Hi

Any one here who can tell me their experiences with this microfon? Is it a good mic, and........what jobs would you use it for?

Cheers

 

Last edited: May 5, 2016

Nice and silky on vox and well focused especially for that upfront vox sound. Sits well with broad range of acoustic instruments the reference chart gives you a picture on what to expect.

Make sure like all large diaphragm mics that the room you will be using isn't too live, these mics are very sensitive even though you have 3 pick-up patterns to choose from.

Also it goes without saying 'Use A Decent Preamp' it goes a long way


More info/ Specs etc at their site.

Cheers

 

Last edited: May 6, 2016

Best thing is to swap the tube for what they intended to emulate: E88cc NOS Telefunken tube. Big improvement. Next step would be to change the capsule for something better. Look up Tim Campbell (AKG C12 CLone) best in the world.

If you really wanna go crazy:
http://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=51377.0

Let me know how it worked out!

Peace!

 

Low to Mid range Condenser. Used one they pretty good as are most Rode mics.

A lot of people say its quite harsh at the high end so can lead to sibilance problems etc especially with vocals which is what Condenser for really. Well that & other acoustic instruments etc but not a bad mic

Main competitor in that price bracket is the AT4040.

Many people rate that Mic much more highly for vocals and especially things like Acoustic guitar so give that one a check out also. I haven't used that one myself .

The Rode K2 a step up in price but an excellent mic.

Of course next step unless you already there like The-Robot mentioned is Pre-Amp which can cost a fortune but doesn't always
Don't blow it up as I have before with a mic was not impressed

Good Luck

 

The NT2A doen't have a tube...It's not a tube mic Great mic, It's one of many in my arsenal...

p5ych0

 

Amazing Mic. One of my go tos for vocals.

 

Very nice mic, used it for vocals and acoustic guitar many times. As mentioned above, it can be very sensitive and picked up our guitarist taking a dump in the next room haha. We left the "toilet flush" in the final take!

 

First off, you probably do not need any other polar pattern besides the cardioid, so you could immediately save yourself over 100 bucks and get the NT1-A which is the same mic with only a single capsule. But if you want to spend the same cash why not buy a microphone that is really twice as good. I highly suggest, and I have said it before, the 3U Audio Warbler Mk II D will eat it for breakfast. It is manufactured with much higher quality components and incredibly has no sound of shattering glass sibilance like all cheap condensors like the NT line of Rode do. The three different voicings switch will give you what amounts to three different mics so your options for different colors is really, really cool to have. You will enjoy it for vocals, guitar and anything else, from percussion to bass guitar to the sound of a guitarist taking a dump from another part of your house. From the website:

Switchable bright sound styles: Voicing 1, Voicing 2 and Voicing 3

. Fixed cardioid pattern

. 34mm center terminated externally polarized pressure gradient condenser capsule

. Single gold sputtered large diaphragm

. Hand-assembling capsule and hand-soldering PCB

. Vintage style 9.5: 1 transformer

. Low frequency roll-off switchable between flat and 120Hz

. Selectable pre attenuation: 0 or -10dB

. Fully discrete 'Class A' circuitry with high quality electronic components on signal path including Fairchild FET, Dale resistors and Wima capacitors

. Three years full manufacturer warranty

It is really a fantastic mic and I guarantee that you will that you will be able to capture better audio with it than without it. Do your own research on other audio sites and see for yourself.

http://www.ebay.ch/itm/3U-Audio-War...258478?hash=item1a0f43e8ee:g:aN0AAOSw5dNWtGp2

Your welcome.

 

But one of the reasons this is one of my main "go to" is it is so versatile with variable patterns and pads. Sometimes, a fig.8 pattern sounds great, if you can avoid background noise. Personal experience has told me experimenting and tinkering is fun with this mic. Not my favorite for my voice, but it might be my choice for somebody else's voice. I can tell you if you pad it and put it on an 18" floor tom, it will sound like God's main drum. My most versatile mic, after an SM57. Rode warranty is much better, and their customer service was good to me the one time I had a question. Some people modify this one with a different diaphragm. I can also tell you that running it through a pre-amp with variable impedance will make it shine.

