Rode NT1a & ART Pro Channel - Vocal Test: "I Just Called To Say I Love You"

[MKDesIRE]

you're really good. I wanna know...what is the best mic for home recording? I hear this shuts out noise really well but it doesnt sound very warm...

[punc888]

sound great ? ur joke ?

[clinnie21]

i like your video..i like your voice...i like the song...and i like you so much...

[MANGIERIGASTON]

muy buena voz



[oboogie2]

Thanks for the demo, as I have been looking for a ART Pro Channel demo. I am trying to decide between an ART Pro Channel, and a Presonus Studio Channel (leaning toward the ART). I sometimes use an NT1A, but I find it is usually a bit sterile in sound, despite giving a very clean signal. That is the whole reason I am looking at running through a tube preamp with outboard compression. Have you used a Presonus at all for vocals?

[alexn882]

@oboogie2 I've never used the Presonus Studio Channel before but from what I hear it doesn't really push the tubes enough to colour the sound. Otherwise, it is just fine. Lost of clean headroom and nice features.

Personally, considering the price, I am more than happy with my ART Pro Channel. I like the way it enhances and colours the sound by adding subtle harmonic content through its tubes. It's got more than enough gain and both Compressor and EQ. Sound great on bass gtr as well.

[aDriveByProd]

good test. sounds great

[blocko12456789]

chunky robin thicke lol

[birchnbark]

WHAT?!!

[alexn882]

@ClTIZENDILDO I think so, a tube condenser will reproduce dynamics and frequencies a lot different than a solid state condenser. It does depend on the singer as well though... like in my opinion a tube mic will really start to take life on a more dynamic singer. Myself, I would love to own a K2.

[pte1808]

Honestly, you REALLY have good voice!

[alexn882]

@pte1808 thank you so much!

[legman200932]

dude you sound a little like michael jackson but thats cool too i say....

[alexn882]

@legman200932 haha, thanks.

[hotmojo1]

Good heart, bro'.

[alexn882]

@hotmojo1 thank you.

[Zazquatch1]

Like your voice - keep it up dude.

[alexn882]

@Zazquatch1 thank you!

[RockyRickyRoss]

what is your sound blaster? sound card? please answer.

[alexn882]

@RockyRickyRoss yeah, it's an old sound card.

[RockyRickyRoss]

@alexn882 can i learn sound card's mark & model ?

[mytradelist]

A cool website where I learned all about the Rode NT1-A microphone is at rodent1a.com

[roman14032]

honestly, i dont like it

try the cad m179 much better and fifty bucks cheaper

[KJEboys]

I have the same mic.. How can I set it up to record in stereo not mono? I'm recording to Sonar 7 PE. I've tried doubling the track and panning.. but it still doesn't sound good...

[alexn882]

@KJEboys You either need a stereo matched pair of NT1a mics or you'll have to record the same track twice and mix one on the left and one the right.

[KJEboys]

@alexn882 - Record a vocal track twice?.. forgive me for asking the obvious... but how would that sync? Obviously there'd be some words that will not be in-sync... i'm confused.. would you mind elaborating? thx

[alexn882]

@KJEboys Yeah, you're right. But that's how it's always been done since the beginning of multi-tracking. Some people can record their harmonies so close that the signal actually phases. Check out Queen's "Love Of My Life". Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson have recorded some of the best harmonies ever.

[The7om9i]

@KJEboys A common trick used by a lot of audio engineers is to place the same track of vocals on the right and left, raise the pitch on one by just a little notch and lower it on the other. (Not to an extent where it's easily noticeable though)

It adds some definition to the audio.

[TheMitchellShort]

@The7om9i Thats just a 49 - 51 Pan basicly, too keep things simple. =)

[The7om9i]

@TheMitchellShort Didn't know it had a term, thanks for letting me know though! ^^

[moderncrusaderspage]

@KJEboys there s no need to stereo record vocals,just work with sends and return/fx channel or channels or you will never have the right "placement" of vocals in a track.If you want stereo then duplicate vocal channel but be carefull with the phase!If you pan vocals hard left and right (like guitars and stuff) then you will have veeeery dificult mix work...So stay to mono ;-)

[DrumNBum]

question cause ive finally got gear now. so jsut record mono vocals? where do you put them?? is recording stereo vocals with one mic the same as recording stereo vocals with 2 mics? is it okay to record 2 tracks mono and then put 1 left and right? is there a standard where producers place their main vocal track?? i dont think any producers really record with matched pairs in stereo do they??

