Both really good microphones so great budget options. They are meant for slightly different applications but one thing they do have in common is that they are both intended for studio use with the Rode being a more versatile kind of mic. Thanks for watching.
Yes it does Don. This mic is a good ‘all rounder’. You can can even boom it. I’ve used it for many different things and not having tp carry a preamp around can be really nice. Just plug it in with an xlr to 3.5mm lead.
Hello Ian, Thank you for the reviews and great explanation. Hopefully you don't mind helping me out. I am looking for a microphone for 2 main purposes, which are online teaching (on-going) and I am inspired to do my own voice over for a non-profit amateur audio-book (still practicing) recording. I'm interested to get the M3 cause I watched the video where you boomed the mic which can be very useful for teaching and voice over (probably?). I also watched some of your other videos as well and thought maybe I could get better opinion directly from you who has much better experience and knowledge about them. The room where I use the mic is an untreated room with some noise from outside (occasional traffic and water pump noise) and my air conditioner inside. I am not happy with the sound I get from my current mic (an affordable dynamic Samson Q7 which I bought along with a Scarlett Solo audio interface so I could get my feet wet and kind off to get better understanding and experience what people really meant by 'reverberation', 'muddy', 'daw', 'mouth noise', and stuff a while ago.) and also my interface gain need to be cranked up until 99 percent and literally eating the mic to get -14 to -6db signal. I am not too comfortable with this condition. Being close to mic is also not ideal for teaching either. For this condition which one is actually better in your opinion? Rode M3, SE v7x, (I think this one is more sensitive than my mic), SE8, Behringer B5 or should I just go with Rode NT1a. Does NT1a really needs a proper studio room? I did notice your video on NT1a was recorded not in a treated room and for me it sounds great. Rode NTG4 is also in my list. Currently Rode M3 is at the top of the list. Thank you.
Hi j”sen. For an untreated room with noises outside etc, I would look at super cardioids. They hone in a little better on the target while rejecting room reverb fairly well. A cardioid large diaphragm condenser might well pick up reverb. The only way I get away with it is by having the mic as close to me as possible in my front room, which as you probably know, isn’t ideal for recording. I get slightly better results by ‘underslinging’ the mic, not booming. So the back end is looking at the carpet and front pointing at me. The main thing is get the mic close. Experimenting is the key. Watch where the back of the mic is pointing. I guess you’re not able to ‘borrow’ a mic from someone to see how it behaves in your room? So, lowest room pickup might come from the V7x. This is a dynamic with a super cardioid pickup. It has a more extended frequency reaponse than most other dynamics and many big time singers use it because of that. If your amp isn’t powerful enough for a dynamic, then there is a very clever device called a Triton Fethead. This provides a lot of gain to the mic before the preamp. It uses 48v phantom power and you would find that the mic can be taken away from your mouth quite comfortably and you can still use it. Would you believe, I’ve even boomed it! There are two versions of the Fethead ... one passes phantom power on to the mic and the other doesn’t. The one needed for a dynamic is the one that doesn’t pass on power. You could always try a Fethead with your current dynamic. They are really good. I also have a direct preamp from a company called ‘Micbooster.com’ that uses ordinary plug in power to amplify a dynamic so I can plug straight into my camera without a normal preamp. The Rode m3 is a touch noisy when boomed. Good all rounder but not ideal. It’s also cardioid. Rode NT1a is brilliantly quiet which gives you more room to raise the gain but in your room, you don’t want that. It would need to be very close to stop other noises. It is very sensitive. (And heavy) Another large condenser which might work well for you is the T.Bone sc400. It is cheap and only sold by Thomann in Germany. It is a super cardioid mic and very loud in output. It has a beefier sound than the Rode. I looked at it in one of my reviews and also if you find the Neewer comparison I did (how cheap can you go? I think the video was called) I use the t.bone to show just how much better it sounds. Soundspeeds also reviewed the t.bone sc400. The Rode NTG4 is good, a bit more woolly sounding I think. Shotguns are not at their best indoors because you can get a fluttering sound