RODE Classic

[jumpnyc]

Is this mic really a Neumann Killer. Someone used one on a record I am working on and they said if I didn't have one, to use a U67 with some added EQ for air. Another engineer confirmed this. IS THIS TRUE?????

[not_so_new]

Smooth it not used for Rode mic discriptions very often...

Now don't get me wrong here, I really like some Rode mics. So much so that I use a pair for my room mics (they really work well there.. for me at least) but I find them to be spitty on the highs and they don't take EQ all that well. For some sources they do rock...

But...

A Neumann Killer??? I just don't think so. I bet a Rode might sound good as a solo track, hell it might even sound better to some but in a mix (where it really counts) all that smilely low / high thing will bite you in the ass when you are trying to get a vocal to sit right.

Too many people that I have worked around put up an "insert any Neumann Killer here" and then solo the track then turn around with a smug smile. Who the hell cares what it sounds like on it's own??

In the track... where it counts.. there are very few Neumann Killers and a Rode just is not one.

Sorry....

[not_so_new]

Sorry to take over the thread for a bit...

Jay, very nice looking place you have there!!!

[jumpnyc]

Just to confirm your findings. The producer and engineer did a shootout to find a mic - choose the RODE (just listening to a solo performance) and are now upset with the way the vocal sits in the mix. In the mix is the most important. Thanks.

[Mind-Over-Midi]

Originally posted by not_so_new
Smooth it not used for Rode mic discriptions very often...

Now don't get me wrong here, I really like some Rode mics. So much so that I use a pair for my room mics (they really work well there.. for me at least) but I find them to be spitty on the highs and they don't take EQ all that well. For some sources they do rock...

But...

A Neumann Killer??? I just don't think so. I bet a Rode might sound good as a solo track, hell it might even sound better to some but in a mix (where it really counts) all that smilely low / high thing will bite you in the ass when you are trying to get a vocal to sit right.

Too many people that I have worked around put up an "insert any Neumann Killer here" and then solo the track then turn around with a smug smile. Who the hell cares what it sounds like on it's own??

In the track... where it counts.. there are very few Neumann Killers and a Rode just is not one.

Sorry....

Just wondering if you have ever used the Rode Classic? In your post you never really talk about the Classic specifically only the quality of Rode microphones in general. Any first hand experience with the above mentioned mic?

Thanks.

[not_so_new]

Got me there, not the Rode Classic...

I have a pair of NTK's, and I have heard / been forced to use NT1's, NT2's. I have not tried all their mics and I am sure the Classic has it's uses so I am not putting it down.

All of the Rode mics I have ever used have the same issues with sounding nice solo but never seem to sit in the damn mix.

You are correct, I have not tried the Classic (I hate when people here talk about things they have never heard and now I am guilty, my bad) so this one may be different but from my experience a really really good mic rarely sounds as good on first blush as the Neumann Killers do.

But my ear tires of these mics because they are missing... something.. depth maybe?? Crunchy but not spitty highs?? Fullness?? Something always brings me back to Neumann's, at least for vocals. That may change I am sure.

Anyway the Classic may very well be the true Neumann Killer but I would stick with a true Neumann (that is what they are aiming at for a reason right??).

For about the same price I can pick up a used u87 that I can trust to have a sound that will work in a mix (use them all the time and still love them reguardless of the flavor of the month club). Others may be better but I can TRUST an 87, at least an older well serviced one.

If you are looking at the Classic I think it would be very wise to check out a Soundelux, Brauner any number of great mics out there that get rave reviews in that price range (nope I have not tried any of these yet either so YMMV).

[not_so_new]

Originally posted by jumpnyc
Just to confirm your findings. The producer and engineer did a shootout to find a mic - choose the RODE (just listening to a solo performance) and are now upset with the way the vocal sits in the mix. In the mix is the most important. Thanks.

Yep, been there done that.

Still, sucks to find out at the end of the project. It can work in the end but it takes much more time and it is never quite right somehow.

[studjo]

I got a Roede Classic I and a Neumann U87. I got the Roede before I bought the Neumann. I used it very often. I liked it quite a bit and it did well.
But after I got the Neumann the Roede lost every shoot out . I really love the Neumann it's so easy to eq and it has this nice low end that the Roede is missing. The Roede is nice for room sounds sometimes and I really love it on soprano sax. I never record soprano sax with another mic.
For vocals it's the Neumann or the AT4050 at the moment (ok I'll upgrade my mics in the not so distant future)


Jo

[Slider]

I have a classic.
It's a nice mic.
It's pretty bright. Too bright on some vocalists.
I usually have to de-ess if I use it.
I really love it on drum room, and it's surprisingly great for rock mono acoustic guitar.
We did choose it over a M149 on the drum room not to long ago.
It was just more hyped and dirty sounding.
This could be great in the right situation.
The 149 was much more "true" sounding.
All mics are useful in the right situation.
It's good to have a bright mic around.
The Rode classic is kind of a discount C12 to me.

