The NT1: The Mic that Started RØDE.
The NT1 is the large-diaphragm condenser microphone that launched the RØDE brand. While being an Australian company, the Ø in RØDE is used in homage to founder Peter Freedman’s Scandinavian roots. The NT1 name is a pun by Freedman for “Rodent-1.” And all this time I thought it meant “No Transformer” as Neumann microphones use “TLM” for “Transformer-less Microphone!” The NT1 microphone has undergone several generations since its introduction in 1991, but the results are no joke, being one of the best low-cost voice over microphone lines available for home studios. The NT1 5th Generation is the latest in its evolution, featuring a range of advanced technologies and improvements over its predecessors. Here is an overview of all seven models of the five NT1 generations:
RØDE NT1 1st Generation
The original RØDE NT1 was a large-diaphragm FET condenser microphone known for a warm sound and versatility. It made a significant advancement in affordable microphone technology at the time. It came in a light grey or white matte body, using a Schoeps-based circuitry design from Jim Williams of Audio Upgrades. The mic had rave reviews from Sound on Sound and other audio magazines in the 1990s. Peter Freedman himself said in an interview with AudioTechnology that the NT1 was born from modifying Chinese U87 knock-offs with quality components. Once they became good at that, they started building the whole microphone themselves in Australia. The mic was such a good interpretation of the U87 that Neumann told them to knock it off. They stopped making them and moved on to making the NT2 and the now famous next mic in the line.
RØDE NT1-a: Something Different
Released in 2003, The NT1-a introduced a whole new sound for RØDE. The mic has a bright top end which sounds great on breathy or higher pitched voices. It comes in a silver body, much like their top-line microphones such as the NTK or the NT2000. Most significantly, it lowered the self-noise to an astonishing 5 dBA, making it great for voice overs in that regard. However, if you’re prone to sibilance, it might not be the best choice for your voice. It was the first microphone I bought for voice over. While I do not own it anymore, I still use the NT1 4th Generation and NTG3 regularly. And for some projects (telephony, eLearning, podcasting, and voice acting with yelling) I use the RØDE Procaster dynamic mic, which I also highly recommend.
RØDE NT1 2nd and 3rd Generation
The NT1 2nd generation had improved circuitry and a smaller body from the original NT1 model. The 3rd Generation had more circuit improvements and a new capsule. They still sounded similar to the original NT1 as you can hear from this voice over sample on this thread from Gearspace. Sounds great, and people still mod them with new capsules since their circuitry is so good.
RØDE NT1 4th Generation: Back in Black
Ten years after the NT1-a, the all-black NT1 4th Generation was released. It isn’t bright like the NT1-a. It isn’t a warm mic like the original NT1. It’s a very flat transformerless microphone with an even lower self noise of 4.5 dBA. It has a JFET impedance converter with a Maximum Sound Pressure Level (Max SPL) of 132 dB. It is the first RØDE mic with the HF6 capsule. Both the 5th Generation and 5th Generation Signature Series microphones have this same capsule.
RØDE NT1 5th Generation: USB and XLR in One Mic
Another ten years later, the NT1 5th Generation was released in February 2023. It has the same capsule as the 4th Generation, and lowers the self noise to 4 dBA. However it is very slightly brighter on the top end, just enough to notice. Like the 4th Gen, it has a JFET impedance converter but with a greatly improved Maximum Sound Pressure Level (Max SPL) of 142 dB. That’s 10 dB more loudness it can handle! Even more noticeably, there are several technological additions and improvements. There is a Dual Connect output for XLR or USB. It has an internal preamp with a 32 bit digital float output to avoid clipping. It also has Aphex digital processing. It comes in black with a silver grille or all silver, like an NT1-a.
RØDE NT1 5th Generation Signature Series
In November 2023 the NT1 5th Generation Signature Series microphone was released. It is their lowest-priced large condenser microphone ever. It also comes in ten snazzy colors to match your branding or studio vibes. There is no USB preamp or onboard processing. However, I would recommend this mic for voice over as it is just slightly brighter than the standard 5th generation but not as bright as an NT1-a. And yes, it too is a JFET mic with an amazing 4 dBA self noise and 142 Max SPL.
The Signature Series comes in black, blue, green, orange, pink, purple, red, yellow, cobalt, and white. Maybe I’ll get one in white as a travel mic, and pretend that it’s an original NT1 from 1991.