R0DE NT5 Matched Pair - Your Opinion

[indietaperwloo]

I'm thinking of getting an open rig using a pair of R0DE NT5's and a Fostex FR-2LE.  What do all of you think about this?

[Teen Wolf Blitzer]

Consider the Busman mics or Avantones or Studio Projects C4's.  The deck is nice.

[NOLAfishwater]

I would save up some extra cash and go for the Busman mics. You get 4 different capsules: omni, cardiod, hyper card, and sub card $450. The NT5's have a fixed cardiod capsule $275. NT5's were my first pair of microphones. I made some good recordings with them running XY. To me they sound like a KM184. You should also consider have your FR2LE modded by Busman or Oade Brothers, as you will see noticeable improvement in the preamps head room and internal noise level. You could alway go for a pair of Church Audio mini microphones and have chris build them terminating in XLR so that you could run them directly into your FR2LE.

[rastasean]

Very few people as tapers here seem to like these mics but I chatted with a nice lad by the name of ArchivalAudio who said that they are a pretty decent pair of mics. Personally, I want to buy a pair of these over C4s because they are Rode mics. BH sells them as low as $315 for a pair, while C4s are around $400. I also know NOLAFish (or something similar) owns a pair. There are many recordings made with these pair over at archive.org Go have a listen!

[digifish_music]

...The NT5's have a fixed cardiod capsule $275. NT5's were my first pair of microphones. I made some good recordings with them running XY.

Actually it's not fixed, you can swap capsules on the NT5, Omni capsules available. Screw off/on.

http://www.rode.com.au/microphone.php?product=NT5

I have a pair and an NT4 with the same capsules. They sound great. As noted the tapers around here seem to have different tastes. I use an NT4 quite a bit for field recording.

http://www.rode.com.au/microphone.php?product=NT4

digifish

[Belexes]

I would save up some extra cash and go for the Busman mics. You get 4 different capsules: omni, cardiod, hyper card, and sub card $450.

$525 now.

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,96832.105.html

[jacobmyers]

 For the price, the NT5's are pretty much as good as you're going to get. I was debating between paired NT5's and an NT4. It's probably going to sound strange to some of you, but I really needed the versatility of the NT4. Yeah; a fixed 90*XY is "versatile" where I come from and it's fair to say that I'm quite fond of my NT4.

I've done location recording (amplified concerts, interviews, environmental sounds) with it paired to a Sony MZR700. I've had nothing but good results from the microphone itself. The MZR700, on the other hand, has seen better days (dropouts, disc errors - cleaning doesn't help). So I'm currently shopping for a solid-state recorder. But that's a story for another thread.

The NT4 (and, one would presume, the NT5) is a giant leap up (in both quality and price) from the Sony MS907 I had been using. I've used the NT4 at home to record band rehearsals, self-released recordings, and group discussions. It's mono-compatible, which comes in handy for recording vocals (or you can leave them in stereo). I've even thought about shockmounting it to the ceiling of the rehearsal space (to keep it in one place) and then moving equipment in and out of the space to multitrack (also another thread - maybe another board - definitely worth trying). The NT4 is the Swiss Army Knife of microphones, as far as I'm concerned.

The only problem I've had with it is finding a decent outdoor windscreen for it. Dead kitten?

[digifish_music]

  The only problem I've had with it is finding a decent outdoor windscreen for it. Dead kitten?

Yes that will work, the one that is designed for the stereo-video mic slips over the foam windscreen.

BTW: I use my NT4 in a blimp when outdoors. Great mic, the convenience of the NT4 makes it very pleasant to use.

digifish

[RebelRebel]

Tony Faulkner(google his name and you will have some idea of just how well he is regarded in recording-engineer land..being one of the greatest engineers around) speaks very, very highly of Rode mics,in an email to me(I got permission to post his reply:) (the question was what is his favorite pair of SDCs, his desert island pair)


[i]"My favourite small diaphragm omni is the Rode most probably.  There's a surprise.  They do an omni capsule for the NT5, NT55 and NT6 - it's very good and very omni.  If you want something more politically correct and less omni (i.e. more directional, which can be useful in the real world) I'ld suggest the Schoeps MK2H or DPA4003".[/i]

so there you go...

