good first (and only for now) condenser mic for vocals and acoustic - $300 budget

W

woody777

New member
I think the title says it all...

I bought an MXL V69 Mogami Edition at Guitar Center on a whim, but after reading a lot of reviews, I'm wondering if I was too hasty? The sales rep said it just won some major mic shootout and they can't keep it on the shelf... I cannot, however, find anything like that online.

And I haven't had a chance to use it... they had to bring it in from another store and I won't get it until Monday most likely.
 
Try it out. I think you can get your money back if you dont like it in 30 days. (maybe not) Anyway its a tube condenser and mxl sometimes has some good stuff.

It could work nicely for you. I bought a GT55 on a whim based on what the guitar center rep said awhile back and I like it. I could of bought other mics but who cares you need to build up a mic locker anyway.
 
For $300, don't expect much of a pro quality mic.
IF you don't like it, you might check out the Studio Projects stuff. Or look into a Shure SM7b.

DAS19 said:
who cares you need to build up a mic locker anyway.
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Are you recommending quantity over quality?

It's great to have options...but when all those options are bad, does that still make it good because there are still lots of them? I'd rather have 3 or 4 killer mics than 20 just okay ones. That stuff adds up...
 
There could be better vocal/acoustic guitar mics in the $300 range...I like the AT4040. It might be a good mic though, post some clips once you get it.
 
If you purchased it in-store and have opened the box, I don't think you can return it - at least I've had that experience at BanjoMart.
 
I haven't even picked up the mic yet, so the box is unopen. I'm sure I can exchange it for a different mic or mics when I go to pick it up, but I don't think I can exchange it after I take it home and try it since it's a microphone. After reading a lot of reviews, I'm thinking this isn't the best use of my $300 at the moment.

And I'm not expecting pro quality at $300, but I'm sure there are some great mics in that price range. I'm not necessarily looking for a tube microphone either. I just want something that will sound equally good on vocals (male) and acoustic guitars. I would even stretch my budget to $400 if there is a mic I should look at and I'm open to getting two slightly cheaper mics - one for vocals and one for acoustics - if that would be a better option.

To be honest, I don't plan on building my mic collection all that much. I'm just putting together a small home studio to demo some of the songs I'm writing... nothing fancy.
 
woody777 said:
To be honest, I don't plan on building my mic collection all that much. I'm just putting together a small home studio to demo some of the songs I'm writing... nothing fancy.
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Same here. Honesty and detail are king in my book. Even if honesty is not ideal for anything that might actually get distributed. I'm recording to help me work my flaws out of my art. I can't do that if my mic hides my flaws.

On a side note, gearwire.com seems to think the AT4033a is good on acoustic guitar. Not sure about vocals as I don't sing. But some seem to love it for a female voice and hate it on some male voices. Most seem to give the AT40xx series much love in internet forums.
 
tdukex said:
Well, the V69 is good enough for pros like Harvey Gerst and Han, two pros who frequent this Board.

http://www.itrstudio.com/
http://www.beaufortstudio.com/index.php?pg=2
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Maybe, but it's definitely not their only mic... I wouldn't question returning it if I could by 30 other mics for my collection.

Been searching this forum and a few others for possible ideas and I put together a short list:

CAD M179
Shure KSM 27
Rode NT1-A
Studio Projects B1
MXL V67g
AT4040

Right now I'm leaning toward the Rode NT1-A... that and my trusty SM57 should get me pretty far for a while, yes?

I read that the NT1-A is a little on the bright side... but I don't mind bright as long as it doesn't cross over into harsh or thin. To me, bright equals clarity.

My main concern with the MXL V69 is a) it's too colored to be my only studio mic, and b) it's tube and I worry about noise and reliability.

Ugh...
 
Harvey Gerst said:
You could do a lot worse than an MXL V69 as your only mic.
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Hey Harvey,

I checked out your equipment list... nice! I know you don't have a Rode NT1-a, but any direct comparisons between that and the MXL V69 or any other mics in the same price range?

I *think* I would prefer a warmer sound with character instead of pristine clarity, but I'm just worried about the MXL being my only flavor. What do you think?

I guess I need to check with GC if they allow returns...
 
Well, I got the MXL V69M yesterday. The GC guy I've been working with said the mic is not technically returnable, but if I hate it, I can talk to him and he will take it back. I've never had this good of an experience with anyone at GC. He's very knowledgable and sells me stuff way discounted. It's kind of weird :)

First impressions... this thing sounds great! Very clear, full, present and warm. The highs and lows both sounded great. And it was quieter than I expected, almost silent. Compared it side by side with a nicer CAD mic (not sure of the model... I think it was $200+) and there was no comparison. The CAD needed a lot of EQ and compression to start to sound as good as the MXL tracks. My brother liked it more than his NT1-A, although we didn't have it there for comparison purposes.

Mostly just tracked acoustic guitar... it sat perfectly in the mix. Didn't really need compression or EQ... just sounded great with no effects.

