is truly all about. If Rode brings one thing to the table that has NOT been equalled by ANY offering out there, it is their shear lack of self noise. A definite plus in many cases. Just my thought......
 
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