Frosted Flakes over Post Toasties...

No, this isn't a blog about cereal... (sorry to disappoint!)

Had a discussion the other day with a gentleman in regards to our choice of vocal microphones and other equipment in the Tate Music Group studios...

A pretty common misconception in the recording industry is the choice of equipment used in the studio. Similar to product placement in a grocery store, a lot of people tend to remember, and therefore, stick with the names everyone is buying or talking about. Choosing "Frosted Flakes" over "Post Toasties" if you will...

In the recording industry, it is obviously different, as certain pieces of equipment do certain things, and you pay a price for ones that do it better than others. Many would purchase ProTools over Logic, Gibson over Epiphone, Neumann's over Rode's, DW over Pacific... the list goes on. It's the same reason we buy Betty Crocker over Sure Fine's best cake mix on the market. The name we've learned to trust.

However, the biggest misconception is 'how much' a studio spends on that equipment. This was the discussion on the phone. Why we didn't spend $2000 dollars for a single mic rather than spending $400 for one mic. My honest answer was "because it wasn't necessary to spend $2000 dollars on a single mic, when our choice of microphones work extremely well with what we do."

If you were a studio owner/manager/producer/stay-at-home-dad/mom-recording engineer, and were setting out to purchase equipment for a new studio endeavor, you would most definitely research the product before buying it, right? At least I hope so.

To quench the rumor-mill on why we've chosen the Rode NT1-A Condenser microphone for our studio, here's a few things that will help explaining our research:

1. My favorite! The RØDE NT1-A is the winner of the Electronic Musician 2004 Editor's Choice Award and the world's quietest studio condenser microphone with only 5 dBA of self-noise.

2. The circuitry is phenomenal, and is actually a little "flatter than that of most large-diaphragm mics, as the presence peak is less pronounced and quite broad, but there's also a hint of low-end lift at around 120Hz, which gives the mic a very subtle 'smile EQ' characteristic, the practical outcome of which is that the sound is mildly flattering but still very natural sounding"

3. It's a great mic for the 'Cartoid-mic' fans... here is a diagram from the Rode website.

4. They are incredibly affordable!

5. Who can complain, its an inexpensive mic and is very versatile for both vocals and for general instrument mic'ing. We've used the RØDE mics for anything from drum overheads to guitar mics to mic'ing up an acoustic session. A great, well-rounded sound that's quite a bit lighter on the pocketbook.

6. Is it safe to say, we just like them?

I found an article about these mic's on the soundonsound.com website, and Paul White summed it up pretty clearly for us here at Tate Music Group.

As an all-round instrument mic, the NT1A has a brighter, more articulate high end than the original NT1, but the low end remains well balanced, resulting in a clear, believable sound. However, I suspect most users will buy the NT1A predominantly for use as a vocal mic, where it delivers a very modern sound, balancing transparency and airiness with a supportive lower mid-range. There's certainly nothing budget or second class about the sound of this microphone, and where you do need to emulate the somewhat warmer, more middly sound of the original NT1, a little high-end EQ cut gets you pretty close.

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In the end, the argument on how much you pay for a microphone is irrelevant if it gets the job done and you know what you're getting into. This mic does a fantastic job for the numerous vocal sessions we're running every month!

Just because you spend less than $1000 dollars on a microphone doesn't mean it's worthless. You can get a good deal on a car, get it for $5000 dollars off the original asking price, and at the end of the day, it gets you from home to work to home again just like the car that was $10,000 dollar more. It just may not have that retractable rooftop you wanted, the spoiler on the back, the bose sound system or a GPS system (all bells and whistles that, while nice, may not be necessary for your need of getting to work and back), but it still gets you where you're going.

All of those analogies to say, check out the RODE website for more info on these mics!