Rode NTG-3 or AKG Blue Line with Hyper capsule?

C

christopherbdnk

Active member
I'll be primarily mic-ing indoor narrative work with a pretty quiet set, though some of them will be in small rooms or areas, and sometimes with an inexperienced boom op. Will the AKG give me too much handling noise? With outdoor use, will the AKG hold up at all? Whatever I go with, it'll be used in a Rode Blimp.

Any advice? Should I spend a little bit more, or will I be fine for this range? I'm looking for a very neutral sound, but still capable of picking up some room tone.

Price comparison is $400 for the AKG combo, or ~$700 for the NTG-3.
 
No one microphone is going to do it all. Ideally, you'll have a shotgun and a hyper.
 
The AKG can also be used with a shotgun capsule, but I haven't been able to see how it holds up to the Rode NTG-3, I imagine the Rode will be a little bit better, but for indoor work, is the AKG preferable (with hyper)?
 
The CK93 is great indoors. I even use it outdoors and also camera mounted. I cant comment on how it would compare to the NTG-3 but I know my next mic purchase will be the NTG-3 specifically for outdoor usage.
 
I went to B&H today and they suggested just getting the NTG-3, and that I shouldn't have any trouble with a hollow sound if it's used indoors, and that with the AKG Blue Line, I'd need to mic it within a foot because it's an instrument mic and keeping it out of frame sounds impossible.

Is this true, or am I able to use the AKG with hyper from closer to 2 feet away?
 
I second Why, Why Are, Why Be's remarks. B&H is a great place to look at gear, but I've never been impressed with their staff's audio knowledge. Wouldn't you want to boom within a foot regardless of whether you were using the hyper or shotgun?

 
Thanks guys, I'll give them a call or head down there tomorrow. I wish I could afford to just rent them both for a weekend and run some tests. Is it insane that I'm considering a shotgun for work that, primarily, will be indoors and narrative in nature?
 
christopherbdnk said:
Thanks guys, I'll give them a call or head down there tomorrow. I wish I could afford to just rent them both for a weekend and run some tests. Is it insane that I'm considering a shotgun for work that, primarily, will be indoors and narrative in nature?
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It depends on the mic but in general a shotgun is not a good choice for interiors except on a soundstage. There are exceptions - the Rode NTG-1 or -2 has a miuch more interior-friendly pattern than most other 'guns, for example. But if your primary work is indoors, a hyper would be a better first mic IMHO. It'll work better than the 'gun indoors and you can use it outdoors as well for other than wide shots requiring more "reach."

The AKG should be fine at 18 to 24 inches.
 
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You can't go wrong with the AKG hyper for indoor applications.
That is one fantastic sounding mic and it can also be used for some situations outdoors with great results.
Might also try Alto Music. They sometimes beat B&H prices.
 
Thanks for the advice, guys! I called Pro Sound and he said that he had never sold an AKG Blue Line for anything other than instrument recording, so he wasn't sure how much he could say about it, but that he had heard of people using them for film/dialogue work. He recommended the Sanken CS1 as a shorter shotgun, that would be great outside, and be more forgiving indoors.

I'm still stuck, but leaning toward the AKG. If I was to get the NTG-3, I'd get a good deal on it from a dealer I know ($500), so I'm tempted to take advantage of only having to pay $100 more for what seems to be a 'higher quality' microphone, but I guess it doesn't matter how high quality it is if I would be using it frequently for something it isn't designed to do.
 
Just get both, that's what I did. They are great mics for the price, but against the "rules" I found myself liking more the NTG3 in most situations, but still use the AKG for dialogues in low roof places.
 
FWIW, we're very satisfied with the results we get from the blue line series - se300b's with ck93 hypers, 98 shotguns, and 97's for lav and plant applications. Handling noise has not been an issue. We use the k-tek mounts, rycote bbg and softie. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks everyone! I decided to go with the AKG se300b + ck93 hyper, though it could have gone either way. I was offered a really good price for the Rode ($500), so that might be our next purchase.
 
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