Sennheiser 416 vs. Rode NTG-3.

I own the NTG-3 and love it. Matt's rave reviews caught my attention right at the right time so i buckled down and bought one with the blimp. I am very satisfied with this mic setup...thanks again Matt...the blimp works well and also gets dazzling the client bonus points, you just don't seem em very often on all these New York indie films. Definately a perk(;
 
Whats the actual street price of this mic?
$700? I woulda thought it was less by the way you guys say its such a bargain.
Im not ripping on it, just a little surprised.
 
Does the NTG3 have the reach of an AT4073a? I have an NTG2 and an AT4073a and the reach of the 4073 is way better. Of course there's a big price difference but wondering how the NTG3 compares?
 
The street price of an NTG-3 is less then you probably expect... and it has a little more reach then a 416, but not as much as a 4073a. A 4073a is a hot-hot mic... hotter then an me66... but really there is no such thing as reach. Usable reach is sensitivity combined with rejection.

The 4073a definitely beats the me66 in "usable reach"... but the 4073a doesn't have the rejection that a 416 (or the NTG-3) has... so the NTG-3 or 416 will be usable in more situations then the 4073a... by simply gaining up at the cam or mixer.

If you felt like doing a search you'll see that all my experiences with the 4073a indoors have been bad... the ONLY interior that's going to give a decent result with a 4073a is a really dead space, or some location with zero echo and high ceilings. Any "normal" interior... such as an apartment or any regular house will probably sound bad mic'ed with a 4073a. An open exterior where you want everything in the beam of the mic... will sound pretty good.

I haven't used the term "reach" in a while because even a stock DVX doesn't need a mic with higher sensitivity... it's much easier to use a mic that sounds good in more locations, and then boost that signal AFTER the mic, then it is to control unwanted sound that's automatically coming in from a hot mic... and then figure out how to deal with it later.

A 416 or an NTG-3 will give you much more control of your surroundings then a 4073a will... so... even with the stock audio inputs of a DVX, you can get plenty of level out of an NTG-3... without hearing as much of that traffic one street over... or nearly so much echo in an ordinary interior.
 
Thanks Matt, I was hoping you would comment on my question. As soon as I can afford the NTG-3 I think I'll sell my NTG-2 and move up to one. Thanks again for the info.
 
Rippie said:
Whats the actual street price of this mic?
$700? I woulda thought it was less by the way you guys say its such a bargain.
Im not ripping on it, just a little surprised.
Click to expand...


drop the price by $200 and then your in the ballpark. I bought mine for $499! It really is a sweet sounding mic. The only thing I would change is the peak at about 10k (or somewhere around there haven't checked the chart) It gets a little sssey with women's voices for my taste but this is obviously subjective. Other than that I am very pleased with the sound quality this mic has to offer. I'm listening to Matt's tests through my studio monitors (event 20/20) and he is right it is very hard to tell the difference between the two mics. Really I prefer the sound of the ntg-3 as it does sound a touch warmer to my ear.
 
I'm a firm believer in the internet economy... (think of the phony ass Nike ads that only show Nike shoes or logos as the countless masses debate whether or not a 16 year old girl can kick a ball 100 yards through a donut)... so get ready for some bullsh*t to combat the increased popularity of the NTG-3.

That's why I put my TIME where my mouth is... and SHOW you what I'm talking about. Trust your ears... trust the 10 year warranty... and trust Guy to give a deal to make you :)
 
Hi Matt, I finally bought the NTG3 from Guy and I mounted on a K-tek KSM, but the Rode doesn't seem to like the mount at all, lot of handling noise. I mean the mic picks the change of pressure of my fingers. This is the same mount and boom pole that I use with my neumanns and 416, they all work very well on that. I see in your clip that you are using KSM too. What is your experience with the NTG/KSm combo?
 
I'm surprised to hear that you experience a significant difference in the handling noise from 416 to NTG-3... but I am using the SOFT bands for the K-Tek mount... and I think that makes a big difference. I like the durability of the hard bands, but I had significant handling noise on all my mics with the hard bands (which are stock, unless you buy from somebody that will sell the mount with the soft bands).
 
Yes, I'm surprised too. I'm using the soft rubber too, so that's not going to help. I learning to like the mic more and more, I want to make it work.
I have invision 7 system and works well there, but the lyre suspension is to "loose" for the weight of the mic with a Softie .
 
The softie mount did the trick, more important than the suspension was using two cables, and being able to lock the connectors in a secure position in the mount. After numerous test we started thinking than the NTg3 didn't handle low frequencies as well as the 416, that's why was picking everything from the internal cable of the boom. Not sure this is the right explanation but now it's working. I'm personally done with KSM mounts with the invision system and the softie one, I'm fine.
 
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