RØDE Complete Studio Kit with NT1 Studio Condenser Microphone & AI-1 Audio Interface for Music Production, Vocal Recording, Streaming and Podcasting

Everyone tells you how quiet it is; and it certainly is. Everyone says it is great for vocals; and it is. Much better than the sub £100 competitors many of which I have moved on in the past.When I was looking for a new mic I read all the reviews and set my price limit quite low (no Neumanns). The nice thing about this mic is that although I may choose other mics for a different sound (SM57, SM58, SM81 SE Z3300A are all in my cupboard and lots of cheapies discarded and sold) it will make a useable result on everything I have tried so far (vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin, small percussion). Not only that, and most important to me is that the sounds combine in a mix without too much effort and even sounds that are mixed low are still audible. It does this very well.I like the shock-mount / pop screen - it works well and seems reasonably robust.The physical weight is sort of middly - feels robust without always needing an upgraded stand.The sound doesn't get too boomy or scatchy, - boosting either bass or treble or both, results in warm true bass and / or clean silky tops.My voice comes out very natural and eqs well to match the mix.Acoustic guitar - I find the mic can be placed close to the strings or body without picking up string slides or too much boom.Off-axis sounds stay quite natural.10 year warranty when registered - how many other manufacturers would risk that?Less good - very little reallyPicks up room and outside noise more than dynamic mics but that is only to be expected.The shock-mount mounting ring isnt captive so I'll be careful not to loose it.It would have been better to have a plastic box for storage.Doesnt make me sing in tune!!Summary - Great mic certainly for the money which I'm sure will stay at the ready nearly all the time. A good first do-it-all mic and if I had only £200 to spend it would be a toss up between this and an SM57 and SM58 combo.

Having decided to put a mini recording studio together for my own personal fun. I wanted to use the best components I could afford. To cut a long story short I was a professional cabaret artist for 12 years and also had a full time proper job 😂My employer offered a huge promotion and relocation and I decided to hang up my microphone 🎤🎸🎶 and give my four children a better place to grow up. So I went cold turkey and stopped performing 😭Now I have decided to put a few tracks down and have a bit of renaissance, well in my head anyway.Having read countless reviews and being familiar with my own vocal type I settled on a roade NT1A then I saw the updated NT1 in the black satin finish, even better performance figures and not as retro looking as the silver finish NT1A.Firstly it's boxed beautifully microphone cable and shockmount all in separate cartons within the main box. It all feels like quality solid beautifully crafted reassuringly heavy.I would advise fitting the shockmount to a solid microphone stand and then carefully lining up the microphone and carefully screwing up the retaining nut from underneath, don't fit the shockmount to the microphone then spin the whole assembly on to the stand.I am using a Yamaha mg10 xuf mixer with phantom power and USB in and out to my laptop, and Beyerdynamic studio headphones setting the input gain brought a huge smile to my face, I know the Yamaha pre-smps are legendary quiet but the complete silence is a joy. Then the rich neutral sound from the NT1 was actually quite emotional.It is crystal clear and so satisfying to use dialling in a little reverb from the mixer and i was in audio heaven.Make no mistake there are cheaper options, and significantly more expensive ones than the NTI but for build quality and performance this is a revelation.100% recommended the only thing I will say and this is not a criticism of the product at all, this equipment is so silent, so clear, presents so beautifully your own singing technique has to be spot on it will expose every nuance of your vocal, good and bad.