Question about Rode NTG-3

Well. I just could not resist. * puts up a very very very big smile
I went out today and bought the NTG-3 from a dealer particitipating the Blimp-campaign. So I already got my hands on and I'm sooo treating it with respect.. phiew, so much money I've spent on a mic, I don't even dare to say it out loud. I could not resist such a mic with the blimp and this kind of deal.. I just could not let this pass by...

My backup plan (if I really really do not like the sound inside) is to buy a NT3 or so (-mething in that range) for indoor recording later.

I know I could get a boompole with the dvestore but I did not find that the best way of buying the NTG-3 since I live in Amsterdam. Anyway I will not be home tonight : ) I will be testing the mic..
 
Last edited:
MattinSTL said:
All that for $700 is a B-A-R-G-A-I-N... UNBELIEVABLE, in fact. Don't ever forget that no mic is any better then it's support gear! You NEED a blimp... and you NEED a boom pole.

(Okay, maybe you could get by 75% of the time with only a softie, but you NEED a boom pole... and... for the other 25% of the time that you needed a blimp, you'll be screwed without one.)

Let me put this in simple terms:

A stock mic foam is typically about twice as wind resistant as a bare mic alone... a softie is about twice as wind resistant as that (one-piece fur covered foam)... and a blimp is about twice as wind resistant as that. (Specifically, a bare blimp w/o fur jacket is only a little less wind resistant then a softie... and then once the fur jacket is added it's dramatically more wind resistant. This translates to the most transparent wind protection when the blimp is bare, and the best wind protection with fur... or again, simply put, you need a blimp.)

Okay... let me put that other point into the most simple terms:

People use SOME shotguns indoors all the time. Almost every segment I recorded for History, Travel, Discovery used a Lectro w/ COS11, AND a CS3e... sometimes we used only the CS3e (shotgun) depending on the situation.

A CS3e (Sanken) can do most interiors, below that I'd put the 416 and NTG3... Go back to page 1 of this thread and look at the polar patterns. Realize that those aren't dead-perfect, but you can get an idea of what shotguns can do many interiors by looking at that (and verifying the real-world performance approximates the manufacturer supplied chart).

If a shotgun has very little tail out back, and a relatively smooth bubble out front, then it can do most interiors. Why a cardioid, or hyper does interiors typically better is that there's zero tail on a cardioid, and a very small one on hyper. This means that you can control the size of the bubble (front mic pickup) using gain alone... while putting the unwanted sound or reflection to the rear of the mic, and you get control over the unwanted sound (reflections, etc.) automatically.

So... again, to simplify... any shotguns that have patterns very close to hyper patterns, can do most interiors.

Make sense?

It's not a honeymoon period... it's science. A 416 can do interiors that an me66 couldn't DREAM of doing... and an NTG3 is basically a bargain priced 416, hence it really can do many interiors well. (NOT ALL... have a lav, or cardioid/hyper available).
Click to expand...

I just wanted to thank you for posting this. I am trying to purchase my first mic set up and I found this very helpful. I'm ordering the NTG3/blimp/boom pole set up today. Thanks again!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top