Rode NT-1000

I've been working in studio's for over 20 years, including
"U"neumanns (never felt like spending that money for myself).
before I start I want to say that 2nd generation Neumanns (u67,u47Fet.....)
ARE the best microphones ever built, but you will prefer
to buy a car insted of a microphone. Since Neumann has been
taken over by Sennheiser, they're selling on psychology more than ever.
I've tested the 800 bucks tlm103, and it containes ssssso
much ssssss that it becomes unusable for voices (one migh tbelieve that's the reason why a deesser was invented.)
I record digital with tube preamps, I mix with Wharefedale monitors,
I record with vintage Pickering headphones (most accurate I ever
heard, if it fails I shall have a big problem)

The nt1000 is a FET large diaphragm condenser. I had a few NT1A's
before, but I always felt like replacing them because of the
Bass Bubble between 80 and 200hz. Though it delivered me a full album
I always had to use EQ on it, and I never could make my sound while
recording plus it was too sensitive to be able to record enthousiastic
and louder voices without smashing in the limiter. I decided to go for the NT1000 after reading an
aricle about "Well built Things nowadays". I replaced an NTA with
this one, and ALL MY TROUBLE WAS SOLVED, I decided to replace all
the others after SPEAKING ONE WORD in the NT1000.
What you hear is what you get, and you're actually allowed to
SHOUT in that mike without overload, puts voices right in front
of the mix, no need to EQ.
Compared to neumann u87: DIFFRENT BUT SAME CLASS OF MIC'S
I think it's the straigt BASS frequency response. Note that
the Rode K2 has a bass bubble as well and therefor gets bad reviews
comparing to the NTK, which has a straight bassresponse and is regarded as "one of the legendary mics of our time"
It has an internal shock mount on the capsule, and compared to the nt1
NO CONTACT NOISE (no need for an external shockmount unless you think
it looks better).
I think that it's bad to take the cheapest models of a brand.
The nt1000 really won my heart. ten times cheaper and as good as
the expensive german traditional brand.

Making music for about 38 years now both Classical Vocal and Classic Rock (there's spread for ya..)

I've recorded everything from mis-sized ensembles to soloists.

Equipment I use is simple in the extream! Rode NT1000 and a Tascam 2488MKII, I'm thinking of maybe placing a tube preamp between them at somepoint but I like the Musician to make the music not the hardware..

If you dont sound good without the mic you wont sound good with a mic. All you'll get is louder..

My goal is to let the mic record as purly as possible.. The NT 1000 is Crystal Clear, Super low noise (although if you dont have your hardware setup correctly you will "ADD" noise!

I've used Neumans for recording on many occasions... I cant seem to find where the difference is.. The NT1000 is a supirior mic!

I have been making music my entire life. I learned to play cello in 3rd grade and played in our orchestra through high school. I later learned bass / guitar / vocals and now record mostly for my own band, Last Will.

I have done a few demos, but all has been home studio work.

I record to a Fostex VF16. I then dump the tracks to my computer and use Cool Edit Pro for mixing and final EQ'ing and general track cleanup.

I have used this mike in a couple different chains. My primary is running it into an Art MP2 tube preamp with OPL. This unquestionably the best configuration I have ever personally used. I also have used it with my Mackie 1202VLZ-Pro mike pre's and it sounds ok, but alittle harsh and dry. I got the same results from a Behringer mixer I was using at the time.

It is a large diaphram mike. You can check out their site for all the official specs.

I have used this mike for a few things. It really sings on vocals. I have used it for myself and a few other vocalists and with almost no eq'ing it sounds great! It is crystal clear and very detailed. Course, that is with the Art tube preamp. With the Behringer preamp it seemed to lose some of that life.

I also have used this on cello and acoustic guitar. It is easier to get a good sound out of the guitar. Cello, partially because I have played for so long, is tricky to get "that sound" out of and I think alot is to blame on my room.

Just for the fun of it I tried it as a drum overhead. Unquestionably awesome! It picks up cymbals perfectly! The added brightness really shines here. It is not harsh, either. It has a slightly cleaner sound that my AKG C1000's in stereo.

I also tried it on a distorted guitar amp, about 2 - 3 feet away and it sounded very good. I play primarily metal and was looking for a good tone for my cd. It actually sounded really well but wasn't exactly what I wanted. Would work great for leads and possibly clean.

If I had the money and was doing more recording I would buy another of these in a heartbeat. This is unquestionably one of the best mikes I've ever had the privledge to own. It is built really rugged but it is also rather large and heavy, so it limits some of its versatility. But, hey, its a large diaphram, its going to be big. I love it and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a great sounding mike for not a ton of money.

I've been making recordings for a couple of years. I'm a college student studying music media, and recording is my area of specialization. I record to Cubase. I have Behringer Truth B2031A monitors.

This was my first nice mic. I chose this because of the great reviews. It has kind of a brighter edge, and I've used it with success on acoustic guitar and some vocals. I think it's good for string instruments because it's clear and you can hear what's going on in the high frequencies. Ultimately, it's not my first grab for lead vocals, because it lacks warmth and that solid midrange. I liked it as a kick woof mic, placed a few feet off. It's not that warm, but it's reliable, noise-free, and has a clear top end.

I'm a keyboard player (12 years) with 4 years of home recording experience, with a humble setup consisting of a Delta Audiophile 2496 card, a simple computer, Cubase SL and a Mackie 1202 VLZ PRO mixer. My listening equipment is a modest home stereo system - no monitors (wouldn't help anyway in my untreated room ;)).

