should i keep my rode nt1-a?

[ohmicide]

i'm gonna get an re-20 or an sm7b somewhat soon but i was wondering if i'd be a good idea to keep the rode

i don't like it on male vocals, overheads, acoustic guitar, or for close mic cabs very much but i've found it to be somewhat useful for recording guitar cabs from far (kind of like a room mic) and female vocals

i was thinking maybe i would benefit from selling it and getting a different ldc or a ribbon maybe?

probably wont get more than $100 for it though

here's a couple of songs i recorded using the nt1-a

this mess.mp3 - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage
bonnie 1.mp3 - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage

[Chris Lago]

Sell it.

[Heartfelt]

If you won't make any significant cash with it, hang on it. It WILL work on something.

[asap audio]

NT1As sound fantastic on voices that have nice timbre and clean articulation. They're very revealing on weaker voices.
Same can be said of a U87.

Get an SM7B if you want to mask a rough, lighter voice.

Having both the Rode and Shure would cover a lot of ground.

[Stepwise Sound]

I think you should have a decent LDC in your collection. Even if you get an RE20 or a SM7.

Dynamics are better for some things, condensers are better for others.

Inevitably you will find that a particular mic is not right for the source -- so what are you going to do? Put up the other mic.

For $100 it is not worth it to get rid of the NT1A.

Say what you will about the NT-1A -- it is not a terrible mic! It will do the job. I suspect your preamps are not up to snuff.

As for your thought that the SM7 and SM57 pretty much sound similar, you are right. The difference is that the 57 is much more susceptible to pops and breath noises than the SM7. You will get a much more polished sound with the SM7. If you like the roughness, cool.

I had an RE20 for about a year (and selling it for the same price I paid for it used). I found that it seemed pretty slow and not great at capturing transients. I really had to work with the audio more to clean it up -- the tone was good but the performance was not.

The RE20 is really an older design. I think the modern day improvement, particularly if you want a good all around mic, is the Heil PR40.

[ohmicide]

Originally Posted by Stepwise Sound

I suspect your preamps are not up to snuff.

hah i've got an apogee duet and a ua dcs

and i know i need an lcd but the nt1-a just doesn't sound very nice to me

[ether88]

1st. I knew for a fact that lago would have already posted a "sell that piece of shit" post on here.

2nd.

i need an lcd but the nt1-a just doesn't sound very nice to me

It your studio, sell it for the 100 or so it'll fetch and put it towards a different LDC, or get a 58 with it and put that extra 20 towards a new LDC.

I dont mind the sound of it along with others, but if it doesn't sit well with you that's what counts.

[drewbonez]

I had one, used it to record an album with a male and female singer. It came out ok, but required ALOT of processing...granted I was using an mbox2 preamp at the time. I sold it on ebay, i think i got somewhere between 150-180 for it, including box, pouch and shockmount. Love my SM7, but now I also am in the market for a LDC, not sure if I want to go tube or not.

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by ether88

1st. I knew for a fact that lago would have already posted a "sell that piece of shit" post on here.

Good, and that should be a hint, especially from a guy who uses a Rode K2 on a regular basis, and who highly respect the company.

[ohmicide]

well after looking at this graph it only makes more sense why i think it sounds like ass

it looks more like a freaking landscape

[Chris Lago]

Check the K2 difference.

There's a K2 for sale for 500 in the classifieds, you should def check it out.

[Ludwig]

if your only gonna have the NT2 and SM7/RE20 then keep it as you will want it for female vox....it will own the dynamics in that respect

[eascholz]

With that frequency chart the K2 should advertise as a mic and de-esser all in one...

[ohmicide]

damn that's a pretty nice looking response the k2 has

it's a bit more than what i wanted to spend.. but i wonder how well it'd work on guitars

im also considering the c214

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by eascholz

With that frequency chart the K2 should advertise as a mic and de-esser all in one...

It handles the Esses very very well!

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by alehoe

damn that's a pretty nice looking response the k2 has

it's a bit more than what i wanted to spend.. but i wonder how well it'd work on guitars

im also considering the c214

The c214 is also a great microphone, I may buy one in the long run. Easier to setup and you don't have to wait for a tube to warm up.

[Heartfelt]

Aren't you gys aware that they smooth some of those charts out???

Rarely are they perfectly accurate.

