Rode NT4 Stereo X/Y Condenser Microphone Reviews

I purchased this mic years ago with the intent to use it for ambience tracks for sleep/relaxation/study. Today I use it for those reasons plus room ambience for instruments in the field, and general field recording. This mic is versatile due to its natural sound and ability to run on battery. The battery feature is extremely useful in my case because, let's face it, many field recorders have phantom power, but when that is switched on the battery life of the recorder is typically cut down to about a quarter or less of normal run time. Being able to run the NT4 on an internal 9V alkaline battery really helps preserve the battery life of the field recorder, and still allows the mic to pick up whispers from over 30 feet away without noticeable self-noise. The run time of the NT4 on a 9V battery will long exceed any field recorder's battery life. They advertise 400+ hours on a single battery. I can vouch for this. I have the same battery in the mic on this day that I installed when I first powered the mic on years ago. (Not daily, or even weekly usage but still.) I just used this NT4, combined with a Sound Devices MixPre-6 to record a thunderstorm, a 4-hour track. Soon I will be taking it out to capture the room ambience on an upcoming solo capella track.
By the way: the NT4 will fit the Rode BLIMP with some slight modifications, and the Rode support team was very helpful in sending me the appropriate mounts that go inside the BLIMP to support the NT4's fat body. This is a must if you plan to do any tracking outdoors in high wind.
I highly recommend this mic for any kit, whether it be field action, or studio. The natural sound does wonders for acoustic instruments like piano or guitar.
The NT4 totally blew past my expectations, and the price is reasonable!

I've used the NT4 in multiple applications, including live stage recording, drum overheads, and as a room mic for band rehearsals. It always performs well. You may not ever get a chance to experience their customer service since the products are high quality, but if you do, you will not be disappointed. I had a problem with this mic that was completely my fault, and I was way outside of warranty, but RODE fixed it up and shipped it back to me no charge.

Incredible!!! I bought this about 3 months ago, Ive used it on the road doing sound gigs, mostly gospel event with choirs. I use this in conjunction with 2 nt5 matched pairs. Just Awesome!!! Very durable, soinds amazing!!!! I have used all the norms, Sennheiser, Shure, etc. I love the Senn E835 for stand alone vocals, but for small to medium area pick up - this is the ticket. One word of advice - if the choir loft or stage isn't padded, make sure you have a downward enough angle toward the choir to reduce reflection - this mic will pick up everything, And I mean everything - so keep in mind thats whatever is even whispered. Hope this helps.

This mic was the perfect addition for my home recording setup! This gives my acoustic guitar the full sound I was looking for with an easy setup!! Especially since now I have it going through my Apollo quad I have my presets saved. I can focus on being creative while still engineering! Thanks again Sweetwater!

I bought this to improve the quality of my H4N Zoom recordings. The Zoom does a great job but I wanted to try something better. Several people, including an audio engineer, recommending this mic for my application and price range. They said that if your final product would be an MP3 listened over the internet that the X/Y pattern single stereo mic was a better way to go then a matched pair of stereo mics.

It really exceeded my expectations. I got a significantly better recording in terms of dynamics, range, and clarity. And it was really easy to set up. No guessing about phasing and placement. It was really plug and play.

FYI, It does require power. The H4N does have phantom power, but you can also put a 9volt in the mic, which is what I did.

This mic loses 1/2 a star because it's a fixed X/Y configuration and that means reduced flexibility of placement. However, then again, if you buy a NT4 then you know that this is what it is and you have a need for a no-fuss quality piece of kit.

I have been using this mic for field recordings (9V internal power) for film FX/ambient sound and foley (48 V phantom). In both cases it positively shines. The sound is silky smooth and there's plenty of high end detail. The mic does lose some sensitivity on 9V internal power, however it's so quiet that the required make-up boost on the pre-amp doesn't bring in a lot of extra noise.

Make no mistake, this is a pro piece of kit and I am about to buy a pair of NT5s (same capsules) on the basis of my experience with the NT4.

Downsides? It's uggly, it is silver and shiny, largish and quite heavy - so not very stealthy...I wish Rode had a matt-black model.

Conclusion? So easy to use, so well thought out, comes with great accessories (clips, wind screens, cables and a case), buy!

Worked great for our choir!

I flew the NT4 over the conductor of an All-City Middle School Concert Band. I was impressed with the the very natural sound of the ensemble and the conductor's voice during the rehearsal/sound check.

A solid winner in its price range. Well built hefty microphone, sensitive pickup. Smooth top end. Used to record symphonic wind band... as an overhead mic behind conductor about 3 feet above with boom stand. Was initially disappointed by somewhat narrow stereo separation. However, it is easy to fix this aspect with Waves S1 stereo enhancer plug in DAW. Recorded into Zoom H6 recorder. Thin sounding with 80hz high pass on H6, sounded much better not using high pass filter on H6. Still, the sound is a bit on the thin side, after all it is a SDC reaching for long throw stage ensemble. There are better stereo mics out there but am still pleased with my purchase. Setup is convenient, flexible power option (9v battery or 48v phantom), to get any better you would have to pay much much more.

I have been using NT4 together with Marantz PMD661, when I take videos. The sound quality is good. One bad experience I had was the cable lost continuity in the 5 pins connector ( one of wires broke ) during the field video taking. So, I lost sound recording.

I used this mic (s) to record my son’s jazz combo in a loud club 5 hours after the Fed Ex guy delivered the mic from Sweetwater. If you record live music and want a natural live sound vs. a close mic multi-track sound, this is one mic you must have. A very loud rock band came on next and I had to really pot down the inputs on my Edirol R4. This mic has a hot output and I may test an attenuator next time.

Just used this to record an orchestra and choir for a TV Christmas special. It wasn't the only mic used, but the mix was MOSTLY this mic with a couple of spot mics for dramatic effect. Everyone in the remote truck commented on the richness and warmth of the sound, as well as the pleasant width of the resulting track. Even the orchestra conductor was impressed with the results (and he's a PRETTY hard guy to impress!!) I HIGHLY recommend this mic for ensemble recordings, etc. This weekend I'm planning to try it as an audience ambience mic for a live DVD recording for a musician client's concert recording.

Great bang-for-the-buck! Makes for a very nice acoustic guitar. Sharp high end without being crunchy or overly edgy, good transients. Definately worth the $$$. Comes with 2 cables: 5pin to dual XLR and 5pin to 1/8 mini stereo. Useful for location recordings, especially with the 1/8 and 9v battery. I'm taking it up on a mountain soon!