[wheresjerry]

I have both the NT-4 and also recently purchased SP C-4's and have been really happy with both purchases, and have pulled decent recordings using both.  I went w/ the NT-4 because it was my first mic, and being a fixed stereo pair, fool proof.  The C-4's have more room to play with placement (and user error), but do come highly recommended with others here.....good luck!

[Charlie Miller]

The NT5's are not designed for audio recording. They are great for drum overheads though. I wouldn't use them for anything else.

[RebelRebel]

The NT5's are not designed for audio recording. They are great for drum overheads though. I wouldn't use them for anything else.

if they arent designed for audio recording, do tell just what they were designed for.  I would venture to say that with any decent microphone system(Rode certainly qualifies) the ability to get good results is limited only by the [in]competence of the person that is using them.

Are these blurbs from the manufacturer, and comments from Tony Faulkner and Bruce Swedien (Tony comments are quoted above, Bruce Swedien comments can be found on Gearslutz among other places--he uses them for acoustic guitar micing..if those two arent qualified enough to comment on microphone theory and application, I dont know who is.)  null and void?


http://www.rodemic.com/microphone.php?product=NT5
intended for recording acoustic instruments, drum overheads, cymbals and live performances, the compact externally polarized mic employs a 1/2" capsule, an active J-FET impedance converter with bipolar output buffer.

[jacobmyers]

  The only problem I've had with it is finding a decent outdoor windscreen for it. Dead kitten?

Yes that will work, the one that is designed for the stereo-video mic slips over the foam windscreen.

BTW: I use my NT4 in a blimp when outdoors. Great mic, the convenience of the NT4 makes it very pleasant to use.

It did look like the "kitten" was the right size to fit over the boxy foam that Rode includes with the mic. Thanks to your comment, I did a little digging (and listened to some of your "walk around" recordings) and a blimp really does sound (literally) like a good solution to wind noise. I may wait for Rode's blimp, if it ever makes it to production (and -more importantly- if the price is right). Most of my recording lately has been done indoors (Michigan winter) so wind noise isn't a big deal at the moment. I do have a definite outdoor gig this summer but it's not exactly paying the bills so I'm not too worried about it. Maybe I'll make a trip to the fabric store and look for some faux fur to experiment with building my own "feline".

The NT5's are not designed for audio recording. They are great for drum overheads though. I wouldn't use them for anything else.

if they arent designed for audio recording, do tell just what they were designed for.
<snip>

Sorry, Charlie, but Teddy's spot on. Judging by the gear in your sig, you've heard some pretty good stuff. Good for you. But maybe the OP isn't looking to drop $1k+ on a pair of microphones. Interestingly, you call the NT5 a "great" drum overhead. And my experience says that if a microphone is capable of accurately capturing a drum kit, you can record pretty much anything (up to and including amplified music) with it and be OK.

And, as for Teddy's second statement, I completely agree. A shitty recording made on "great" gear (and I've heard quite a few) is still a shitty recording. But a great recording made on mediocre gear takes talent (or, as Teddy wrote, "competence"). My personal take is that, if you can get the same sort of quality out of the NT5 that I can out of my NT4, a matched pair (in good hands) is worth every penny of $315 (when compared to anything I've heard or read about in the sub-$500 price range).

But if you have more disposable income, there certainly are "better" microphones to be had. The Busman pair mentioned above definitely doesn't sound bad (and comes with multiple sets of capsules, a T-bar, shockmounts, etc.) - in other words; the kit is a bargain at $525 (or whatever he's charging for it). The best advice I can give is to search archive.org (or whatever) for recordings made with a rig similar to the one you want to use. Listen to them. Then listen to stuff recorded on "better" microphones. Decide for yourself if the (generally small) difference is worth the (generally large) additional cost. Good luck!

[digifish_music]

But if you have more disposable income, there certainly are "better" microphones to be had.

Yes and no.

Yes there are better mics than a pair of NT5s or NT4.

But the NT4/5's are of professional quality, quiet, and make excellent recordings. More money buys different sonic character (which is a matter of personal preference), not necessarily better technical 'quality' of the sound. Of course no mic can record everything equally well, no matter what price bracket it is in.

Mics like wine, are best judged blind.

digifish

[Javier Cinakowski]

The NT5's are not designed for audio recording.

I agree, I always thought the NT5 made great video recordings...