I generally steer clear of microphones specifically marketed for vocals. Past experiences have taught me that vocal mics are typically not “my thing,” as many in this category tend to be fairly bright and aggressive in the high end. There are obviously exceptions, but I personally prefer a neutral-voiced, warmer-sounding microphone for vocalists, and I only have one in my collection that’s pretty open and bright in character – and I went through a lot of different options over the years trying to find just the right one to round out my mic collection.
I was ecstatic when Nordic Audio reached out to me about their new NU-24K microphone that they were about to release. Although I’d had the chance to briefly audition a few of their microphones in other studios over the years, it felt ideal to finally spend some time with one in my own space. They were purposefully vague on the details, as they wanted to hear my feedback without any bias, only saying that it would be a more budget-friendly, cardioid-only microphone designed for vocals. That last part was slightly discouraging. I figured – worst case scenario – it would probably sound really good but maybe not the best fit for my taste.
Nordic Audio requested that I film my initial reactions the first time I plugged in the NU-24K. The video of this moment is on their website, and mirrors all of the thoughts written here as I play a very familiar acoustic guitar in front of it. The first thing that stood out to me was definitely the mic’s noise floor. You can see me pause a few times during the video, as I couldn’t quite articulate what I was hearing. Not only was the noise floor really low, but it was somehow different. Martin Kantola (Head Designer/CEO) later explained to me that many FET microphones have a bit of an ugly, shrill hiss to the noise floor. Martin had somehow shaped the noise on the NU-24K to mimic that of a Neumann U 47 with a very “happy” VF14 tube inside. He described it more as an ocean in the background rather than hiss, and that’s the perfect illustration. I’ve never heard anyone talk about actively and consciously shaping the noise floor like that on a microphone, and it’s brilliant in both concept and practice.
The other thing I noticed right away (and also couldn’t quite articulate) was the unique proximity effect of the NU-24K. The lower frequencies on the mic are more supercardioid, while the higher frequencies lean into wide cardioid. It’s interesting to move the mic back from a source a bit, as I was able to tame the proximity effect nicely without the source sounding more distant. That’s a super useful party trick, and it became apparent quite quickly that the NU-24K was really at home on most sources when backed off a bit; a quality usually reserved for more expensive microphones. Nordic Audio has definitely hit an amazing sweet spot in terms of voicing the directionality across the frequency range. For vocals especially, I could easily back the mic off the source a bit, angle it to avoid direct airflow from plosives, and get away with no pop filter and minimal de-essing.
Although Nordic Audio is marketing the NU-24K as an exceptional vocal microphone, it became apparent to me very quickly that it was also at home on acoustic instruments. While capturing a brighter Taylor acoustic guitar for a modern-style recording, I noted that it was the best I’d heard over the years in my room. The articulated top end was very open without a hint of harshness, which unusual for modern-sounding microphones on that particular guitar. I typically use darker-sounding condensers or ribbons for the Taylor. There was also a perfect amount of low end and proximity effect to balance out the tone for a full sound.
There’s a noticeable amount of tube-like compression in the midrange on most sources with the NU-24K, which is no doubt compliments of Nordic’s new FloFET circuitry. You wouldn't know it after hearing it in different scenarios, but the NU-24K is tubeless and transformerless. Although they’re a bit secretive about the details, the FloFET circuit is designed to deliver a lot of the color and response of what we like about many vintage mic designs, but without the hassle and extra cost. I’ve seen many companies attempt to pull something like this off over the years, but Nordic Audio may be the first to do it this well.
The NU-24K is also somewhat indifferent when it comes to preamps. I recorded a whole song with a few NU-24K’s using only AEA TRP preamps. It definitely isn’t going to hurt anything to run it through a nice tube preamp, but it has color and character to spare on its own. I’ve had a lot of excellent microphones come through the studio over the last few years, but the NU-24K, without exaggeration, was the most impressive, especially considering its price point. Sonically, it’s also uniquely in its own category, as I really struggle to find a comparable microphone. The top end is abundant, yet still somehow smooth; the midrange character is absolutely amazing, oozing with beautiful vintage vibes; the low end proximity effect is powerful and punchy, and is probably the easiest I’ve ever dealt with in a microphone before. This mic doesn't sound like anything else I’ve used; it just sounds like an NU-24K – it’s a new classic, and it’s not just for vocals.