Just spent about 30 mins trying to find out why a vocal track was going all weird on me. The sound was so bad (really low level, muffled, echoey and very distant) even though the mic was correctly positioned. Checked all the cables and settings several times and had convinced myself that I was somehow managing to bypass the USB audio interface and record from the built in mics on the laptop. Only after we gave up for the evening did it occur to me that (wait for it)
I had the NT-1A THE WRONG WAY ROUND - gold disc to the back.

How thick is that?

A Scot who didn't know where his gold was. Incredible!

Ya know I love Scotland, it's the most beautiful place I've ever visited, and also the only country that waits 364 days to mail back your VAT refund!

I had the NT-1A THE WRONG WAY ROUND - gold disc to the back.

How thick is that?

We all have our bad days, I spent ages trying to work out why the sound was so low on my NT-1a. The solution was simple, turn on the 48v Phantom power supply first. Duh!

When I were a boy (19) and a trainee at Tyne Tees TV I worked on several drama productions when I had the 416 in it's blimp the wrong way round and pointed at the ceiling, at least the sound recordist noticed!