Rode nt1a

I record live concerts at a major university and do a decent amount of voice over work. I don't personally own mics that cost 2 to 3,000 dollars, but have used them frequently. I own a few mid-price range mic's that I use at home and do a lot of voice work with the SM7B (great broadcast mic). I run pro tools.

This is capable mic, especially considering the price. It definitely stands out compared with other less expensive mics. The high end doesn't sound as brittle and piercing as others I've heard in it's price range. I just did some tests with singing (my voice is a baritone, without a ton of bass in it) and I'm very pleased. I'm used to hearing my voice through a PA and I've been looking for a mic that didn't thin out my voice and I'm hopeful about this one after my tests so far. I stood about 12 inches from the mic with a windscreen. I had a decent input signal without the meter showing any noise and sound quality is definitely usable. This is probably why this mic has survived for a number of years, even though newer models have been released. I'm glad I spent the $110. They seem to hold their value, too, and I watched a number of these go for $140 to $150 used before I got this one (summer of 2009).

Been making music for about 20 years, started on a tascam 4 track

I Haved worked for many years in high end studios either as a musician or engineer, home set up is pretty modest though,
Macintosh G5 dual 2.0 gig with 5 gigs of Ram
Recording to Logic pro 8 and Pro tools 8 LE. Using an Alesis multiMix 8 firewire for Logic , MBox for Pro tools.Axiom 61 and Oxygen 49 Keyboard controllers as well as an Akai MPD24,
& Art Tube pre. Ibenez soundgear 5 string bass, fender jazz special four string, a tele, a Les Paul and an acoustic electric. digitech rp350 multi effects guitar pedal, Using a pair of Event 20/20 monitors.

I found the Rode NT1A to be a great buy for a mic in the $200.00 price range. But the price of the mic aside, Its still an over all great mic. Although its not switchable, straight out of the box it get the job done. I ran it thru an Art Tube MP (basic inexpensive tube pre) and cut a few vocal tracks.
The tracks sound pretty good but after I applied some eq and sight leveling the result was nice and warm and bright.
I also miked an acoustic and the result was also pleasing.
This mic feel lie a pro level mic, nice and study.
If you want a little more flexibility you might want to go with the NT2A, but this mic is good to go and not complicated at all.
I'd recommend it to anyone wanting a good sounding mic in this price range.

You can't get better quality for this price. I think it has a bit exaggerated low end, but nothing that equalizer can't fix.

I have been making music for approx 14 years. Mainly home recording, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano and vocals. I originaly started with the 4 Track Tascam Porta studio, but now have a Zoom MRS 1044CD (Which does a reasonably good job of home recording and demos).
I also use Cubase and Reason but still getting to grips wih these. I have worked with experienced guys who use Cubase and Reason and know a good job can be made if you know what your doing, but it takes time)
The mixer I use is the Yamaha MG10/2 which is ideal for the home user and also Tannoy Active speakers which sound fantastic. Recently purchased a Fender Deluxe amp (a bit too loud for the home (dare not turn it above 2), but great tone, which is more important to me than millions of effects. If you want good tone, stay away from anything but a valve amp (but that might just be me). Put a gibson or strat through this, and you will never need another amp.

It has taken years of patience, and a lot of money sometimes in persuit of that perfect sound on a budget. Trial and error can be expensive, but once I got my hands on the Rhode NT 1A I had to share my excitement. Hence writing this.
I have had this mic for about 24 hrs (its my first condenser mic) and it totaly blew me away. 24 hrs is not much time to base an opinion, but I know what my ears like, and this does the trick. I cannot beleive that it has taken me this long to find the holy grail, but this is it......i think.

Until recently all my acoustic guitar recording has been done with a semi acoustic, so I have not been looking for a mic. Up until now I have used a SM58 for vocals which does a decent job, but after purchasing a Martin Guitar with no electrics, I was desperate to get a good recorded sound from it.

Tried a Sure SM57 but hopeless (in my opinion) for picking up acoustic guitar. Very good for picking up the sound of the guitar amp though, and I am certain this is a great mic for drums also.

From the NT 1A, Clarity of sound is superb, and so far I am very happy with it. I havent tried other condenser mics, but for the money, you surely cannot beat this for a home recording situation.

How long have you been making music?

I've been making music in all styles as a drummer, bassist, keyboardist, vocalist, live sound engineer, and recording engineer/producer for almost 20 years.

What kind of recording experience do you have?

I've owned or co-owned project studios, recorded as an on-call session musician at several area professional studios, and co-engineered/co-produced several local artist albums.

What are you recording to?

My current project studio runs a Presonus Firepod setup on a hot rodded 3.4 gig studio computer. We run Steinberg's Cubase SX3, along with an ADAT for those who just have to run to tape, along with an OTARI stereo reel to reel. We also partner with another project studio for mastering that runs ProTools on a Mac g5.

What is your primary listening equipment?

We primarily listen through a very well taken care of pair of Alesis Monitor Ones, but have them set up to accommodate for their tendency to be a bit bassy.

The RODE NT1A is, quite simply, one of the best low cost mics out there. Of the mics in it's price range, it has the least amount of features, but the greatest amount of transparency from what's being recorded to either tape or DAW. DO NOT spend the money for a Behringer B2. You'll waste your money. It will simply not hold up over time.

This is the 2nd NT1 I've owned, and it does a stellar job on everything from drum overheads to acoustic guitars to violins to vocals. I have a friend that bought one for his wife's bluegrass group to stand around and play on live!

Are there other mics that have more features? Yes. In fact, RODE has several other mics to choose from, should you find the need for selectable patterns and padding. The shockmount is very durable, and the only problem I had with it was when I strung it up the wrong way, so the bands kept coming off. When I saw that it was operator error, I fixed it, and have had no trouble since.

I repeat: DO NOT spend your money on anything from Behringer's mic selection if you seriously want a quality recording. The RODE simply amplifies the natural acoustics of whatever room it's in, and whatever source happens to be in front of it. If your room tends to be boomy, so will your recording. If you EQ a bunch of low end out and add a bunch of high end on ANY mic, then ANY mic will hiss! Simply shape your EQ post-recording to match the input source, and it'l sound very natural.

No offense meant to the person that reviewed this before me, but I've been doing this quite a while, and I'll ALWAYS have a RODE NT1 in my mic arsenal. It's just that versatile and clean.

Own and operate a small recording facility ,
, blues player , multi instrument,
working musician

this is one of rode cheapest mic ,
i bought it a few years ago , c'oz back then there was a big buzz going on about those mic , and there quality,+ a hell of alot of publicity , at fist i liked it , it look and feel like a quality mic ,, but after having work with other products , it just does stand up , this mic has a boomy quality , if you work without eq you will hate this mic, it's not flat at all , no pad , the shock mount broke when a first installed it , not the hole thing just the tighning screw,
essetial part ,you would be better off saving you money ,for something else , like b2 from behringer , or audio technica . groove tube .