I recently had a quick session with the Rode NT5 small
diaphragm condensers as drum overheads.
The NT5 mics feature an attractive silver finish. They are quite small
in size. The black sticker at the base of the mic
does look sort of old school Radio Shack.
These microphones sounded pretty damn good.
They really pick up the entire sound of the kit, with
enough low end to make a kick mic optional in some
cases. Toms and snare sounded tight and punchy while cymbals
sounded smooth and realistic.
I was able to create a very
realistic stereo spread with typical X/Y placement
about 20 inches above the cymbals. The cardioid pattern
seemed tight, as the mics did not pick up as
much room sound as I'd expect.
The Bottom Line: The Rode NT5 small condensers are a very realistic pair of overhead mics that should require little or no EQ in most cases for a good tight mix. Street price is $300 for a matched pair.
Link relating to this review: Rode Microphones
Another quickie review of the Rode NT5
By Steve Langer, added January 28, 2003
I recently got to try out a Rode NT5 on my Tacoma PK30E4 acoustic guitar. The guitar comes in a modern parlor size and features koa back and sides. It possesses a nice balanced tone.
I like one mic used in conjunction with the Fishman blender on the guitar. I positioned the Rode NT5 off the neck in the vicinity of where the neck meets the body.
The sound surprised me. It seemed to be akin to a Neumann KM184 but more dark with less highs -- a lot less highs. Someone told me of a review where someone suggested adding a high shelf of EQ to get a KM184 sound. I tried it but the sound went to pure crap.
Despite the lack of highs, I really liked the vibe and sound of this mic. I found it to be musical to a small degree. Rode should sell these as singles as the company is in the project studio market for the most part. A good portion of project studios don't need a matched pair.
The Bottom Line: A good mic with a nice color.
Link relating to this review: Rode Microphones
I recently had a quick session with the Rode NT5 small
diaphragm condensers as drum overheads.
The NT5 mics feature an attractive silver finish. They are quite small
in size. The black sticker at the base of the mic
does look sort of old school Radio Shack.
