I am the very happy owner of the Rode NT1-A. Clear and Quite is how I would characterize it. I paired it with a Studio Projects VTB1 pre amp. Each time I used it I have been pleased with the results. Often see a good sale price on this combo.

So far have used it only for vocals, but I do note that I can record at various distances from the mic and still get great pickup and tone, unlike my prior SM57 where I generally was always kissing the mic for vocal tone.