Rode NTK

I've been making music since i was 5 in one way or another, been recording since the age of 14, im 20 now. I am co-owner as well as an artist on independant lable Menace Records, www.menacerecords.co.nz

The Rode NTK is definately worth the money, nice warm clear sound, i've previously owned the Rode nt1-a, the rode nt2-a and the rode 2000 but none of these compare to the NTK. Excellent professional quality recordings.

I record in Digi Design Pro Tools LE 7.3

Primary listening equipment are two M Audio moniters.

I use the Rode NTK vacuum tube condensor microphone run threw the M Box 2, recording into Pro Tools LE 7.3.

I believe, after using alot of different microphones, that this is the best microphone in in the $0 - $1500 NZD price range, hands down.

The only let down is the fact that it is necessary to carry an additional power box in order to power the vacuum tube, which the earlier rode microphones don't come with. This makes it harder to set up and more difficult to move around but is a small price to pay for the sound quality it delivers.

9 / 10

I've been making music since I was in 8th grade, which makes it a little over 6 years.
I've been recording for approximately 3 years, starting out in high school, my band director made a class basically just for me and bought equipment for me to learn how to use, that year we bought a mackie onyx 1640 and a ppc g5 iMac

Now that I'm a college student, I have a macbook 2ghz core duo running DP (I'm not totally fond of DP) and an original motu 828 for 8 analog ins.

This is your typical tube driven cardioid condenser. I've had this microphone for about 2-3 months, and I've mainly only used it on vocals (i've been finishing up my band's EP) and its a great microphone, it definitley adds probably too much air, i think i'd like it even more if it was deliberately flat, because a de-esser or corrective equalization is definitely called upon in the studio usually. Other than that, this microphone sounds quite good and is definitely sensitive enough for ANY home studio.

The first thing I did when I got this microphone was set it up in the basement of my house, turned the gain up all the way, and recorded into DP, then I walked up to the 2nd story of my house (so there were two floors and all sorts of walls between me and the microphone, and about 25 feet or so of distance. I clapped a few times, and went back down stairs and stopped recording and played it back.... the microphone picked up the claps CLEARLY.

So anyway, if you're thinking about getting this microphone, then you basically should.

...Been playing guitars and writing my own music for 30 years, or so.
Home studio for 8 years.
I have a MOTU 408 mk11, into a PC (Sonar/Cakewalk)
Mackie board, Lexicon reverb, Event monitors, headphones, projects are checked on home and car stereos.

RODE NTK, condensor, comes with it's own power supply, and heavy toolbox -like carrying case, (big enough for a hammer drill!),cardiod pattern. Shock mount is NOT included!

I've only owned this mic for 2 days. I returned a Audio Technica 4040 finding out that mic returns are frowned upon. Guitar Center Gilroy accepted the return.
So far, I've re-recorded some vocal and acoustic guitar pieces.
Vocally, it captures my voice warmly. I'm very self-conscious of my own voice. and have been very happy with the results. I sing mainly tenor and alto range.
Recording my concert grand acoustic has been beautiful. I point it at about the 12th fret, 12" away. Apply a bit of reverb, voila !
Rich beautiful sounds from a small bodied guitar! I love it!

It did NOT come with a shock mount! What, another $45?
I was concerned that the power suppl would be noisy, but it's very quiet!

I have been making music for 15+ years, and have tried several microphones from many vendors (including the N word). I went to school for Audio Engineering for a short time. I am currently recording using CubaseSX 3 onto PC and listening with Tannoy monitors.

I had my heart set on a Neumann KM86, when I heard a Rode NTK. I knew OF Rode, but never tried on out. I heard it, loved it, and after reading many reviews, I bought one.

I am using the RodeNTK primarily for Vocals, but performs equally well on Guitars and Pianos, and brought out a very warm yet raw sound when recording brass instruments. When recording vocals, the only thing I needed to do was place some acoustical foam behind the singer, compress 2:1 and go. No EQ needed!

Generally I place the top of the microphone at nose level to the singer, popfilter about 2-3" back, and the singer 3-9 inches from the filter, depending on how close and loud they are singing. One sound I really really loved is I had a male singer sing loudly at a close range (mouth just an inch away from the filter)into the NTK. The sound I got is hard to explain Rich... Raw... a GREAT microphone I would have gladly paid double or even triple for.

This is not a good microphone for Cymbols and higher percussion instruments, but with a DB Peak of 150+, usable on snares and other drums.

Been making music for more than two decades. I wanted to improve my recordings so I attended RMIT University for Sound Production.

I record in a home studio, using Adobe Audition 1.5 for PC. I've got an assortment of mics, condenser and dynamic, and listen through Alesis Studio Monitors and Audio-Technica StudioPhones.

This is a valve (tube) condenser mic with a cardioid pattern. The pattern is not switchable, as it is on other Rode models.