DrumNBum 1 sec ago

[alexn882]

@DrumNBum if it's a lead vocal, 99% of the time you'll want it dead center. That is the standard. If it's harmonies, though, you wanna record quite a few vocal tracks and then pan them hard left and hard right. There is really no set standard for harmonies. You can have as many vocal tracks as you feel you need and you can pan them any way you like. Just listen to your favourite recordings and experiment and see what you like.

[alexn882]

@alexn882 There are some producers that record with matched pairs but you must know what you're doing in order to achieve good results. Bruce Swedien is known to use matched pairs of mics for harmonies. Most obvious example is Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album.

[moderncrusaderspage]

@DrumNBum one mic for mono (there so few stereo mics and i ve seen a surround mic once).No dont rec two vocal channels l and r cause it will be chaos,this technique is for guitars and stuff.Just rec mono track and in your sequencer,if you want pro sound,don't leave it to stereo out but create a stereo bus/fx channel and send the mono output to stereo bus/fx channel and the bus to stereo out.Of course you can create sends from the stereo bus to many bus tracks for multi fx.

[DrumNBum]

about 90% percent of this makes sense. okay what about surround out? Is it more handy than stereo out? all my daw track defaults are surround out. Should i change all of them to stereo?

So your saying for a pro sound I should send my mono vocal mono out to a stereo bus? on this bus i will add necessary effects? then take this fxbus and make it stereo out to finish it up the track?

so i should make different busses for vocals and guitars ect. and add fx accordingly to each?

[moderncrusaderspage]

@DrumNBum Surround out,useful for film/game production but its rare for music(some audiophile dvd audio only).Stereo is the best for music.Can i guess you re using sonar?

For the bus stuff,add effects only if there is a reason.Personaly I m using a mono vocal track going to a stereo bus(sometimes i add an eq compressor etc. there) and from the stereo bus as many SENDS as I want(reverb,chorus etc)Its simple,create sends,the stereo bus output remains on stereo out.

[TMD4000]

Hi Alex, just listened to your album at bandcamp - great work !!

May I ask you which mic you used for vocals and was it all the time in combination with the ART Pro Channel ? - did you have to do any hard deessing ?

Thanks and all the best, Hendrik

[alexn882]

@TMD4000 Hey Hendrik, thanks! I used the Apex 460 Tube Condenser on that one. I didn't own any kind of preamp at the time so I actually had to record through my old 12 Channel Analog Mixer. I don't think I did any de-essing. However, I did use an exciter to add more highs - the E-TubeTape Warmer.

Hope that helped!

All the best,

Alex

[geetar4yerears]

It makes an astonishing difference. i also tried a JJ 12ax7 which very good in the preamp but it is a little darker sounding, but sometimes that works well in acoustic guitar. I wish my cam had a mic input or I would post a vid in real time showing A/B results. Thanks for the advice on the mic though. The only reason I was looking a the 2A was because of it's variable settings which may be useful with different styles and techniques, but the 1A seems more than capable.

[geetar4yerears]

Very good video! I use the Pro Channel in my studio and love it. i did swap the preamp tube for a Telefunken which made the unit sound a lot warmer, less harsh distortion when pushed with a bit more presence, and comparable to units many times it's price. The comp, and post EQ tubes are stock, but was amazed what a tube swap brought to the unit further. Hey... I was looking at the NT2A, but do you think it's worth the higher price of the NT1A. Again great clip.

[alexn882]

@geetar4yerears Hey, thanks. That sounds like a cool idea. I've read lots about people swapping tubes before. I also own an Apex 460 Tube Condenser and read about people putting in a real neumann/telefunken tube instead of the stock one saying it will do wonders. I gotta say I'm curious to hear the difference.

I find the NT1a great mic for vocals and ac. guitar. Especially because it's very very quiet. I wouldn't go for the NT2a. My next purchase will probably be the AT 4047 or SM7b.

[Featureman]

The sound is great. Very professional.

[wilcomatla]

Hi Alex, my sister bought this exact same mic! How do you like it so far?

[alexn882]

@wilcomatla I love it! It's very silent and clean and it's also got a nice "velvety" sound to it. The Art Pro Channel pre-amp helps make it a lot warmer though. It's got 3 tubes, including a tube compressor.