from room reflections. If you’re thinking of a shotgun, I would go for a pencil mic rather than shotgun. The shotgun is not really designed to be used indoors although they work, they can introduce other problems from wall reflections which can’t be fixed. They’re ok in a sound booth. The se8 is a great mic. It is a cardioid though, although I do find that it works quite well in my front room funnily enough. Again, I undersling it. If you’re prepared to go that high in price, I would also consider the Oktava mk-012. It comes in a set or with single capsules. I have a set; omni, cardioid and hyper cardioid. The hyper cardioid head is excellent boomed. However, not massively different from the se8. I’m just about to release a video about the Oktava so you will be able to hear it. The beauty of the Oktava set is that the omni works well for groups of people sat around it, with it pointing up. The cardioid works well held close in conference type things and the hyper cardioid is great when boomed. So it’s kind of a mic for many occasions and sounds great. Not cheap though. If you buy an Oktava, don’t buy from Ebay. Thomann is a good source. There are copies around because it’s kind of a legendary mic. So I would consider the v7x, t.bone sc400 and either the se8 or Oktava. My favourites are the se8 and Oktava. Finding the right mic is really difficult because you just don’t know how your voice will sound through it. You know the sound of my voice perhaps through videos, but live, it’s not that loud and boomy. Some mics make my voice bigger than it is in real life! Personally, I think you may be happier with the sensitivity and small size of a pencil mic. Easier to boom because they are light (the Oktava is minute) and don’t dominate on video if you see them. Cheers Ian
Great insights, Ian! So if my camera (Sony ZV-1) has a 3,5mm-Microphone-Input I could just plug in the Rode M3 with a XLR-to-3,5mm-jack-cable and it would be directly captured over the video? Plus the battery of course. Thanks in advance, Mate!
@@iancraig Ian! It doesn't work, the audio level bar is staying completely silent. Any guess, what I'm doing wrong? I've plugged a 3,5mm to 6,33mm jack cable into an jack-to-xlr-Adapter an then into the M3. Too much equipment in the way, maybe? Thanks so much in advance!
It might be the converter to 3.5mm. Incorrectly wired lead to the xlr? Battery the wrong way around? (Check for the light when you switch on) Or finally, something wrong with the mic. If it works with 48V phantom power, then the mic is most likely ok so it has to be something to do with the lead. Never had that with mine.
One unique aspect of the M3: It can run on voltage as low as 24V, which is almost unheard of today, but shows that you can use it live on a shitty console like a Peavey or Behringer Xenyx and you can still get consistent performance no matter how bad the power supply is. The blue does sound like it has more response on the lower end, which is probably why I've always preferred the M3 as drum overheads. Also, noise floor tests are almost always worthless given RUclips's lousy compression algorithms.
The power thing isn’t unique with Rode. A few of the Rodes run 24V. The best thing for me about the Rode is that it runs on 9V batteries. You’re a bit hard on the Xenyx! They’re not that bad at all. TBH, I don’t normally bother with noise because there are too many variables anyway.
Blue is quite prestigious The Rode is indeed versatile, especially with the possibility of being battery powered. The video could be quite useful for people interested in a good quality microphone without it being expensive. Thank you for this comparaison.
Thanks Ahmed. Yes, both inexpensive. It’s surprising how well some cheaper mics can perform and to be honest, good mic’ing technique can overcome a lot of problems. It always surprises me to see someone who has an expensive mic, using it badly in a poor room. The biggest problem with a poor sounding room and a good microphone, is that a really good microphone will point out the poor room!! With ease. For me, the Rode and its versatility are major features, being able to use it in more situations than just at home. For voice at home, I’m always a bit wary around £100 or so because that is getting close to an NT1a and that one has good sound (quite treble focused though) but very low noise too so it can be forgiving in placement. Mind you, it does pick up a lot of the room too being a Large Diaphragm Condenser!
Both really good microphones so great budget options. They are meant for slightly different applications but one thing they do have in common is that they are both intended for studio use with the Rode being a more versatile kind of mic.
Thanks for watching.
This was extremely helpful, Thank you very much kind sir!