The Rode NT1000 is a large diaphragm condenser mic. It's the only condenser I have. I bought it just to get started making music - I didn't want to make a 5-month study of the market, I just jumped in and bought one. I use it on male vocals and acoustic guitar only.
I got some nice results with this mic, but now as time wears by I feel I'm outgrowing it. In particular I am bothered by terrible sibliance and 'brittle' high frequencies, if that makes sense to anyone. Some people might call it "silky" because of that, but that ain't silk to my ears. It may be because of my crappy Mackie mixer's preamps - I will be getting a better preamp soon and will update my review if I notice any difference.
Had I had to make my decision all over again, I'd probably have gone for a different mic - maybe a studio projects large diaphragm. I also hear Shure makes excellent LD mics (KSM27 springs to mind), or maybe I'd make a stretch and go for a Blue Baby Bottle (~ 500$). The Rode NTK is also a good mic but somewhat more expensive.
I hope my review helped you make your choice!

- How long have you been making music?
Over 20 years

- What kind of recording experience do you have?
Lots... started out with cassette-recorder and reel-tape-machine as kid, upgraded to 4-track fostex in my youth, heavily into daw-stuff since audio for the atari became possible...
doing recording live and in the studio: classical, big band, all kinds of pop and rock-bands. producing music for theaters, last year vocals that i recorded (with an nt-1000, you guessed it!) appeared on prime time national tv in germany.

- What are you recording to?
see answer no2... computer with recording software.

- What is your primary listening equipment?
adam audio p11a active monitors (killer, check them out... rave reviews in all european mags, and rightly so!)... the notorious yamaha ns 10m too of course

- What kind of mic is it?
pretty obvious... see other reviews

- What are you using the mic on? What kind of placement?
mostly vocals, some accoustic guitar too, and as an addition to the quintessential sm 57 on guitar amps... pretty much anything, placing depends on the need.
recently i acquired a second one and used the pair as room mikes for tracking a big band - nice, nice, nice!

- Were you considering any other mics instead of this one? Why did you choose this one?
a lot of people raved about the studio projects c1 one so i got me a pair of those too. sent them back soon. the built quality is just not on par - shaky parts and lots of noise interference. while in a similar price range the rode just destroys them quality and sound-wise.

- What are your favorite aspects of the mic? Any areas where it falls short?
like the specs (super low noise) and the f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c build quality as well as the basic sound. it certainly has the special "rode-sound" to it, with a obvious bump in the upper midrange as well as slightly exaggerated highs. i for one like that but if you don't like this special character that might be the big shortfall for you.

- Would you recommend this to others? Only for certain applications?
highly recommended, turned a lot of people on to rode mics!

We're recording hip hop music in a home studio for some years now and we strive to achieve professional results with as little money as possible.

Rap vocals recorded using NT1000 cut through the mix like a knife. It rules. Buy it or die.

I've been playing and singing for some thirty years now and I've worked in the electronics industry for the same amount of time. I know music and understand gear very well. I've been working with computer based recording for just over six years. Even with technical training it has been challangeing. The software and hardware, both computers and mics and preamps have gone through growing pains and continue to do so but to a somewhat lesser extent. Alot of software and hardware just never lived up to the claims. All my recording equipment has been modified by me to improve its performance. I have the benefit of an electronics lab with all the parts and equipment I need to make modifications.

I own the Oktava Mk-319 and the CAD M177. Both of these mics I was able to improve the performance of by making modifications to them.
The NT1000 is a mic that req'd no modification. I am a fussy person with good ears and I find this microphone to be of a true high end professional grade right out of the box. My modified mics still can't touch the NT1000. It is in a quality class all it's own for it's price. The better your preamp, the more you will be able to hear the detail this microphone captures. I've owned the Shure KSM27 and, although it is a good mic, it's quality was very close to my modified M177. Though they cost the same, the NT1000 still bested it. The NT1000 records vocals, electric guitars, and acoustics very well. If you are on a limited budget this would make a very repectable jack of all trades microphone and is a better alternative than buying two or three cheap mics. You must keep in mind that sounding really good is more than just a great mic, it's the whole chain combined with your own knowledge and experience.

I do homerecording since 1997 with Cubase. My equpiment are some synthies, a TL Audio 5051 Voice processor and a computer. The style of my music is Pop/Rock. I use the NT-1000 mainly for vocals (singing).

The microphone has a very balanced sound over all frequencies. It doesn't need extrem equalizing to adjust the sound to the individuell settings of a singer. It sounds very warm. I tried this mic also with an acoustic guitar and the results are not bad but for this purpose i use a mic with a little diaphragm. The NT-1000 is really a good micro for the price of 300 EUR.

My experience is about 15 years. Most of my work is audio for video, location sound, and some music. Currently I'm using Digital Performer on a Mac G4 with a MOTU 896 interface. Mic pre is a ART TPS, monitoring is through Samson Resolve 65a monitors. I know this is not the most high end set up, but it serves me pretty well and give me a lot of quality for the buck.

Rode NT1000 - Cardoid Condenser I was looking for a "all arounder" mic. I knew I would be using it for voice overs, acoustic music, and general studio applications. Looking for something nice, but not the price of a U87, I listened to this mic and was really impressed. The best word to describe it is "nuetral". Things like acoustic guitars have lots of detail and depth. Also, this mic has very little noise floor. I've found in male voice over recordings that it's a little heavy in the low mids 300-500 Hz. I've been really pleased with this mic.