MXL Genesis Condenser

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Metal Marc

Pretend Action Guy (PAG)
I met a guy today at a music store in OKC. He's a former roadie and lighting guy for many bands, most notably Sisters Of Mercy and GWAR, and also a friend of the store owner. He and the store owner are recording together and the two dudes are listening to their rough tracks on a kick-ass stereo in the store.

The vocals were totally kick-ass! They have several different singers - two of them are female with totally different voices - and they've only used a Shure SM7b and an MXL Genesis so far. Both were powered by a Grace preamp.

I can't believe how well the Genesis sounds! We all know how amazing the SM7 is, but the Genesis is also amazing! I looked it up on the Internet because I've never even heard of the Genesis (or a Grace preamp). It looks like the Genesis got an award at AES/San Francisco in 2008.

Anyone else have any experience with this new mic? I was really blown away.
 
I haven't heard it yet, but I have one coming in for evaluation in March -- definitely looking forward to that.

I saw the mic at NAMM, and got pictures of the circuit board. The tubes are NOS Mullards, which is no doubt a big part of the mic's sound (because the Genesis capsule shows up in a number of other MXL mics).

Full details here: MXL Genesis
 
recordinghacks said:
I saw the mic at NAMM, and got pictures of the circuit board. The tubes are NOS Mullards, which is no doubt a big part of the mic's sound (because the Genesis capsule shows up in a number of other MXL mics).[/url]
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I find it shocking that a tube mic with that many components on the circuit board sounds decent at all! They're obviously doing some on board corrections or negative feedback.

Mullard tubes are good tubes, better than chinese tubes by far, but I doubt that's the biggest contributor to the sound.

Would love to buy one to test, if I didn't spend so much money on other parts.
 
PhilGood said:
I find it shocking that a tube mic with that many components on the circuit board sounds decent at all!
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...I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that...when you consider the board in a (Royer) Mojave MA200 (based on the Royer modded MXL2001...see below) and then look at the board in the Genesis, it looks like the put the whole mic preamp IN the mic!...wassup with that?...:confused:;):D

http://www.hugeuniverse.com/recording/tapeop/tube_mic_25_3.shtml
 
kidvybes said:
...I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that...when you consider the board in a (Royer) Mojave MA200 (based on the Royer modded MXL2001...see below) and then look at the board in the Genesis, it looks like the put the whole mic preamp IN the mic!...wassup with that?...:confused:;):D

http://www.hugeuniverse.com/recording/tapeop/tube_mic_25_3.shtml
Click to expand...

OR!...Think about the 3 most favored classic mics:

The Telefunken/Neumann U47

The AKG C12

The Telefunken/AKG Ela M 250/251

All have about 6-7 resistors and 2-3 caps in the whole circuit! True simplicity!

Good capsule, good tube, good circuit, good components, good transformer!

Then you have classics like the U67 and U87, with a capsule that has a high end peak that has to be tamed with NFB and lots of extra circuitry.

Still, those are favorites and do something special, so if MXL is going along those lines, great, but to me it means they are making up for flaws that could be avoided with simple purity of components. make the parts work right in the first place and you won't have to correct!

I guess whatever works, though. I doubt the Genesis will ever be considered a classic instead of a really good budget mic.
 
Why, oh why... do most Chinese mics seem to be fixated on making all their mics based on a K67 capsule?

It just doesn't make sense!!!:confused:
 
Hello everybody, my name is André, I live in Luxembourg and I am a new member to this forum. I want to know if someone could give me advice on MXL microphones. First of all, I have no experience with MXL this brand is difficult to get here, at least they are not at stock in any music shop.

So, I am interested in buying a microphone that´s good for voice and e guitars, especially for distorted guitars.

Mainly I use for vocals an AKG Solid Tube or a Neumann TLM 103

and for e-guitars an AKG 414 ( i want something with a different sound and equivalent quality. )

I am interested in : Mxl Genesis or V67i Tube or Gold 35

Is there someone who can recommend one of these MXL ... which could be a good addition to the mics i use.

Thanx for any suugestions

André
 
Help please

I just purchased the genesis mic and it doesn't sound clear at all.I'm using a behringer tube ultragain mic 200 pre amp to connect it to my laptop. Help please. At one time it was crystal clear then i left my room came back and it sounds muffled. How do you correctly hook this mic to a laptop?
 
PhilGood said:
Why, oh why... do most Chinese mics seem to be fixated on making all their mics based on a K67 capsule?

It just doesn't make sense!!!:confused:
Click to expand...

Wow, I just saw your comment from back in February. I've been wondering the same thing myself!
 
ave383 said:
I just purchased the genesis mic and it doesn't sound clear at all.I'm using a behringer tube ultragain mic 200 pre amp to connect it to my laptop. Help please. At one time it was crystal clear then i left my room came back and it sounds muffled. How do you correctly hook this mic to a laptop?
Click to expand...

My guess is that it sounds like crap when the tube warms up, in which case the stock tube sucks. No surprise there. Try a decent (non-Chinese) 12AT7 or similar.
 
dgatwood said:
My guess is that it sounds like crap when the tube warms up, in which case the stock tube sucks. No surprise there. Try a decent (non-Chinese) 12AT7 or similar.
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What part of uk made NOS Mullard tube you did not read?

_______

It is easy to bash something if one has the higher end stuff, we just have to justify spending 500% more to get a 15% increase in return. in business it would not make sense, In music it might make sense but arts are subjective so it depends on the listener.

it's hard to accept the fact that technology and manufacturing have gone a long way and much more advanced tools are available to smaller manufacturers at lower costs and there are few secrets anymore, any good engineer knows why the classics sound like the classics.
 
MXL genesis

The MXL genesis is awesome and the problem was the pre amp from behringer. I went and brought the mbox and it has been perfect sailing since then and still is.
 
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