 

As always, very sound wisdom coming from sunshine here.

Take it from a guy who owns an NT1-A and an NT1 2014 model. They're really nice mics for the price - unless you have a potentially sibilant source. Then they are just utterly unmanageable. I've spent hours trying to smooth the jagged edges of those mics' 8-11 khz range without smushing it to a lisp. It's not easy, and depending on how it was captured, it's not always possible.

 

@rhythmatist...Definitely having the options of multiple patterns can be great. Mid/side processing is a fantastic way to create a mono compatible stereo image image, and access to omni pattern can use a nice room as a way to create space in a mix or to nullify the proximity effect for a vocal if it works for that particular voice, however, as Cav Emp reiterated, sibilance can be a troubling royal pain with this and other capacitor mics, the nt2-A a case in point. As an instrument mic I feel it to be an OK tool, but I believe there are better choices to be made at this price point for a beginner to gain experience with until they are ready to spend a bit more. Even then...I know a seasoned recording artist that jumped from one pricy mic to the next in quest of a tool that forgave his sibilant delivery only to come to the stunning realization that it had everything to do with him and not the mic. Gusheng's 3U Audio microphones hit waaaay above their weight and have been voiced to deemphisize the 7k region and hence combat sibilance in many singers. Ribbons are great too, but you know that from your Cascade Fethead purchase.

 

follow up. Agreed, this mic has a tendency towards harshness in the mentioned frequencies. I have found I can take some of that out by adjusting the impedance. Some of that same "brightness" is what allows it to really capture attack on drums, probably. For vocals, I like my Blue Reactor, but it has no pad. If I were going to use NT2-A as my main vocal mic, I would modify the diaphragm for another $100. Have been thinking about it anyway, because that's just my nature-to tinker. No non-human animals are harmed during my experiments.

 

Thanks for all replies/feedback - some better than others ..... this NT2-A is indeed not a tube mic

I mainly bought it so I could record space reflections in huge rooms and its pretty good for that purpose... tested it a bit with piano, guitar and percussion and I like the way you´re able to isolate reflections from the room you record in with the filters!

Got it second hand for 165 us (never really used), so I guess it´s a good buy!

I need to do some more investigations

NB: Some thoughts regarding changing the tube in a tube microfon........... What do you really achieve by doing this??? Referring to this article from Røde website:

Cheers

 

Be sure and let us know here in the community if you get a tube mic and your experiences with it. Some of us here are transducer heads (check out my gear list on my profile). Lot's of A/B comparisons and reviews out there. I have been threatening to build my own tube mic from a kit, or Sweetwater has an Avantone package on sale. Depends how much money you want to spend. Tube driven mics tend to be a little pricier. Quality tubes or upgrades are usually worth the money. Cheap tubes are unstable and don't last http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CV12Pack

 

go for an Aston mic (new but old brand, they are people ex-sE Electronics behind sE 2200II and X1), far better.
but I suggest to always try before buy a mic and/or a monitor... it's so subjective.

 

Looks like it can take a good beat: watch 5:47

 

Last edited: May 7, 2016

My bad!! You are right :S I read things a bit too hasty.

 

I love this concept. I'll check this company out as I LOVE innovation

 

I have heard that most of what you are paying for with the Aston is hype and marketing. It looks cool but that isn't probably what you are buying it for. A while back I heard a shootout with another (I wish I could remember) mic comparatively priced and the Aston didn't fair so well. Same thing in this video which is apropos for where this conversation has headed. To me the Rode captures the voice with more presence and without the wooly undertone of the Astons, although the Origin sounded better to me than it's sibling, the Spirit.

Have a phantastische phloopyful evening.

 

Sorry, I thought I had pasted this video on my previous post...