Rode NT1000
A fixed-pattern large-diaphragm condenser that made a lot of engineers rethink what a sub-$600 mic was allowed to sound like.
Overview
The NT1000 is the FET half of Rode's early-2000s pair. The tube-driven NTK sits next to it in the Australian company's large-diaphragm line. Both use a one-inch capsule with a gold-plated membrane. Both also share the same matte-silver housing, which reviewers at the time compared in look and feel to a Neumann U87. It is a much sturdier package than Rode's earlier models. Each mic screws into a basic yoke mount with some positioning flexibility. The capsule is internally shock-mounted, and an external shock mount (the SM2) is available as an optional extra. The NT1000 ships with a zippered pouch, an M2 stand mount, and a 3/8"-5/8" thread adaptor.
Where the NTK runs a tube, the NT1000 is solid-state, built around an externally polarized 1-inch pressure-gradient condenser capsule and ultra-low-noise transformerless circuitry. It's a fixed-cardioid microphone with no switches, no pad and no low-frequency roll-off. In a Mix (2001, p.101) round-up of the launch, the mic was compared against a Neumann U87i and described as clearer and slightly brighter. Rode's own advertising went after the comparison too. It ran a 30-day guarantee offering store credit toward a Neumann TLM103 if a buyer didn't think the NT1000 was as good or better. Rode was plainly aiming at the TLM103.
Rode rates the NT1000 for a 20 Hz - 20 kHz frequency response at ±6 dB, with greater than 134 dB of dynamic range and a maximum SPL of greater than 140 dB. The quiet transformerless front end lets a condenser capture low-level detail without the self-noise veil that some older designs impose. The mic requires 35-53 V phantom power, so any interface or preamp with standard 48 V phantom will run it.
In use, the NT1000 sounds bright and open in the upper midrange without tipping into harshness. Contemporary reviews describe it flattering acoustic guitar and female voice with detail and sparkle. They say it handles close and moderately close male vocals well, though a pop screen is advisable for plosives, as with most sensitive condensers. It also picks up violin and tin whistle detail without the shrillness those sources can produce. It handles drums capably, and floor tom attack and resonance come through. The lack of a pad means hot sources can push a recorder's inputs harder than you'd like. For switchable patterns or high-pass filtering, Rode's own Classic II was the step up in the line.
The NT1000 was priced at $599 (list) at launch, with the tube NTK at $999. A Neumann TLM103 listed at $995, so the Rode cost roughly sixty percent of the German mic's price. Rode's guarantee was built to make that comparison unavoidable. Mix (March 2001, p.39) ran the TLM103 comparison as a full-page ad. The review coverage that followed treated the mic as a genuine alternative rather than a budget compromise. The consensus from the period was that the NT1000 held its own on a wide range of material, including intimate vocals, acoustic instruments and louder sources, in a way that few affordable condensers of the era could.
The fixed cardioid only limits you if you need something else. For most recording situations it isn't an issue. The lack of a pad is the more practical complaint, and it matters before you point one at a kick drum. As with any phantom-powered condenser of this age, check that the capsule hasn't been damaged and that the transformerless circuit is quiet. The low self-noise spec is the main reason to own one.
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