Unhappy with my NTK...

  • Thread starter Thread starter frist44
  • Start date Start date
F

frist44

New member
I just recently bought a rode NTK because of the all the good things everyone had to say about it. I must admit, i think i got a little wrapped up in the "tube talk". My idea of a warm sound wasn't exactly what the tube inside the mic had to offer.

After playing with mics and eqing tracks to my liking, i've realized my voice has alot of mids in it. Sometimes enough to be really annoying. With the NTK, the mids have been even more accentuated to the point where it becomes shrilly when listening back to the track. After several tracks of vox on different songs, the conclusion was that i needed a cleaner, more flattering sound from my vocal mic.

The other issue i had with the NTK was the background noise from the tube itself. On a few tracks it was extremely noticable, i had to start using gates and all that stuff.

I went to guitar center and talked with someone about my issues and he hooked up 6 mics for me in their studio.

NTK, TLM 103, GT --- (tube), blue baby bottle, blue dragonfly

I ended up going home with a TLM 103 even though he didn't recommend it, just from what i've heard from clips on here. the good news is that i can return in 48 hours, which i will do, but it was good to try it out.

I recorded a few tracks with it and directly compared it with the NTK and found the TLM103 more soothing for my voice without the tube noise. The mids were alot smoother and it was more pleasing to listen to. I'm going to return it tomorrow and pickup up the baby bottle, as he said it was much better than the 103, i guess i'll give it a shot, why not with the return policy.

My question is, is there a mic that you guys would recommend for a voice that's sometimes nasaly sounding to cut down on the mids and give a smoother sound?

Any help would be appreciated.

I will also welcome any offers for the NTK, it is 2 weeks old.

Thanks in advance,
Brandon
 
nasaly? sounds like you need to get some vocal coaching?

why don't you buy like 4 mics, and then return all except the one that sounds best? then you don't forget what the other one sounds like, and they don't start getting annoyed with you.

i think the Rode NTK is a little overrated.
 
I have an NTK and have been extremely happy with it. No way it is a noisy mic. I did hear a report somewhere on this forum that someone else got an NTK with a bad tube... if one slipped through I'm sure there may be more out there with bad tubes. Take it back and try another one... Rode are really good with customer service.
 
ok, so i may need some vocal coaching. I myself will be the first to admit there is much room for improvement in my singing, however, that's not atop of the priority list, so for now, it's making due with what's going on. I'm recording all my tracks and saving them with the same signal path so i'll have a good point of reference once i have brought home every mic that interests me.

let me clarify the thing about the noise...it's not loud enough to the point where it's annoying and loud. I can hear it when i solo the track, i think some of it has to do with where i'm recording and all the other crap in the room. I've had similar problems with my guitar direct in when i'm facing my DAW. But that noise isn't the reason i'm not satisfied with the mic. The midrange boost is what bothers me the most. Next to the TLM103, it is very apparent that the NTK accentuates those frequencies.

If someone were to come and record with any of you that had what is thought to be a nasaly voice with alot of mids, which mic would you first reach for to lay down vox?

Thanks,
Brandon
 
Ok so it seems the noise was coming from my pre and not the mic. I was using a mindprint envoice and a joe meek vc1, both of which displayed some noise in the pre-amp. I switched and tried my delta omni studio pres with an RNC and the noise was gone. I'm going to track a little bit tomorrow with both the tlm103 and the NTK with the same chain and see if there are any improvements.

Brandon
 
you know you're gonna end up keeping both mics. you'll fall in love with them both.
 
frist44,

You may also may want to check your cables. Cheap or bad cables (e.g. ProCo, Horizon, the "store brand") contribute significantly to noise. Take this from a guy who went the cheap route with cabling when he started out only to discover that quality cables allows the equipment to perform as it was designed.

If you're not using Monster, Mogami, Canare, Belden, Blue or some comparable cable, then you're wasting money buying those mics and using them with the cheap stuff.
 
The MXL V93 is actually great on nasally singers. It gives the voice a little more balls.
 
My NTK makes my so-so tenor voice sound like a a late-nite FM radio DJ with a bass voice... if I adjust my preamp to make it sound that way.
Maybe you're just not dialing it in properly with your preamp.

I love my NTK, it's an incredible sounding mic for the money.... and I think it sounds better the the TLM-103.
You're the first person I've heard that doesn't like it.
 
frist44 said:
If someone were to come and record with any of you that had what is thought to be a nasaly voice with alot of mids, which mic would you first reach for to lay down vox?
Click to expand...

Something with one of those midrange scoops. The C1 or the mxl v67 comes to mind. The Electovoice RE20 also comes to mind as an "non-honkey" mic.
 
more conclusions...

OK, so i recorded a little more today. The results:

I like the NTK better than the TLM103.

After changing the signal path to get away from the mindprint and the buzz, i felt like the NTK had more balls than the 103. Both mics still had the mid range that i wasn't so pleased about but i think it's more my voice so i could get around that with eq after tracking.

The idea about the cable is a good one. I noticed that there was some buzzing as i stepped on the cable and it shifted. I'm off to return the 103, buy the blue dragonfly to try out and a blue or monster cable for my vox tracks.

I'll be back with some thoughts on the blue.

Brandon
 
where might i find that kiwi cable for $35?

guitar center had it on sale for $50. i passed.
 
I just ordered a Blue Kiwi mic cable from Musicians friend (minuits ago) for $29.99. It's a quad cable, and from what info I could gather, it's very good quality. A steal at that price.....thanks for the tip C7Sus.
RD
 
So i brought the blue dragonfly home and recorded it against the NTK and all i have to say is holy shit...

This dragonfly thing is a gift from god. If took away all the edginess in my voice and smoothed it out. Because the annoying mids aren't there, the levels are much smoother and alot less silibant. Overall, this mic is much better for my voice than the NTK.

Looks like i'm gonna take it back to guitar center and buy it from someone i like.

God i love recording.

Brandon

**I'll be putting the NTK up for sale in the for sale section for those interested.
 
Alright! Cool!
So post it in the clinic frist, let's hear it!
 
I'm still wondering what tube(not to mention the maker) they put in the NTK. 12ax7, 12at7, 12ay7(6072a), 12au7 ??????
It helps to warm tube mikes up for at least half an hour, though you're probably aware of that. I have an SE5000(6072A) tube mike that does real nice for fiddle, and guitar, though I've not sung into it. It's my only tube mike, so far.
 
Oh my God, Frist.

You change your mind more times than a chick shopping for the right shoes. MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND, WILL YOU? ! !

:D :D :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top