First a bit of background on me. I have a home studio set up using Cubase and a Yamaha N12 mixer and use the equipment for song writing and demos. My live recordings are done in a less than ideal environment normally standing next to the desk.
I looked at various reviews and did a fair bit of detective work before I bought this and it seemed to be a little bit better than the NT1A which I was also looking at, for only a little more money. I use this mainly for vocals and occasionally for acoustic guitar.
A while ago when I worked in a studio I borrowed a number of different mics, AKG 414, Neumann U87 and did some A/B testing on my voice to see which worked best. A Shure SM58 in this context was the equal of everything else and that is what I normally use, live and for recording.
My SM58 gets a little noisy when I drive it hard to get a decent vocal level and I was really looking for something to give me an equivalent sound but with less noise. Also something that I could use to record the acoustic guitar which would let me push the levels when recording.
So, onto the review. The NT2A does exactly what I wanted. My vocals sound great with this mic. I’m guessing that it boosts a little to give some presence and so it’s not dead flat, but it’s a very musical sound. It’s also very very quiet and does not introduce any noise into the recording. I can really crank the gain and record at a distance from the mic and there is no hiss at all which makes it very easy to use. MY aim in buying this was to get something that I would not need to upgrade, and I think I have succeeded. I don’t think I’m going to need to change this unless I win the lottery and equipment envy gets the better of me.
When purchased with the kit, the mic comes with a shock mount and pop shield which is great, plus a bag to cover it when you are not using it to keep the dust out, which is a nice touch. The rubber in the clamp on my shock mount does not hold very well and I get micro phone droop where it does not stay level. Would be nice if Rode could design this problem out, but considering the price, I’ll live with it. When I get round to it I’m going to take it apart and put some gaffa tape or similar inside so it has more grip. Overall it’s a lot easier than using a separate pop shield as the pop shield is at exactly the right height.
I haven’t used the directional switching, or the pad switch but it’s nice as a feature. I have used the high pass switch and this does what it says, to ensure that the mic doesn’t pick up any low end stuff.
Overall, very pleased and I think its good value and will make my recordings better, and I would buy again.