which mic woul u choose :(B1)-C1-TB1 - NT1A-NT1000

[wonderfall]

Hi all!
I very soon have to make a decision and buy one of those mics.
Main application : Vocal and acoustic guitar.

Studio Projects :
C1, TB1. (even B1?)
Is the TB1 a good one? (there is tube in the name, u know...).

Rode :
NT1A, NT1000.
Are those suited for vocal and guit?

(Or maybe another in the same price range?...)

Help much appriciated (especially if you all agree on which to choose... )


Cheers
Cedric

[albee1952]

For what its worth, I have a friend that swears by his C-1 for vocals while I have been very happy with the MXL V69 Mogami Edition for vocals and acoustic. Good luck in your search as ultimatly, it will be your ears that make the decision.

[tele_player]

I like my C1 a lot, just ordered a B1. A nice thing about the C1 (compared to Nt1A) is the pad and rolloff. Useful.

My best mic is a Soundelux U195, I sold my TLM103, NTK, NT1A,V67G and Mk319 after getting that one...

They ALL sounded good to me. Not all the same, but all good.
Big-bucks pros may scoff at them, but the current crop of affordable condensers is pretty good.

[Gunnar Hellquist]

Hmm.

I think the only way to really know is to try them all. And listen a lot to the results. Lacking that, there is not really any way to know. Every voice is different, guitars differs too and every song begs for a different approach.

So why not go by the Studio Projects B1. I have one of these, and it does a decent no frills job. It has a low noise level, and sound quite OK. If it errs, it is probably on the side of having a bit too little of character. But then again, character is not necessarily a good thing if it is the "wrong" sort. And which sort do you want, really? Additionally it probably comes at the lowest price of the mics you suggested, saving you some money for mic number 2.

I guess one way to do it is to buy the B1, and then record a lot with it. After a while you will probably want to try other mics, but the important thing is that you will then have your own reference to compare against. Perhaps your next mic will not be any one on the list if you get to hear them. I cannot tell, and probably no one else. Remember, great songs has been recorded with the Shure SM58 as singer mic.

Good luck

[wonderfall]

Thanks all!

I know the best would be to try them all and choose...
But here in Crete I don't get to try those mics easily...

I guess I'll go for the C1...

Thanks.

[beermaniac]

I have a Rode NTK. It is essentially the same as a NT1000 but with a valve.

It sounds great. I use it for Vocals, acoustic guitar and cabinet miking. Works very well for all of those. Warm bottom end for vocal.

I also use 2 x Oktava 219's which have a nice characteristic when I am looking for an alternative to the NTK.

Hope this helps.

[wonderfall]

I'm afraid the NTK is over my budget...
Later maybe...

Thanks