News

Rode Microphones announce
new additions at BVE 2015

As part of the Broadcast and Video Expo last week, Source Distribution announced some very exciting new products from the Rode microphones camp in the form of the Rode NTR Ribbon microphone, two new NTG models and the RodeLink Wireless Filmmaker Kit. These products are very welcome additions to the already amazing Rode family, which are renowned for their high build quality, low noise and incredible sound quality.

The Rode NTR Ribbon microphone represents a step forward in Ribbon microphone technology. Known for their high fidelity and smooth sound, ribbon mics usually come at the expense of low output and a darker overall sound, being dynamic in nature after all. Rode have taken all this into account when designing the NTR ribbon microphone to develop an offering that not only sounds just as rich, but addresses some of the inherent issues with the technology. The Rode NTR is an active ribbon microphone that takes 48v phantom power, something that you would never usually feed to a ribbon microphone, which means it has a much higher output overcoming the need for high gain microphone pre-amplifiers. The Ribbon itself is 1.8 micron thick and is precision laser cut at the rode factory in Australia, where the transformer is custom designed and wound in-house along with every other part of the microphone – no off-the-shelf parts here. The result is really extraordinary sounding and isn't dark like other ribbon microphones, has a higher output and doesn't need a shock-mount as that is built directly into the body of the microphone. We can already see this being a studio staple for many different sources including drums, guitar cabinets, vibey-vocals and brass.

The next announcement came in the form of two new shotgun microphones, the NTG4 and the NTG4+. Rode are no strangers to the shotgun microphone market with some incredibly strong and affordable broadcast offerings in the NTG2, NTG3 and NTG8. The NTG4 and NTG4+ are two microphones that offer a step-up from the NTG2 (not the NTG3 strangely) and feature some pretty amazing new technology behind the scenes. Each of the microphones have digital controls built onto the microphone bodies, and these include a 75Hz high pass filter, a 10dB pad, and they also include a high frequency lift which is to compensate for any high frequency loss you may incur by mounting a windshield or blimp. Both models feature the same brand-new shotgun capsule design which has a wonderfully smooth frequency response, perfect for picking up crystal clear dialogue. The NTG4+ is the worlds first microphone to include a fully rechargeable lithium battery that can last for a staggering 150 hours! This can be recharged in under 2 hours from any USB port, including a car lighter socket or portable mobile phone charger.

Rode have now addressed something they have been asked for time and time again, despite a really healthy and industry leading product range on lavalier and headset microphones – a wireless microphone solution. The RodeLink Wireless Filmmaker Kit has also answered the call for a digital wireless microphone kit which has many, many benefits over the current technology and something we're all pretty excited about here at ESV towers! The Filmmaker kit comprises of the Rode transmission and receiver units and the Rode broadcast Lavalier microphone as well as the connectivity to attach it directly to a 3.5mm DSLR input. This kit clearly has the DSLR filmmaker in mind, as it also has a circular hot shoe mounting plate on the bottom of the receiver and has the option for a 10dB output boost to compensate for less than ideal, noisy camera inputs. Of course, it can also be adapted to use with high end location recorders or high end cameras with XLR inputs by purchasing the VXLR connector. The RodeLink Filmmaker Kit is completely digital, utilising the 2.4 gHz wireless technology, and it also does some pretty clever things behind the scenes as broadcasts on two frequencies at once, and the receiver will constantly switch between the two favouring the strongest and cleanest signal giving you built in signal redundancy.

This all makes the Rode Wireless Filmmaker kit a truly versatile, easy to use, fantastic sounding and welcome offering that is suited to the DSLR and professional filmmakers alike. Please take a minute to watch our show videos on these new products, presented by Alex from Source Distribution.


Rode NTR Active Ribbon Microphone
Rode NTG4+ Shotgun Microphone
Rode NTG4 Shotgun Microphone
Rode Filmmaker Kit

For more information on your audio production needs, please call ESV now on 020 3137 2901 or email us at [email protected].