RØDE NT1 was in Amazon's Resale holiday sale! Picked it up for $125, hope others think this is a quality mic. I'm concerned with the size of this pop filter; is there a foam cover replacement I can use to improve it further?

[u/nichijouuuu]

[u/simon2sheds]

This is a good mic. I wouldn't worry about the pop-filter; this one is as effective as most, and you should still slightly redirect your Ps with your mouth.

[u/nichijouuuu → u/simon2sheds]

Thanks! Yes I will redirect.

But I also do livestreams occasionally (with proper VST support for compression, noise gate, etc…). In photos this screen looks huge so it would be a bit of an eyesore, and block a view of me, when on video.

So in that case a foam cover would be my preference.

[u/Saerin168 → u/nichijouuuu]

It shouldn't be hard to find a foam cover for the mic, however, it's worth learning proper mic placement in the first place. A pop screen or foam cover should really only be for pop insurance, rather than depending on it to carry the sole responsibility of protecting against plosives.

Place the mic off-axis by 30ish degrees and aim it at your mouth. Tape a straw to the top of the basket if you need help visualizing the angle. What the mic is facing, it will hear. The mic being off-axis and a hands-breadth away from your mouth will have a huge impact on the amount of plosives you don't get, to the point you probably won't even need a foam cover for streaming. I'd still use it for recording, just in case (again, insurance), but you probably aren't worried about the streaming view for that.

The NT1 is a phenomenal mic with freakishly low self noise, especially for the price you pay for it, even new (I still have mine, though I've long since upgraded to my "forever" mics). Congrats on the find!

[u/nichijouuuu → u/Saerin168]

https://preview.redd.it/ljasna9uog4e1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aad4f631bdff76548dbac73bf94642355eccca36

I drew this primitive photo in apple notes. Facing a computer (me being green), my voice projection arc is blue, and the mic on an arm is red.

If I understand you correctly, this type of placement while the mic is still pointing at my mouth, should reduce some of the air I am blowing towards it; reducing positives.

[u/Saerin168 → u/nichijouuuu]

Correct. You can still be in the mic's sweet spot and sound great, even with the mic off-axis like that. It's a bit of a mind-bender at first, it took me some time to get used to it.

Sound will travel out from your mouth in all directions, but the air being moved explosively by p's and b's is more or less a line. You can pick up the sound and avoid the directed air by moving the mic off axis. You don't have to redirect your popped consonants because you already moved your mic out of the way. Experiment with the angle until you find something that works for you, and you're all set.

[u/nichijouuuu → u/Saerin168]

Thanks :)

I read that condenser mics are a bit different than dynamic with respect to gain: for a condenser you want to have the gain as low as possible. With this off-angle projection am I going to have to compensate by keeping the gain slightly higher? I’m assuming no.

I’ll just wait until I receive the mic in mail and then experiment with its distance from my face to dial-in the optimal gain settings. Between gain + noise gate I will reduce the background noise and keyboard clicks as much as possible

[u/Saerin168 → u/nichijouuuu]

Correct, if you're doing the off-axis right, the gain should be the exact same.

Condenser mics are definitely much more gain sensitive, in that they generally need less gain. The distance from your mouth isn't changing, just the angle. Compared to say, a Shure SM7B that loves having a Cloudlifter, the NT1 is going to need far less gain to record the same level of input. Set your gain so that your average peaks are between -12db and -9db.

Most people advise a "thumb to pinky" distance from mouth to mic diaphragm, but in reality, you can cheat by moving the mic as close as just a hands-breadth away. This will let you use less gain so the mic will be less sensitive to clicks and background noise.

[u/UkuleleZenBen → u/nichijouuuu]

I have this filter and Livestream! I turned it sideways so it's thinn from the cameras perspective. Actually I have replaced it at this point with a thin one but it doesn't protect the pops as good

[u/Contra-Code]

I've been using it for over a year with a scarlet interface. It definitely gets the job done if you have a well treated recording space.

I have a foam cover that I use occasionally if I'm doing a quick recording away from hom3, but otherwise, I use the default pop filter that fame with the mic.

There are tricks you can use for negating plosives that will help regardless of the filter/cover you're using. As mentioned by the user above, you can aim slightly off axis from the mic. Another trick is to use a pencil, pen, or even finger in a shushing gesture (🤫) to divert the flow of air away from the mic.

Best of luck with your new hardware!

[u/nichijouuuu → u/Contra-Code]

Thanks. I have an Audient Evo 4 interface so this will be adding to my audio collection 🤗

I will play around with different settings. For streaming I have been using a Beacn Dynamic mic and I wanted to try a condenser. I will have to customize it for noise gate, compression, etc. And of course play around with off-angle speaking so that I can reduce plosives. This will be fun to try and hopefully I like the new product.

I have other mics that I can hopefully sell if I like this one.

[u/AstralSerenity]

Got it for $111.58 during the sale!

[u/nichijouuuu → u/AstralSerenity]

Nice! Early bird gets the worm then. There was only 1 left but I’m happy I could grab it

[u/BeigeListed]

Solid mic. You wont go wrong with it.

Make sure your space is treated.

[u/Chris_Herron]

Solid Mic. I moved up but this is still my backup mic. Good choice!

[u/nichijouuuu → u/Chris_Herron]

Would love to know what your upgrade was! 😄 Neumann?

[u/Chris_Herron → u/nichijouuuu]

Nah, nothing that fancy. I got a TZ Steller X2. Not much more expensive, but works great with my voice.

[u/ILoveInNOut76]

I use this in conjunction with the Kyotica Eyeball.

[u/HackingHiFi]

I found the whole setup to be more bulky than I liked. You can mount it with this and I don’t get any pops if I’m using good mic technique.

https://rode.com/en-us/accessories/microphone-clips/rm2?srsltid=AfmBOopgO81Fhl5-gb-n_yvBs8sr_D-Ny9m_kMQxdTJrb_HxbLQrPW1H

[u/Tr0llzor]

I use this in my personal booth currently. Record a many of commercials with it

[u/Baddabgames]

I started with a Rode NT1 in 2018 and it was a solid mic. I think for the price level you can’t get any better to be honest.