Great. I’m glad it was useful!
So the battery takes care of the phantom power on the m3? This is great for on location and the recorder being used has no phantom power
Yes it does Don. This mic is a good ‘all rounder’. You can can even boom it. I’ve used it for many different things and not having tp carry a preamp around can be really nice. Just plug it in with an xlr to 3.5mm lead.
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Hello Ian, Thank you for the reviews and great explanation.
Hopefully you don't mind helping me out.
I am looking for a microphone for 2 main purposes, which are online teaching (on-going) and I am inspired to do my own voice over for a non-profit amateur audio-book (still practicing) recording. I'm interested to get the M3 cause I watched the video where you boomed the mic which can be very useful for teaching and voice over (probably?). I also watched some of your other videos as well and thought maybe I could get better opinion directly from you who has much better experience and knowledge about them.
The room where I use the mic is an untreated room with some noise from outside (occasional traffic and water pump noise) and my air conditioner inside. I am not happy with the sound I get from my current mic (an affordable dynamic Samson Q7 which I bought along with a Scarlett Solo audio interface so I could get my feet wet and kind off to get better understanding and experience what people really meant by 'reverberation', 'muddy', 'daw', 'mouth noise', and stuff a while ago.) and also my interface gain need to be cranked up until 99 percent and literally eating the mic to get -14 to -6db signal. I am not too comfortable with this condition. Being close to mic is also not ideal for teaching either.
For this condition which one is actually better in your opinion? Rode M3, SE v7x, (I think this one is more sensitive than my mic), SE8, Behringer B5 or should I just go with Rode NT1a. Does NT1a really needs a proper studio room? I did notice your video on NT1a was recorded not in a treated room and for me it sounds great. Rode NTG4 is also in my list. Currently Rode M3 is at the top of the list.
Thank you.
Hi j”sen. For an untreated room with noises outside etc, I would look at super cardioids. They hone in a little better on the target while rejecting room reverb fairly well. A cardioid large diaphragm condenser might well pick up reverb. The only way I get away with it is by having the mic as close to me as possible in my front room, which as you probably know, isn’t ideal for recording.
I get slightly better results by ‘underslinging’ the mic, not booming. So the back end is looking at the carpet and front pointing at me. The main thing is get the mic close. Experimenting is the key. Watch where the back of the mic is pointing.
I guess you’re not able to ‘borrow’ a mic from someone to see how it behaves in your room?
So, lowest room pickup might come from the V7x. This is a dynamic with a super cardioid pickup. It has a more extended frequency reaponse than most other dynamics and many big time singers use it because of that. If your amp isn’t powerful enough for a dynamic, then there is a very clever device called a Triton Fethead. This provides a lot of gain to the mic before the preamp. It uses 48v phantom power and you would find that the mic can be taken away from your mouth quite comfortably and you can still use it. Would you believe, I’ve even boomed it! There are two versions of the Fethead ... one passes phantom power on to the mic and the other doesn’t. The one needed for a dynamic is the one that doesn’t pass on power. You could always try a Fethead with your current dynamic. They are really good. I also have a direct preamp from a company called ‘Micbooster.com’ that uses ordinary plug in power to amplify a dynamic so I can plug straight into my camera without a normal preamp.
The Rode m3 is a touch noisy when boomed. Good all rounder but not ideal. It’s also cardioid.
Rode NT1a is brilliantly quiet which gives you more room to raise the gain but in your room, you don’t want that. It would need to be very close to stop other noises. It is very sensitive. (And heavy) Another large condenser which might work well for you is the T.Bone sc400. It is cheap and only sold by Thomann in Germany. It is a super cardioid mic and very loud in output. It has a beefier sound than the Rode. I looked at it in one of my reviews and also if you find the Neewer comparison I did (how cheap can you go? I think the video was called) I use the t.bone to show just how much better it sounds. Soundspeeds also reviewed the t.bone sc400.