I use this mic to record acoustic guitar, but primarily use it with a pop screen for vocals.

For years, I used SM57s and SM58s for all of my recordings. At RMIT, we used Neumanns, and after that, I couldn't go back to using my Shures for recording. I'd read about the Rode NTK all over the place, and it had the blessings of everyone but the Pope. So, I went to a big music store and had a bit of a try-out. I liked what I heard, and bought one.

In a home recording environment, it performs beautifully (though I do sometimes cut a bit of the 10kHz "air" that the mic adds in). A Neumann would not perform any better under these conditions, though in a studio with zillions of dollars worth of signal processing equipment, that may be different (personally, I think Neumanns are overrated and overpriced).

There have been heaps of "budget" studio-type condensers flooding the market in the past few years, but I don't have any experience with them, as I already have the NTK. I remember that while I was still at school, a Russian studio mic started hitting the market when I was first looking to buy a studio condenser. I asked the recording engineers who taught us if they knew anything about those mics, and they just laughed derisively. That was answer enough for me.

The NTK has performed well for me, and I would replace it if it were stolen or beamed up by aliens or something.

AxellaJ
http://www.axella.com

Making music since 20 years, in bands, some prof. studio experience but today more in private low budget studio.
I cannot understand the incredible comments and bad rating from Lemke. My experience: Rode NTK is very professional sounding and closely comparable (sometimes better) with Neumann mikro products (difference is price only! and guess, which price is the better one!!! NTK is half the price of Neumann competitive mikros)
Very good mikro for vocals !!!

Private Studio, experience on vocals only. Very rich and truth sound. Often equalizing is not useful or necessary, because NTK is given the best sound "naturally"!!!

I can highly recommend this mikrophone.

Sorry for my bad english (i am german)

Making music from 1986. Started recording about 1995. Now using the DAW with Luicid fromt end and Quested monitors.

LD condencer with cardioid pattern.
Bought it, tried to use it, didn't like it, got rid of it.
Built in preamp stage isn't really tube - it is solid state with starving tube in the signal path which is common these days.
The sound of human voice recorded with NTK has unnatural distorted component at around 7-8 khz, it does not sound like valve artifact at all. Also the mic is hissy like all cheap r0de products.
I don't recommend it.

been playin drums for 7 years and enough guitar to produce my own music, also sing...i have four sound cards in my computer..just 16 bit ones..but each is divided into two channels for a total of 8 siultainious tracks at once in adobe audition
i have an art tube mp, sound craft sx 20 channle mixer
audix fusion mic set for drums
oktava mk 319
sony v600 head phoness
and an sm 57
and my rode

tube condensor..used it so far on me playing acoustic and singing live, tried it on guitar amp and acoustic guitar..but i didnt mess around too long so i dont know what sound i can get
i chose this because i saw the reviews and jumped at the price i found it on ebay for ..350 used when the guy bought it in march, so its still under warranty i have the card and his recipt and everything
i dont know if its the rest of my equipment or what..but i cant really tell much difference between the rode and other mics i have..sounds better to use one of my over head audix condensers on my voice so far..but i havent messed around too much. i'll see..i've heard clips of other bands use the rode and it sounds amazing, this one band called the john shipes band has all the same mics that i have but they got everything to sound way better. it may be the room that im recording in, its just a bedroom, thats probably the main factor. from the samples i've heard others get with the mic, i highly recommend it. maybe later i'll be able to achieve that quality

I have been playing guitar and singing for about 25 years. I played cover songs for many years and have only recently started writing and recording original songs.

I have recorded live shows and basement jams for about 20 years using a Tascam Porta Two 4-track and more recently a newer Tascam 424MKII portastudio. I also started recording in the past few months on a Alesis Blackface which is owned by a friend. I am considering purchasing one of these ADAT's, or something similarly higher end in the future as they definitely provided much better results compared to the (trusty) Tascam.

I downmix using Koss headphones, floor monitors (12 + horn) and home speakers (JBL). I'll also test rough mixes on my truck stereo.

This is a large diaphram condenser microphone. It is cardioid pattern only. There are no roll-off switches or polar pattern swithes on this unit, making it a very simple microphone to set up.

I use the microphone for vocals, with a pop filter in front of it. I have it set up for live solo practice in my basement (guitar/vocals/drum machine). Due to its extremely sensitive nature, it feeds back easily in a live situation. I play fairly low volumes in the basement and eq it a certain way so I can avoid feedback there. I would suppose it could be used in a live band situation if you had just the right setup and monitor situation that avoided feedback.

I wasn't really familiar with condenser microphones so I researched the internet, and looked on eBay. I found reviews from the various recording magazines on the net. Every one of the reviews stated this was the best tube microphone in its price range (under $1000). I liked the features/specs of this mic as well as its price and that's why I bought it.

