MXL 990s vs Blue Spark

brettryantalley

New member
hey all. visiting family & planning on doing a little recording with my niece. the only mic i've ever really owned is a studio b1 from like 2002. it died on me & i need to get one really quick and don't want to spend more than $100. I know...not much.

Guitar Center has a MXL 990s Patriot Edition for $55 brand new, but someone in the area has a blue spark for that they'd sell me for $75 that is new too.

Market Price on the Spark is $100 more than the MXL, so I'm guessing it's worth the extra 20 to get the Spark?
 
According to Blue website, spark is a usb plug in mic which means onboard DA conversion. The mxl is just a phantom powered condenser. I have 2 990s and 1 990 xl I would class them as average quality sounding with the xl having a larger diaphragm it is better on vocals. Maybe someone with a spark can chime in with their take on its use.
 
According to Blue website, spark is a usb plug in mic which means onboard DA conversion. The mxl is just a phantom powered condenser. I have 2 990s and 1 990 xl I would class them as average quality sounding with the xl having a larger diaphragm it is better on vocals. Maybe someone with a spark can chime in with their take on its use.

thanks! the spark i'm looking at is an XLR.
 
I recently saw a youtube video on DIY upgrade for a MXL 990. That fellow said that the 990 is advertised as a large diaphragm mic when it is actually a small diaphragm mic (12mm?). That said, I was considering buying a Blizzard edition 990 ($59) and then sending it to Michael Joly to upgrade the innards with his $399 upgrade. In fact, I would have emailed him today, but it IS Christmas, so I held off.

I think the DIY mic upgrade I saw was for a site named DIY Microphone Kits | Large-Diaphragm Capsules | Mic Mods.
 
I think of the 990 as a "medium" size diaphragm- the spec list it as 22 mm capsule. The xl is closer to 28 mm I think. IMHO, for the price of a 990 plus upgrade I would rather pick up an AT4040 or for a little more cash and more uses, the AT4050.
 
The 990 is a small diaphragm mic. The actual diaphragm is 17mm, the 22mm spec includes the ring it’s mounted in. MXL really doesn’t need to be so weasely about describing it.

Personally I’d spend the extra $20 for the Spark, just for the lower self noise.
 
I'm not familiar with the Blue Spark. My experience with the MXL 990 is that it's a heck of a bang/buck. I got a pair on sale for around $40 each some years back and found they work great on horns. And everything else. Here's a short sample of some things I've used a 990 on. Mine is a cabled 990, not a USB mic. It's going into a Studio Projects VTB-1.

MXL 990 Demo.wav - Google Drive
 
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Blue Spark.

I have both mics. Got my 990 mics years ago when they came in a case with a 991 on sale for $50. Bought a pair, kept the 991 SDCs, gave away one of the 990 mics (not enamored with them), and kept the other . . . I don't know why. YMMV, but it is one of my least favorite condensers. I understand it's killer on toms but I'm in a position where I don't have to consider it for anything, and I don't. I'm not even sure the newer ones, with updated circuitry, qualify for all the mods out there. Others have had good luck with them. I'm a fan of Blue mics (except for some of the prices) and have no surprise issues with my Sparks.

BTW, I got my Spark mics for around $100 each as I recall. I think that they have a lot of competition at the current $200 price.

Paj
8^)
 
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