The Rode NTG4 is good, a bit more woolly sounding I think. Shotguns are not at their best indoors because you can get a fluttering sound from room reflections. If you’re thinking of a shotgun, I would go for a pencil mic rather than shotgun. The shotgun is not really designed to be used indoors although they work, they can introduce other problems from wall reflections which can’t be fixed. They’re ok in a sound booth.
The se8 is a great mic. It is a cardioid though, although I do find that it works quite well in my front room funnily enough. Again, I undersling it. If you’re prepared to go that high in price, I would also consider the Oktava mk-012. It comes in a set or with single capsules. I have a set; omni, cardioid and hyper cardioid. The hyper cardioid head is excellent boomed. However, not massively different from the se8. I’m just about to release a video about the Oktava so you will be able to hear it.
The beauty of the Oktava set is that the omni works well for groups of people sat around it, with it pointing up. The cardioid works well held close in conference type things and the hyper cardioid is great when boomed. So it’s kind of a mic for many occasions and sounds great. Not cheap though. If you buy an Oktava, don’t buy from Ebay. Thomann is a good source. There are copies around because it’s kind of a legendary mic.
So I would consider the v7x, t.bone sc400 and either the se8 or Oktava. My favourites are the se8 and Oktava.
Finding the right mic is really difficult because you just don’t know how your voice will sound through it. You know the sound of my voice perhaps through videos, but live, it’s not that loud and boomy. Some mics make my voice bigger than it is in real life!
Personally, I think you may be happier with the sensitivity and small size of a pencil mic. Easier to boom because they are light (the Oktava is minute) and don’t dominate on video if you see them.
Cheers
Ian
Great insights, Ian! So if my camera (Sony ZV-1) has a 3,5mm-Microphone-Input I could just plug in the Rode M3 with a XLR-to-3,5mm-jack-cable and it would be directly captured over the video? Plus the battery of course. Thanks in advance, Mate!
Yes. The m3 is self powered and can be plugged directly into the camera. Or if you want, it can be used with 48v phantom power. Great microphone.
@@iancraig So cool! Thanks for the lightning fast answer!
@@iancraig Ian! It doesn't work, the audio level bar is staying completely silent. Any guess, what I'm doing wrong? I've plugged a 3,5mm to 6,33mm jack cable into an jack-to-xlr-Adapter an then into the M3. Too much equipment in the way, maybe? Thanks so much in advance!
It might be the converter to 3.5mm. Incorrectly wired lead to the xlr? Battery the wrong way around? (Check for the light when you switch on) Or finally, something wrong with the mic. If it works with 48V phantom power, then the mic is most likely ok so it has to be something to do with the lead.
Never had that with mine.
One unique aspect of the M3: It can run on voltage as low as 24V, which is almost unheard of today, but shows that you can use it live on a shitty console like a Peavey or Behringer Xenyx and you can still get consistent performance no matter how bad the power supply is. The blue does sound like it has more response on the lower end, which is probably why I've always preferred the M3 as drum overheads.
Also, noise floor tests are almost always worthless given RUclips's lousy compression algorithms.
The power thing isn’t unique with Rode. A few of the Rodes run 24V. The best thing for me about the Rode is that it runs on 9V batteries.
You’re a bit hard on the Xenyx! They’re not that bad at all.
TBH, I don’t normally bother with noise because there are too many variables anyway.
Blue is quite prestigious
The Rode is indeed versatile, especially with the possibility of being battery powered.
The video could be quite useful for people interested in a good quality microphone without it being expensive.
Thank you for this comparaison.
Thanks Ahmed. Yes, both inexpensive. It’s surprising how well some cheaper mics can perform and to be honest, good mic’ing technique can overcome a lot of problems. It always surprises me to see someone who has an expensive mic, using it badly in a poor room. The biggest problem with a poor sounding room and a good microphone, is that a really good microphone will point out the poor room!!
With ease.
For me, the Rode and its versatility are major features, being able to use it in more situations than just at home. For voice at home, I’m always a bit wary around £100 or so because that is getting close to an NT1a and that one has good sound (quite treble focused though) but very low noise too so it can be forgiving in placement. Mind you, it does pick up a lot of the room too being a Large Diaphragm Condenser!