This mic is great for vocals (I have not tried recording anything else with it yet). I find it very clean/clear with a touch of color from the tube/circuitry. I find it's best used with headphones where I can really set the eq to my preferred setting without worrying about feedback over live speakers due to its sensitivity. This mic also seems to apply a bit of compression, evening out the level of the vocals if you are standing 2-6 inches from the mic. Compared to a dynamic mic, it does not have the same amount of drastic volume or bass boost when you get closer to the mic. That is probably why there are no roll off switches.

I am looking to add another one of these mics to my collection in the future mainly to record drums when I record with a drummer.

I am very happy with the clarity, color, performance of this mic. As stated in other mic reviews, no mic has everything for every application but for vocals (which I use if for) it is great.

Reviewer Background:
I have been a recording artist for the past 20 years in Brazil, South America (though seven of them spent in New York). Though I have several albums under my belt, both as an artist and producer, only recently, with the advent of digital recording, I could put a studio together. I use a Mac G4 733 with a 002 Rack running Protools. My main mic pre is the Avalon 737, with a Presonus Digimax for toms and Focusrite pres for the rest (when recording 16 channels all systems go). My monitors are NS-10's powered by a Hafler power amp. When you start putting mics in front of things yourself (something I have been only doing for two years now), you suddenly realize how every detail affects the recording chain. I set out to buy a nice tube microphone and the only one in this price range I could find was the Rode NTK, and I have never used a Rode before.

The NTK is a fixed pattern cardiod condenser, very well built and "German" looking enough to impress other musicians. It really gives the studio a professional look, actually it looks really nice. There is nothing to set, just turn it on, no pad, no other polar patterns, but considering its price, who can complain after hearing it in action? I use it for tracking the room when recording drums, then for acoustic guitars, small string sections and of course vocals, as my main mic (except when I track "Rage against the machine" type rock rap bands, I usually use a Sennheiser 421 or a Shure Beta 57A), most of the times plugged straight in the Avalon 737. What I do is pass the main cable (the very long power/audio cable that is shipped with it through the wall; I have several small pipes built in the wall between the monitor and tracking rooms), and plug the hefty, yet handsome power supply staight into the Avalon using a small but insanely expensive Mogami cable. Less cable, no patchbay, the better. At the end of the day it really makes a difference.

Once I read all the rave reviews about the NTK I had no doubt it would work for me. Of course I would prefer a Neumann, but at 2,500$ that would have to wait... In the price range of 500$ it is unbeatable, a no comprimise sound that rivals mics three times as expensive. I recorded several albums using it and nobody complains. Quite the contrary.

I love its sound, clear, present, warm (whatever that means) but you get the picture. But please use it through a decent pre, because it can not perform miracles. We all know that no mic can cover all bases, and the NTK is no exception.

For drums, I use it about 8 feet from the kit at waist level slightly pointed down. I compress it alot and slide the channel slightly under the rest of the drum mix to give it that ambient bite. Believe it or not I have been able to emulate to some extent that Bonham sound, but that of course depends on the drummer, remember, it can't perform miracles! Though tracked to one channel only (I have only one NTK), the stereo image of the drums is maintained through a stereo, panned hard pair of Audio Technica 4041's as overs about 5 - 6 feet apart and through the individual tom panning, with a Sennheiser 421 on each. With a top of the line, well tuned kit and a kick ass drummer, you can't go wrong!

For acoustic guitars, I place the mic at about 8 - 10 inches from where the neck meets the body, but depending on the bass response of the instrument it goes behind the bridge again 8 - 10 inches perpendicular to the body. Straight into the Avalon, just a touch of eq and mild compression and I have this beautiful even sound, the better the guitar quality, the better the sound. This is not a tranparent mic, but its personality is georgeous!. Sometimes I use it stereo with the AT 4041. Very impressive, wide sound. Once again, cables go straight into the pre's. No patchbay in my studio; yeah I have to crawl behind my racks more than often, but the definition of the sound is worth it.

For vocals what can I say? Depending on the singer it sounds amazing. But it doesn't work for everyone. There is a presence boost at around 10K that really irritates me, to the point of being unusable in certain cases. But hey, you can't have everything, but that is why I give it a 9. I feel that this boost wasn't needed, or at least not so pronounced!

Small budget, but need big sound? NTK is it, but please do yourself a favor and save up for a decent pre, then it really shines (Vintech Audio has released a clone of the 1073 Neve pre for under 1,500$). As my mic collection grows, I will eventually get another to have a stereo pair. Even bought seperately, Rode claims that the units are built to spec under intense supervision, so they shouldn't sound so different. Then again, I record rock, and loud rock, so it's not a minor difference between a pair that is going to screw up anything. There are no rules. But believe me