the mxl 990 isn't that bad

[Everybody's X]

www.everybodysx.com/sounds.html

let me know what you think

[@?,*???&?]

I listened to these today- the 990 and 991.

The 990 sounds like it looks. Sort of a wooden tone between 180Hz and 440Hz. Not as pleasing as the KSM27 to my ear, but sounds like a direct comparison to the Neumann TLM 103 to my ear. Sort of square, and squat in tone. I can hear why these might be good as drum overheads. The spec sheet shows a peak at around 9Khz to 10Khz and sonically and it seems to translate well without any kind of hashy hardness.

The 991 was very, very toppy, like an AKG451. Interesting middle texture, but seemed to color the sound in a detrimental fashion. While I have preferred a Neumann KM84 or KM85 on hi/hat, I do ocasionally opt for an AKG451 and this mic might make a good alternative. Might listen to it as well for that bottom snare sound..

For $99, the 990 is worth the price of admission.

[junomat]

i've never once seen anything on the web about the 991...

what is this mic?

anyone know if there will ever be an mxl ribbon mic?

[trashy]

anyone know if there will ever be an mxl ribbon mic?

No, but I heard that Alan is cooking up something from Studio Projects... (!)

[trashy]

p.s. Jeff - were you being serious? Either you were serious, or you were so over-the-top sarcastic that even my sarcatically-trained ears didn't pick it up. Huzzah!

[b3groover]

For what it's worth, a good friend of mine who owns a nice studio here in town is an MXL dealer. I asked him about this mic after I bought one... I was hoping he could get them cheaper since he's a dealer. He called MXL about them and they said they are exclusive to Musician's Friend and the rep on the phone actually told him that it isn't that good of a mic!

Like I said, I like mine in live situations. I haven't tried it in the studio.

A Studio Projects ribbon would be the shizzle.

[@?,*???&?]

p.s. Jeff - were you being serious? Either you were serious, or you were so over-the-top sarcastic that even my sarcatically-trained ears didn't pick it up. Huzzah!

Sorry to split hairs here. Many of you rushed out and bought your Oktava MK319s and MK219s- those mics are crap. The MXL 990 is a quieter mic and to my ear a better sounding mic than either of them. The MXL 991, however, is crap.

[trashy]

A Studio Projects ribbon would be the shizzle.

How 'bout a Nady?
(May 2004)
http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/20 ... 2-Mic.html

[junomat]

that mic LOOKS awesome

i wonder how it sounds.

i dont know anything about NADY mics

[spankenstein]

I've got a pair of these. They see frequent use as room mics or a stereo pair for recording quick things at practice.

I've used it on vocals when there was a lot of guitar in the mix and the vocals needed to cut through. Also some voices have worked really well where others were almost painful on this mic. The accentuated high end helped and harmed in regards to voices. They seem noisy and harsh dry but with a little use of EQ and compression they tame down quite a bit. It's never a "go to" mic but they end up getting used occasionaly.

I did not like it on acoustic guitar. But have liked it on some voices.

[@?,*???&?]

I've got a pair of these. They see frequent use as room mics or a stereo pair for recording quick things at practice.

It should accel at things like this. I've worked in a number of 'big rooms' that were hurting seriously for a pair of condensor mics. For the price, it's an instant 'stereo pair' for ambiance. One can only see so many single C12, U47, Coles 4038 as mono tracks before you have to ask the studio manager, anything in 'pairs' at your place? Lol. I mean the MXL 990's are not a pair of CMV563s, but in lieu of nothing... should be a no brainer. The studio probably will be spending more than these mics cost on food for your session...

[KennyLusk]

I have an MXL 990 and have really enjoyed it for some applications.

For vocals it's imperative to use a tube pre to warm it up a bit. The general concensus is correct that it's "Toppy", but it's toppy in a very open and airy way. the 6kHz to 7kHz range is beautiful on this mic as is 9kHz to 10kHz (again, great for vocals).

Upper mids are very pronounced which gives you a nice "up front" tone with great presence (some vocalists hate that). Dare I say "vintage" presence. If you want vocals to stand out in a mix this is a great mic to do it with. The excellent response in upper mids makes it a great mic for cymbals and overhead hand percussion. For effects percussion it reminds me of the CAD37 but with more "air" and better mids.

I've tracked female vocals with this mic very successfully and don't think I've heard a truer respresentation from any of my other mic's. I'm a vocalist myself and have come to love this mic for my vocals. There's not a single freq range on this mic that gets muddy and the low's to low mid's are crisp and clean wihtout any of that "scary rumble" you can get from some of the more popular mic's. Since the low end is so tight and crisp I find it's easier to EQ male vocals in the mix when tracking with the 990. Also, bumping up the lows on my board just a notch seemed to really warm up the low end. The typical response of this mic allows you the opportunity to EQ a little at the board and still be very forgiving because it's so consistent in response; even when it's been powered up for more than an hour the response is still the same.

As an ambient mic it's very useful too. With ambient mic's it's all about the high's anyway, right? I think this mic captures the reverb swirls in a nice room very well, capturing some of the natural harmonics that are sometimes missed in other mics that aren't so bright.

I haven't used this mic on my Martin yet so I don't know how it tracks a nice acoustic guitar but when I do I'll post it so you guys can hear it. So far though I can't break away from tracking acoustic guitar with my Oktava MK012's. I love those mic's.

Anyway, I picked up my MXL 990 from Musician's Friend about 5 months ago for $59 and it included a very nice shockmount and molded case with foam insert for the mic and shockmount. MXL calls it their 990 kit. In my humble opinion it's a mic worth 4 times that much which qualifies it as a bargain in my book. It's also a very pretty piece of gear with a brushed champagne finish and a sweet vintage look.

[object88]

Speaking of Musician's Friend and cheap mics, I got an emailer from them this morning, advertising the MXL V63M. for $60 (or with shockmount for $20 more). Thoughts?

[eeldip]

ok, my experience with the 990 is pretty limited. i used it for one session and just for vocals.

personally, i didnt like it much. in general i dont like really bright mics for vocals, but i can see their value in a mix. that aside, it was bright and pretty unpleasant to my ears. it sounded to me like it was giving A LOT of information at about 6k and up. and that information wasnt what i was giving it. pretty noisy/hashy stuff.

or if it WAS what the source was giving, it certainly wasnt flattering it.

anyway, i bet its a great mic for some application where you want something to really poke out up there. guitar cabs maybe awesome with it.

the oktava 319 that i had was a far superior mic. i liked it a lot on VO stuff, male vocals, toms it fucking ruled.

however, keep in mind that both these mics are from a line of cheapo quality control types. so my mics may or may not be representitive.

also, it might be a pretty decent mic if you have a flattering signal chain, like if you are going to tape thru some sort of nicey nicey smooth pre. my path was 990-earthworks pre-firestation. so there was nothing much after the mic that was doing anything to flatter the top.

[KennyLusk]

Personally I wouldn't recommend the V63 although it's a tempting price, especially with the shockmount. The V67 is the replacement for the V63 and it's a much better mic.

I think the real deal on MXL's at MF right now is the MXL 2003/603s combo for $169. That's a killer deal. The 2003 is very nice and the 603s is just as good as an Oktava MK012.

I would buy the set myself (seriously) but already have a pair of MK012's and a CAD M37 (which I think sounds like the MXL 2003).