Hyper & Shotgun Indoor Shootout: AT4053b Vs. Rode NT3 AND NTG-2 Vs. NTG-3

[Paulfga]

Well done Chad and a brave man too ;) It's great to see a test done with talk and with guitar and voice. I still think shotgun for outdoors and hyper indoors though at a pinch you could get away with a shotgun with continuous audio as you demonstrated. The NT3 can also go wireless and its a good price. The NT3 is now on my shopping list for out of shot mic'ing indoors. Thanks for the review.

[dannysuru]

hmm interesting,As you can tell I'm not an audio guy but I have been reading up on it for the last two weeks and your reply makes sense as to why people don't cheat on shotguns for indoors,the indie working environment indoors will be very controlled and talent will be on lav mics and a boomed NTG3 and a boomed h4n so my plan was to mix these tracks to get something usable ,a lot of work and I'm not sure if it would produce acceptable results mixing so many tracks from multiply recording devices

[dannysuru]

awesome test man!thanks this helps me save some money!I already have the NTG3 as was thinking I need the NT3 but after your vid I think I can get away with just the shotgun for my first Indie

[ChadWork1]

@dannysuru Possibly. This test is very controlled. You may run into phase issues when moving about near reflective walls. Everything changes every time you position the mic differently. I would plan on getting an AT4053b eventually, as THAT is the correct tool, as it is a true hypercardioid, and the NT3 is a cardioid. Maybe not for this first feature, but ASAP.

[XTREEMMAK]

lmfao

I'd put that song on an ipod lmfao

[ChadWork1]

@XTREEMMAK I do this in a lot of my reviews/shootouts. You have to hear my "PinMic Song"! Go to my page under Playlists, and look at the "Reviews/Shootouts/Demos" playlist. I did a whole song using just lavs....

[XTREEMMAK]

@ChadWork1

Sounds like a plan.

BTW, I think I will be picking up an NTG3 for my upcoming video rig. Any other special notes or things you've noticed while using it frequently?

[ChadWork1]

@XTREEMMAK I think the NTG-3 is the best shotgun for under a grand. I have nothing to note other than that it sounds great. I just put up 6 videos for a guy, where I used the mic. Search "Every Day Challenge 01 - Know You, Like You, Trust You, Buy You" on YT and give it a listen.

[XTREEMMAK]

BTW, I personally own a Rode NTK Tube mic. Also a very good mic :)...but that's esoteric to this application.

[ChadWork1]

@XTREEMMAK I have a pair of NT2000 mics that I think sound real nice. I use one for VO work now.

[XTREEMMAK]

@ChadWork1 You definitively have the voice for vo work, even based on the first two seconds of this video lol If you can, I'd love to check out your demo reel if you have one :)

[ChadWork1]

@XTREEMMAK LOL - I don't have a reel other than my TV ads on my channel. Check out the top Playlist. Not all the ads have me doing the VO, but a lot do, and you'll hear me trying to sound like a real announcer! Starting with "Mad River Community Hospital" on down should be mostly me!

[lgas37]

Thank for this I'm thinking on getting a mic for my canon hv40 to do some music video I wonder what would be better for me indoors nt3 or ntg3

[ChadWork1]

@lgas37 The NTG-3 is a shotgun, and shotguns are for outdoor dialogue. I recommend the AT4053b for indoor dialogue. The NT3 is OK but not great.

[MrJoshRain]

The NT3 is a hypercardioid as well - it has a more generous range than some hypers but it really isn't a cardioid

[Chadfish]

@MrJoshRain Mr Josh, the NT3 most definitely is a Cardioid. Look at the specs on the Rode site. A hyper with a "more generous range" is a cardioid. Also I actually am in close contact with Rode and have talked to them about the NT3 and the possibility for a hyper in the future. There has been talk, but nothing solid planned. Rode makes no hypers yet. Still, the NT3 sounds decent for picking up dialogue indoors. Cheers!

[BeautyBeardyandBaby]

@Chadfish Actually a cardioid pattern does not have any pick up from the rear where a hyper does. Though the NTG mics are supercardioid patterned mics.

[ChadWork1]

@BeautyBeardyandBaby OK, but my point is that if a mic has a wider pattern than what is associated with a "hyper" mic, then it is no longer a hyper. As you widen the pattern it indeed becomes a cardioid, and as you say, indeed loses the rear lobe.

[Conversed]

of all mic tests & comparisons on youtube, yours are by far the best!

[ChadWork1]

@Conversed Thanks a lot!

[iseecheese]

ntg 3 sound more like radio basey, and ntg 2 sound more neutralish, you didnt explain what hyper means? what is a external mic that has attenuation- my hv canon has it but externals dont except super expensive ones? is there a audio editor that can create artificially attenuation or does it have to be off from the mic to work?

[ChadWork1]

@iseecheese "Hyper" means hypercardioid. That is a mic that rejects sounds from the side. Hypers are used for indoor dialogue. Shotguns are for outdoors. "Attenuation" only means to turn down, so I'm not sure what you mean. Some mics have a "pad" that attenuates the signal by usually -10db. Any audio editor will have a compressor, and that will attenuate the loud parts. Check out DVXuser in the Audio section to ask specific questions. There are many pros there to help you. Cheers!

[camdogie]

thank you so much for this test...I'm considering the ntg-2....I was only going to be using it indoors to make my home movies....you showed me that for my purposes, it's absolutely perfect...probably going to buy it now.

thanks again.

[ChadWork1]

@camdogie Shotguns aren't designed for indoors. Just because it sounded good when I did it, doesn't mean it will for you. You need a hypercardioid for indoors. An AT4053b is really good, or an NT3 (not to be confused with an NTG-3). The Rode NT3 will sound much better indoors for the same price - even cheaper on ebay. The NT3 is a bit heavy though. At least it has a switch to save the battery!

[1simonmatthews]

Hey Chad, did you use just the raw footage for these tests or did you mess around with them post prod at all? I ask you this because the NTG-3 sounds better here than it does in my latest test. And, if anything, you're further away from the mic than I was. Mine doesn't seem to have any highs. I hope mine's working ok! Cheers.

[ChadWork1]

@1simonmatthews I did no post processing on this, other than matching the levels of the mics, because when you hear a mic louder than another it reads as better sometimes. I can't say what's up with your mic. I was gong straight into my Sony EX1. What are you recording into? A DSLR? That's going to hurt your sound.