VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Vocalvoodoo · Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:16 am Post subject: Rode NTG-3 test

I just picked one up a couple week ago as a stand in for my 416 which is out for repairs.

I figured it would be good to add another sound sample to the forum with this mike as it get's a lot of talk as a 416 alternative.

The more I use it, the more I like it. But I do think it sounds quite a bit different than the 416, at least to the one I have which was used and at least 10 years old. The new 416 I bought, and had only briefly, sounded even more different that the NTG as I remember. It was SUPER bright.

I'll be interested to test them side by side once it's back from Sennheiser and performing to spec. To me, the 416 doesn't have the low and low-mid girth of this mike and has a much brighter top end. But my opinion may change after hearing them together.

www.vocalvoodoo.com/Mahler_NTG3_Test.mp3
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Mike Sommer · Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:56 am Post subject:

Just reduce the EQ @ 100Hz to remove the tub.
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Vocalvoodoo · Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 1:53 pm Post subject:

Thanks Mike. That certainly helped clear the sound up a some.
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Josh Mahler
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Mike Sommer · Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:47 pm Post subject:

If you have a good Parametric EQ, with a Q setting. Try small adjustments with the Q. The Q adjust the Bandwith, this may help zero in on the problem; because it's not a Spike in the frequency as much as it is a hump.
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Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

captain54 · Lucky 700 Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago

I have an NTG-1, not an NTG-3, however I found that the slightest positioning toward or away from the mouth makes a big difference...

When I have the mic pointing down at me, a slight tilt toward the mouth and away from the chest, brightens it up and takes away the "boom".. conversely, when the mic is pointed more away from the mouth and more directly at the chest, it sounds less detailed and crisp, but more muddy.

Vocalvoodoo · Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 4:49 pm Post subject:

That's exactly what I did, Mike. I don't have any outboard EQ with the exception of the EQ section on a 528e which isn't in use currently. But the stock Logic EQ did the trick. I brought it down 2.5dB with a fairly wide Q of 0.40.
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Josh Mahler
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Jowillie · Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 5:46 am Post subject:

Josh,
Looking (listening) forward to the side-by-side test.
Thinking about getting a NTG-3 for back-up for the 416 for our video production anyway. It would be great if it works in the VO studio too.
Thanks.
Jowillie
VO Mic Tests
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chuckweis · Contributor IV Joined: 27 Feb 2008 Posts: 136

I had actually said in another post how the NTG3 was a bit too bottom heavy for me in comparison to the 416. I originally bought the Rode and sent it back for the Senny. I guess what I like about the 416 is that it provides me with some (midrange) presence and punch I wasn't able to get with the Rode. I found that, of the two, I was better able to fix the 416 with some EQ. I really liked the beefy sound of the Rode but just couldn't get that really nice vocal presence that I get with the 416. I'm actually hoping I can kinda "darken" up the 416 just a bit more without even adjusting EQ when I move to a transformer based pre.

Mike Sommer · Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 9:48 pm Post subject:

You can get the mid rage punch with nearly any mic, it's just a matter of understanding what the mic is doing and compensating or adjusting for it, to get what you need.

Now don't get offended, but that's why the 416 is a lazy engineers mic. In this slash and burn industry where everything is an emergency, the 416 is the mic of choice- where the lazy engineer doesn't need to do much at all.
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The Blog:
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Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit