Review by Matthew Armstrong for Rode NTG2 Condenser …

Comment posted Rode NTG2 Condenser Shotgun Microphone Reviews by Matthew Armstrong.

Review by Matthew Armstrong for Rode NTG2 Condenser Shotgun Microphone
Rating:
I purchased the NTG-2 as a voiceover mic to use for audiobook production and VO recording. I’m running the mic through the preamps on an M-Audio ProjectMix I/O and into Pro-Tools M-Powered 8. I run the incoming signal through the Waves SSL Channel plugin for some light compression, and that’s it. I rarely need to EQ.

The resulting tone is clean and clear without being too intimate. If I get too close, it tends to get a little boomy and the low-mid ranges are a touch muddy. However, if I position the mic about 12-18 inches from the mouth of the VO artist, and slightly above the axis of the mouth, the sound quality is stellar. On male voices, in particular, the mic lends a depth and warmth that is often desirable for certain types of voice work. As would be expected with a mic of this type, the proximity effect is fairly pronounced.

Being a shotgun mic, it does an excellent job filtering out much of the background noise if your space is not sound-proof. (For instance, I’m using a small booth in which one wall is an exterior wall with very little sound insulation. Even when cars and trucks drive by, the mic won’t register the sound.) It’s an excellent choice for small project studios in homes. The mic does a good job of not catching every single saliva slurp or tongue noise while keeping the voice sounding natural.

The included wind screen is a little on the wimpy side, and it’s unfortunate that the mic doesn’t come with a shock mount…but that’s not uncommon for mics in this price range. Likewise, I wish the mic had come with a decent hard case rather than the pleather zippered pouch that comes with, but again, that’s not uncommon in this price range.

I’ve used four very different mics for VO work: a Studio Projects C100 Large Diaphragm Condenser, an AKG C1000 small diphragm condenser, a Heil PR40 Large Diaphragm Dynamic, and the Rode NTG-2. I was using the Heil almost exclusively until I got the NTG-2. Now this is my first-call mic for 80% of my VO sessions. For the price, it really can’t be beat for high-quality spoken word recording.

Pros:

* Great Mic for the Price

* Narrow Pickup Pattern to reduce noise

* Clean and clear tone

* Natural sound

Cons:

* Can get a little boomy in low-mid ranges if speaker is too close

* Pronounced proximity effect

* No shock mount/case included

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