I’ve owned a Rode NT1-A for around 14 years. I bought it to use on my first album, “Florida Songs,” back in 2004. You have to understand what a game changer this mic was – before the NT1-A, a decent large diaphragm microphone would have set you back about $800 or more. There were some good mics at the $200 level, such as the AKG C1000 that I bought back in 2002, but that’s a small diaphragm mic. To get a good sound out of it, you need to be 4 inches from the mic and you can’t move.
So the NT1-A came out and everyone went wild. It really was a game changer. It’s also a “dirty little secret” – a lot of producers/engineers have used one and not admitted it, although lately that’s changed with the advent of EVERYONE having a home studio. And the NT1-A killed the competition dead.
Side Note: if you don’t know anything about microphones, you can google “condenser vs dynamic mic” and learn about it. I’ll do a blog entry on it at some point, but I haven’t written that yet. Basically large diaphragm condensers are the category of mic used by 99% of all singers because they sound the best.
Cost
Anyway, here we are, about 16 years later, and there’s tons of competition for the coveted “$200 or less vocal mic” category. The good news for us is that they’re all pretty good. There’s no “terrible rip-off mic” you can buy at Guitar Center. If they carry it, it’s good. But for around $200, I think there are three that are all about the same in terms of quality: the Audio-Technica AT2020USBi, the Blue Spark SL Hammertone, and the Rode NT1-A. The AT2020USBi has the added advantage of being USB, so you can plug it straight into your computer. But of the three, I still think the NT1-A is the best sounding. I’m cheating, because the NT1-A comes in a “package” nowadays with a mounting bracket and a pop shield, so it’s more like $220, but you need those things anyway. After all these years, Rode still rules this price point.
Sound
The NT1-A is fairly flat, and has a nicely defined high end. It sounds great on vocals, acoustic guitar, and basically any acoustic instrument. It’s also very, very quiet – you won’t hear much (if any) hiss when recording with it. It has a lot of presence, and can give a vocalist a modern sound. Does it sound as good as a $3,000 Neumann? Nope. Does it sound 80% as good? Possibly.
Build Quality
My NT1-A still works perfectly after 14 years. These things are built very well. If you keep it away from dust when not in use, and if you don’t drop it, it’ll hold up really well.
If you need a vocal mic, and you only have $100, buy the Audio-Technica AT2020. If you only have $200, borrow 20 bucks from someone and buy the NT1-A.
