#16
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A good friend who does a lot of classical recordings and works as an electronic engineer in his day job did some measuring on Rode NT5 compared with Neumann 184. Surprise: The Rode pair was closer to a matched pair than the Neumann pair. We know that Neumann does not sell their stereo pairs as matched pairs but states that their microphones are so close there is no need for matching (I had a pair of KM184 with consecutive numbers once).
I own a pair of Schoeps MK 4s and use them a lot, as I use a pair of old KM 84s. But to me the matched pair thing seems a bit overrated for what I do (recording finger style guitar, bluegrass, singer / songwriter, blues, Celtic, jazz ...). If I would be you, I would sent the single Rode back and get the pair - not for better matching but for better price and housing.
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#17
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"This matched pair has been carefully selected to ensure a variation of no more than 1dB sensitivity between the microphones. A premium foiled certificate is supplied to verify the authenticity of the pair." Every description of matched pairs I've ever heard of from factory supplied information in the recent past has always stated that individual mics are tested and mated together according to actual tested response curves. There has been improvements in manufacturing where the quality supposedly does away with the need to do that (as per Neumann...). I have never seen any information related from any factory that "matched pairs" are simply mics that come off the assembly line consecutively. I'd be happy to be proved wrong, though. |
#18
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Jim 2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi 2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood 2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar 2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce 2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce 1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos. YouTube |
#19
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‘Sensitivity’ is only specified at 1KHz, not over the frequency response curve. So Rode’s ‘matching’ has some merit, but most buyers probably don’t know, or understand, the limitations of their matching criteria.
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Chuck 2012 Carruth 12-fret 000 in Pernambuco and Adi 2010 Poling Sierra in Cuban Mahogany and Lutz 2015 Posch 13-fret 00 in Indian Rosewood and Adi Last edited by ChuckS; 02-20-2020 at 05:48 PM. |
#20
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Jim 2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi 2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood 2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar 2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce 2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce 1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos. YouTube |
#21
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But yes, it's hard to say if they are really doing this, and if so, how well.
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Chuck 2012 Carruth 12-fret 000 in Pernambuco and Adi 2010 Poling Sierra in Cuban Mahogany and Lutz 2015 Posch 13-fret 00 in Indian Rosewood and Adi |
#22
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@urbanfarmer
Hey Jeff, If I was buying a pair of Rode NT5's I'd get the matched pair. Send me an e-mail or PM the next time you go to see Phil Heywood at the Dubliner; it would be nice to meet up with you.
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Chuck 2012 Carruth 12-fret 000 in Pernambuco and Adi 2010 Poling Sierra in Cuban Mahogany and Lutz 2015 Posch 13-fret 00 in Indian Rosewood and Adi |
#23
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I've had Beyerdynamic mics that had individual response charts shipped with the mic, but that sort of attention to detail is associated with a commensurate increase in price. For the average home recording enthusiast "factory matched mics" are going to ensure a good starting point. We can keep shifting the goal post for what constitutes "matched microphones", but what's the point? |
#24
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Hi UF,
I don't think you will ever notice that two Rode NT5 mics are not "matched." However, buying them as a matched set, as Derek has pointed out, does provide you some price advantages. I would suggest calling your Sweetwater salesperson and talking to him/her about this. He/she will probably come up with a good solution for you. By the way, I have a pair of Rode NT5 mics. I've been using them for years. I also have both cardioid and omni capsules for these mics. They are very cost-effective and work pretty darn well. - Glenn
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#25
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Matching of Sensitivity to within 1dB is quite good and could be way better than simply grabbing two sequentially produced mics. It is nice that Rode actually states what their criteria is.
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Chuck 2012 Carruth 12-fret 000 in Pernambuco and Adi 2010 Poling Sierra in Cuban Mahogany and Lutz 2015 Posch 13-fret 00 in Indian Rosewood and Adi Last edited by ChuckS; 02-21-2020 at 07:59 AM. |
#26
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Here's actual graphs from a pair of well matched mics.
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#27
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What, Gefell M296? (I just googled and saw a pair listed on this forum 6 years ago for $2k - omnis, hence the very flat measurement, I suspect, too. Vintage King has a single for $1.6k right now.) I'm going out on a limb here, but not a home recording option for most folks...
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"I know in the morning that it's gonna be good, when I stick out my elbows and they don't bump wood." - Bill Kirchen |
#28
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Derek Coombs Youtube -> Website -> Music -> Tabs Guitars by Mark Blanchard, Albert&Mueller, Paul Woolson, Collings, Composite Acoustics, and Derek Coombs "Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Woods hands pick by eye and ear
Made to one with pride and love To be that we hold so dear A voice from heavens above |
#29
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Jim 2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi 2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood 2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar 2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce 2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce 1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos. YouTube |
#30
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My view on this is that matched mics aren’t as important as what we read on the internet, at least for recording acoustic guitar. As had been mentioned, many people deliberately use unmatched mics. But even the mics are matched exactly, other things won’t be. Our ears for starters, very unlikely that your hearing is identical in each ear. We don’t usually talk about “matched” studio monitors, either, and they should be subject to the same minor variations as mics, I’d think. Even electronic components have tolerances, so each side of a stereo preamp is likely to not be identical. But all these things are “close enough”
If your recording in xy, and truly want mic response to be the same on each side (even tho the guitar itself is not identical sounding on each side) one way to get there is to use Mid-side. As long as the side mic has the same front and back response, you should have a very accurate match. I really like mid-side, I suppose accurate matching could be part if the reason, but more likely I’m hearing true co-incidence, which you can only get close to with 2 mics in xy
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