Take this with a grain of salt... I just got it and I haven't put it through it's paces yet and I'm a total newbie and don't have anything to compare it to. But just wanted to share my happiness! Hard to beat for the price too with the Mogami Gold cable they include!
 
woody777 said:
Well, I got the MXL V69M yesterday. The GC guy I've been working with said the mic is not technically returnable, but if I hate it, I can talk to him and he will take it back. I've never had this good of an experience with anyone at GC. He's very knowledgable and sells me stuff way discounted. It's kind of weird :)
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in a technical term, the reason for this being "wierd" is a bizarre phenomena of gear heads, who work at musical equipment places in GC sales.

I've read the nuerons, of the gearhead addict, collide with the electrospotic cells, due to the fact the molecular level of their brains heats up when someone purchases gear. This causing them to become enthralled with the event of purchasing gear as if it was their own. A delusional state existss for a few seconds, sometimes minutes.
(for example..it's like a male dog that will hump anything, for no reason, even a human leg. wierd huh?)

So yes, this salesmen you speak of and it's wierdness, is very common actually and a known problem. But it works because the consumers are also musicians and gearheads too.

Its believed there's worse cases of this in an escalated level, the managers of GC stores. They can often be seen sitting, in the little glass room. Isolated from the sales dewds. There is a premeditated and interesting reason for the little glass room, it is not there by chance.

GC executives have done their Nuaeronion Brain science homework, they are no dummies. They have hidden GC MANAGER Over Dose's though, from the XP2nuerons that can meld into the PB1ultraElectron atoms, due to the low prices they are often exposed too, thus they are kept isolated from the other sales gearheads.

It's a well known fact that if everyone really knew the true cost of the products and were allowed access to speak to the manager, Guitar Centers Empire would crumble in a day.

Please keep this information confidential.



:p


woody777 said:
Take this with a grain of salt... I just got it and I haven't put it through it's paces yet and I'm a total newbie and don't have anything to compare it to. But just wanted to share my happiness! Hard to beat for the price too with the Mogami Gold cable they include!
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what did you pay for it?

I'm getting an urge to grab one of these...
 
COOLCAT said:
in a technical term, the reason for this being "wierd" is a bizarre phenomena of gear heads, who work at musical equipment places in GC sales.

I've read the nuerons, of the gearhead addict, collide with the electrospotic cells, due to the fact the molecular level of their brains heats up when someone purchases gear. This causing them to become enthralled with the event of purchasing gear as if it was their own. A delusional state existss for a few seconds, sometimes minutes.
(for example..it's like a male dog that will hump anything, for no reason, even a human leg. wierd huh?)

So yes, this salesmen you speak of and it's wierdness, is very common actually and a known problem. But it works because the consumers are also musicians and gearheads too.

Its believed there's worse cases of this in an escalated level, the managers of GC stores. They can often be seen sitting, in the little glass room. Isolated from the sales dewds. There is a premeditated and interesting reason for the little glass room, it is not there by chance.

GC executives have done their Nuaeronion Brain science homework, they are no dummies. They have hidden GC MANAGER Over Dose's though, from the XP2nuerons that can meld into the PB1ultraElectron atoms, due to the low prices they are often exposed too, thus they are kept isolated from the other sales gearheads.

It's a well known fact that if everyone really knew the true cost of the products and were allowed access to speak to the manager, Guitar Centers Empire would crumble in a day.

Please keep this information confidential.



:p




what did you pay for it?

I'm getting an urge to grab one of these...
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haha

I bought it for $240. Definitely impressed so far! Acoustic guitars sound great... and if I could sing, I'm sure it would sound great for vocals too!
 
If you're not planning to spend too much more on a mic cabinet, but would like some flexibility, you can always get an Oktava MC012. With this as your base, you can add a bunch of different capsules ranging from SCD, MDC, and LDC's for not too much cash layout. I believe some of the Oktava sellers even offer a set with a cardioid, hypercardioid, and omni small diaphragm capsule as well as a large diaphragm cardioid and a -10 decibal pad. That particular package is a bit more than $300 US, but you get the idea.

BTW, I own a set of them and just recently bought a pair of the Red, vintage mic LDC capsules for them for $79 each. The Reds do a good job on certain voices and my bro-in-law liked them on his acoustic. I think the Red capsules are an absolute steal for the price. The more I use them, the more I like them.

Juan
 
I was referring to the fact that if you dont like it at first its good to just keep it anyway its not like it was 3000 dollars and the more mics you have the better imo.
 
mxl v69 vs rode nt-1a

I have no experience with the mxl but I do have the nt-1a. I would have to agree with what others say about it being a little bright. I do like it for close miking with a windscreen (just vocals). I wouldn't recommend it for acoustic guitar unless it's used just for room sound or something to complement another mic(s). I have ran it through a tubepre and also my motu interface for phantom power. You have to be careful about pushing the gain too much or you will have problems with the bright characteristic of the mic dominating your recording. I don't know if that helps you or not.
 
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