[Stepwise Sound]

hah i've got an apogee duet and a ua dcs

and i know i need an lcd but the nt1-a just doesn't sound very nice to me

Cool. sorry when most people fail to mention their pres its because they are not good. my bad.

yeh looking at the freq chart for the NT1A i have to say the boosts are not at good places for vox... you really want 200 hz and 5khz -- or if its flat i'll do it myself with eq

i really dig the AT 40 series in LDC. great mics and the price is right.

[ohmicide]

haha no problem

it's all on my 'about me' so thats why i usually just skip that part. maybe id be a good idea to put some of the info on my sig for future reference

and about the 40 series.. i should wouldn't mind owning an 4047 or a 4050

or a 4060

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by alehoe

haha no problem

it's all on my 'about me' so thats why i usually just skip that part. maybe id be a good idea to put some of the info on my sig for future reference

and about the 40 series.. i should wouldn't mind owning an 4047 or a 4050

or a 4060

I have heard from people on here that they have switched from the 4060 to the K2 and were much happier with the end result (I did not say that, others have!). I have never used a 4060 on myself, but I have tried the 4050 and it sounds wonderful, and I find it is much better on vox than the c414 (new versions). I also like the c214 a lot more on vox than the c414, and I will be honest, I think for my voice, the c214 fits it a bit better somehow, even better than the K2, because it has added air and doesn't pick up the Ts, Cs Ks etc, which I have to De-Ess Fairly to get a good result..

[ohmicide]

Originally Posted by chrislago

I have heard from people on here that they have switched from the 4060 to the K2 and were much happier with the end result (I did not say that, others have!). I have never used a 4060 on myself, but I have tried the 4050 and it sounds wonderful, and I find it is much better on vox than the c414 (new versions). I also like the c214 a lot more on vox than the c414, and I will be honest, I think for my voice, the c214 fits it a bit better somehow, even better than the K2, because it has added air and doesn't pick up the Ts, Cs Ks etc, which I have to De-Ess Fairly to get a good result..

i might just have to look more into the c214 then. i haven't been able to find many clips with it being used though but i do like the nice words you give it.

[Chris Lago]

Acapella of the c214 (sorry, I haven't used it for full songs)

[ohmicide]

that sounds a million times more fuller and detailed than my nt1a

damn that just makes me want one more!

any idea how well it would work with female vocals and cabs?

ive onl heard a mix with it on female vocals but it was not very good

[Chris Lago]

This was recorded with the Art Digital MPA via SPDIF, telefunken tubes. I bet it would sound even nicer through my Apogee converters/pre. I'm sure it would sound good on female vocals. But! The K2 sounds awesome on female vocals so.

[aussie_techie]

Originally Posted by alehoe

i don't like it on male vocals, overheads, acoustic guitar, or for close mic cabs very much but i've found it to be somewhat useful for recording guitar cabs from far (kind of like a room mic) and female vocals

You have answered your own question.

Keep it for recording female vocals and cabs from a distance.
Once you get another LDC then you can decide based on what you hear.

In most cases graphs are pretty meaningless to a specific mic as they are a smoothed average of any production mic and they dont represent any one mic.

[rocksure]

I agree that for most male voices the nt1 isn't the greatest mic. However I use one sometimes as a second mic along with a small diaphram condenser mic on acoustic guitar and it does a pretty good job. I have also used it as a room mic when recording a drum kit and it worked quite well. There are better mics out there for sure, but I will always keep mine because there are times when an extra mic is very handy and there are far worse mics out there than these.

[aecio]

I second the use as a second / far mic.

I participate in an orchestral recording in which we used a lot of NT1s as spot mics for timpani, percussion and horns. Usually a meter or so from the source, pointed a little bit to the side. It came out great.

Too cheap to sell. I think you'll find a use for it.

[lobsty]

I wouldn't sell it... in fact - I haven't sold mine even though it's not my primary mic. I bought mine about 10 years ago and it still gets some use. Especially if you're only likely to get 100 bucks for it - it just doesn't seem worthwhile selling it. It'll still have uses such as drums, acoustic guitars, percussion, even some vocals.

[hello people]

Treasure it. NT1a's rule!

[music_food]

I'll second the call of getting a K2, but I wouldn't be so hasty getting rid of the nt1a. Although I prefer the SE2200 personally, the NT1a can still do a good job.