Rode makes great mics, I've had 4 or 5 from them over the years... For VO, even the NT1a would probably be enough for you. As always, best to find a way to try the mic before you buy. Borrow from a friend, go to a music store, etc... Then buy it used.Thanks for the replies folks!
I'll be plugging this into my audio interface - a Steinberg UR22 - which I believe does have phantom power.
Interesting that I should maybe NOT be ruling out the Rode NT2A - which up until this forum post I rather had done.
Any further thoughts?
Agreed, I have the AT4033a and use it for all VO work - love it.A company that is rarely cited, but makes reasonably priced good microphones, is Audio Technica.
Paolo
Wow - ask for advice 2 weeks ago and then go AWOL - nice move. The online equivalent of starting a conversation and then walking out the door. Hope the NT2A works out for you.Gah! Missed out on the recent flurry of activity on this thread and a couple of days ago I bit the bullet and went for the Rode NT2A.
In light of the recent, enthusiastic suggestions of other mics, I hope I haven't made a mistake!
But I'm not going to think about that for the time being.
For now I need to find a good boom arm for the NT2A.
Any suggestions?
I'd been thinking of keeping things Rode and going for their PSA1.
But I hear that the NT2A is a bit too heavy for it and it can... droop!
Can anyone suggest a good boom arm for the NT2A that won't have this problem.
Don't really want to spend more than £60.
Thanks
Hehe! I asked at the start of the month. There were a lot of immediate responses some of which were supportive of the NT2A. Then the topic went dead - til yesterday!Wow - ask for advice 2 weeks ago and then go AWOL - nice move. The online equivalent of starting a conversation and then walking out the door. Hope the NT2A works out for you.
Yep - fair enough! Rode mics are a quality purchase, and I've also read good things about the NT2A. Can't offer any opinion re the boom arm I'm afraid.Hehe! I asked at the start of the month. There were a lot of immediate responses some of which were supportive of the NT2A. Then the topic went dead - til yesterday!
So actually it's the online equivalent of starting a conversation, listening to all the wise and reasoned responses, walking out of the room with a sense of resolve after the topic seemed spent, then a load of different people coming into the room 2 weeks later and kicking about some new opinions!
But all is good!
Any thoughts on my boom arm query?
Man, I stumbled on an absolute killer recently - the MXL CR89. A friend of mine who is a highly respected engineer in Nashville wrote a pretty glowing review on it in Pro Audio Review, where he put it up against a Sony C800G - an $8000 mic - and the MXL held its own. There's also a decent A/B comparison on youtube of those two (take it with a grain of salt of course, but it's pretty well done).
Having used it for almost a year now, I concur. I have been choosing it quite a bit over mics many times its price (currently just $189 on Amazon - normally closer to $300). It sounds gorgeous and is possibly the quietest mic I've ever heard - almost imperceptible noise floor.
Anyway, it's worth checking out!
interesting
Yep. I may risk credibility with some of my engineer friends, but I think the days of needing to spend $$$$ on mics are over. And I don’t care what they think - the results I’ve been getting back it up. But to be fair, I’d be upset too if a $300 mic sounded as good or better than a $20,000 vintage investment
I just produced a big record for a 3-time consecutive #1 artist in his genre, featuring a few household-name vocalists, and this mic is all over it. I’m gonna grab a second one while they’re only $189 - that’s just stupid to pass up.
Yes and no, Jim. There are too many ways for an engineer to assess a mic to validate your statement.
Just for starters:
1. Build quality. How good are the parts, how precisely and consistently are they made and constructed, how likely are they to last?
2. How many different kinds of sources do they accomplish tasks for well?
3. How well will they hold there resale value?
For instance, my voice sounds better on an EV RE 20 than more expensive Neumann condensers. That doesn't make it "as good a microphone for $500 as a $3500 U47." It just makes it better for my specific purpose.
I think we live in an era where people rate their own experiences over empirical evaluation. I don't.
I totally get that Jay, and agree overall. And of course anything like this - whether mics, studio monitors, etc. - is highly subjective. Our ears and brains all work and interpret differently. I was just speaking purely in terms of sonics between the two mics being compared.
Yes indeed, there are certainly other factors to be considered, like build quality, resale value, etc. - although in this particular case that is another aspect that really surprised me - the CR89 is built like a tank.
But that aside, strictly speaking of sonic character alone, my point was that it is possible to get world-class results from a $300 mic. There’s certainly something to be said for investing in a great mic, but price is no longer a barrier to excellence purely in terms of sonics.
So yeah, I absolutely agree with your points - I was also just coming at this from the perspective of the thread title - “decent cheap mic.” Hope that makes sense
Understood. I am just as usual pushing back against feeding the “If I like it as well or better it is therefore as good or better “ nonsensical egalitarianism that is the currency of the realm these days. Sometimes expensive things are expensive for good reasons.