[not_so_new]

I agree, on drum room the NTK's are my go to mics. I say this all the time and people think I am nuts but they just have that something and I think Slider hit the nail on the head, they are hyped and dirty sounding. Great for messy drum room stuff that I love. Slap some "all buttons in" and instant vibe.

Does anyone know how the NTV compares to the Classic?
You never hear people talking about it so...........hum?


I have an NTV,87,U95,4050,414 that go against each other often and the NTV has held its own many times.
The NTV is real sensitive to sibilance but, if I have the vocalist turn slightly it is great.

I would also add that the NTV looks to be built every bit as good as the Soundelux inside. High grade caps, jensen tranny, tele tube.....I bought it used so I am unsure if the original owner moded it but, it is a solid mic by all accounts.
And the mount smokes the POS that came with the Soundelux.



D

[Ren Man]

Seems like we're always on the hunt for the "ultimate " microphone. Though we deny it we all know that there is no perfect mic, just different. The search for the ultimate is a flawed concept. Everything is relative to the situation, the music genres, the personal taste of the musician, engineer, producer, listener etc. I have a Rode Classlic. It's no better or no worse than any other mic in my locker, just different. I have M-149's, U87's, ifet7's, a Lawson L47mp, Microtech Gefell UM92s, etc,etc. Having a wider pallet of mics to choose from allows for more flexibility when it comes time to sculpt the sound. And by no means have I even come close to mastering microphone selection. I'd go as far as to say that the most important aspect of any microphone is the person using it.

[JayRnRPorter]

Well written.. i'll second that!
I do however appreciate discussing the fine details of each mics sound, hear some different opinions.
I would love to have every mic in my closet... i would use em all!

[Sen]

Originally posted by jumpnyc
Just to confirm your findings. The producer and engineer did a shootout to find a mic - choose the RODE (just listening to a solo performance) and are now upset with the way the vocal sits in the mix. In the mix is the most important. Thanks.

So how would you suggest one should pick a mic for a job?

[jumpnyc]

I guess you need an engineer and producer who also mix that particular type of music and have worked with a singer with a similar tambre who can immediately know which mic to use. I thinks it's just experience and everyone learned on this session.

BTW - I borrowed a beautiful U67 tube for the overdubs and that mic smoked the rode on this recording.

Moral of the story is - who the f**k knows what is up or down. Now that I have run years of sessions, you gotta know the gear you are using for tracking and how it sits in the mix, and there is some luck (I like to think of it as magic) that sometimes happens when the vocal chords, the room, the mic, the pre's, the energy are right. The takes are great, the mix is efortless - that's the best - THERE IS NO DIFINITIVE FORMULA YET My 2 cents.

[Mike Jasper]

Originally posted by dpasch
Does anyone know how the NTV compares to the Classic?

Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel once said in an interview with TapeOp magazine that the NTV reminded him of a Neumann U47.

Jasper

[DivineMusic]

most ppl always say the ntv sounds like the u47.
imo the rode k2 is a neumann killer. i say this owning a u87. i love the u87 but the k2 sounds better, sits in the mix better without eq. its one hell of a mike... the best $550 i spent in a long time

[88fingerz]

What's all this about "sitting in the mix"? What happened to using your trusty old ears to carve out (eq/compresion) a "sittable" track?

Want to hear a mic that helps a male vocal "sit" in a mix with minimal eq adjustments?

Try a Studio Project C-1.

Just my 8 bucks, Dean

[krs]

I'm guessing by the lack of mic list on your site that's your only mic?

[DivineMusic]

the c1 is cool but its no u87, k2 or rode classic
as my post said, With No eq the k2 fits better vocally than the u87 does imo

[88fingerz]

Gee Wiz Mr.(s) KRS,

You sure are challenged when it comes to guessing!

Hey....can ya guess what I'm thinking right aout now?

Happy Holidays none the less!

[Jack Ruston]

I've got a regular client (singer) who owns a classic II and keeps it at my studio, so I get to use it a lot.

It's perfect for him, on most songs, but not as great as I'd expected on some other people.

It is...

A quality mic.

A mic with a lovely rich warm low end, and airy highs.

A mic with a monster prescence boost at 14k or something.

A bit sibilant on some people.

Rather particular about who sings into it.

Not as "eq-able" as some mics....ie I'd rather add the top with my own eq rather than have it pre-added, and removing it and trying to put it back again with another eq obviously doesnt work.



Would I buy one?

No. It's total quality, but it's not been flexible for me. The massive top end thing is really limiting, and it's reminiscent of budget mics.

Having said that....

If you ever see one in a mic locker, don't discount it, because on the right person it will be purrrrfect.

J

[max cooper]

So how would you suggest one should pick a mic for a job?

I think lots of knowledge about how something's gonna work in the mix is the most important thing, however experimenting withe stuff you haven't used, or that you haven't used in a particular way can be inspiring..even if it doesn't work and you go back to the tried and true, it breaks things up a bit.

Another thing about mic shootouts is that just as volume = better to most of us, so treble = better to most of us. The only way I know if I'm gonna be able to use a mic in the long run is if I track with it and I keep the tracks. Shootouts have only confused me in the past.