Rode NTK Review

When I first purchased the Rode NTK “Class A” tube condenser microphone back in July of 2003, I was living in the lower east side of Manhattan, and my main objective at the time was simply to purchase a condenser microphone with a cardioid polar pattern so that I could cancel some of the city noise that was creeping in through the window of my humble recording room. I made the purchase without absolutely no research or expectations.

What a delight… To my instant surprise, the NTK immediately delivered warm, clear, and full-bodied sound! Since then I’ve used the NTK in hundreds of various recording situations, and with a multitude of different instruments including vocals, acoustic guitars, classical guitars, upright bass, percussion, and more. I love to create sounds using two microphones of different make and model in a stereo field, but almost always the NTK is included. It sounds great paired with a KSM44, or 414. I’ve even used two NTKs as drum overheads, and they sounded fantastic!

There is no better condenser microphone at this price range, and purchasing the NTK has been one of the wisest “mistakes” of my recording career.