Got my mxl 603,s today and

  • Thread starter Thread starter Herm
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Herm

Herm

Well-known member
Well they came today along with a v67g. And here is my first inpression on these mics.

Now i have only used them as overheads so far but I compared them to my oktava,s 012,s Used them in same spot same preamps same cords and recorded to my computer at 24 bit.
I know Harvey or someone said the 603 sounds the same as
the 0 12 but I just dont hear it, I know the 603 is half the price
as the 012,s but after playing with them for a while all I could think about was I hope they will take these back cause I could
not stand to listen to them after listening to the oktava,s. for overheads.

Then I decided to do a little test with the v67g against my
Ksm32 and my rode ntk.

First on my voice it didnt even compare to the ntk until i used a little top end eq and it was just great which pretty much
comferes with the eq graph of the two mics so its a keeper there
Then I compared it to the Ksm32 and to me it sounds almost
the same it was real hard for me to tell the differance in the to
I even was thinking I liked the v67 better on my voice.

Then I tried the v67 and ksm32 infront of my drum kit and it pretty much told me the same thing that they sounded just alike.

The one thing i noticed on these 3 mics was the output level
was pretty much the same.

Any way now i need to decide if I want to keep these 603s
or try and send them back.

Also I got a shock mount for my v67g but it doesnt seem to want to hold the mic very well is this a common thing for the mxl shock mount?

Thanks
 
Have you compared the MXL603's to the octavas on any other instruments? I hear the mxl's are very nice on accoustic guitar, maybe give them a shot and see if they hold more value there?

I'd be very interested in your findings if you compared them to other instruments.
 
Herm,

I would be trying the 603's out as o/heads again, BUT don't treat them like the Oktavas. Start from scratch, try different positions and if possible different signal paths................exhaust ALL possibilities before making a decision to return them.



:cool:
 
Im going to try them out on guitar saturday and see what they sound like, The olnly problem is my acoustic is a piece of crap.

From what i heard on the 603,s for overheads I dont think it was
a placement issue but is will give them another shot.
 
I actually like the sound of my 603's the best when they're not directly over the kit, but rather about 5 feet in front of it, spaced widely. Gives the cymbals a really nice high-end sheen that I'd normally have to put in with EQ if used overhead.

I don't see how you can't like these for overheads... but there's no accounting for taste, I suppose.
Here's a demo of a song with them used in this spaced-pair fashion. No EQ or effects on them whatsoever.


 
Herm

That's what I told you in the other thread, I also prefer the MC-012 over the MXL603S as drum overheads, but unlike you I also think the MXL603S sounds good as drum overheads, and I wouldn't return them. On acoustic instruments is where I think the MXL603S really shines.
 
Last edited:
Herm said:

I know Harvey or someone said the 603 sounds the same as the 0 12 but I just dont hear it, I know the 603 is half the price as the 012,s but after playing with them for a while all I could think about was I hope they will take these back cause I could not stand to listen to them after listening to the oktava,s. for overheads.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Well, since you mentioned my name, I guess I should say something here.

When I did the testing, I was comparing the MXL603 to my matched pair of Oktava MC012s that I purchased from the Sound Room. To my ear, and in the response curves I've seen for both these sets of mics (not the "published" curves, but the actual curves for my two sets of mics), they are VERY similar. At least my two sets are similar.

It is possible that something in the rest of your chain is not a good match for the 603s, but I'm at a loss to explain your results.
 
I'm still scratching my head over the v67 / ksm32 comparison.
 
Since you already have a nice set of Oktavas, why are you buying a set of 603s anyway? Do the Oktavas also have the omni caps? If not, I'd buy a pair from the Soundroom for $64 each.
 
bleyrad said:
I actually like the sound of my 603's the best when they're not directly over the kit, but rather about 5 feet in front of it, spaced widely. Gives the cymbals a really nice high-end sheen that I'd normally have to put in with EQ if used overhead.

I don't see how you can't like these for overheads... but there's no accounting for taste, I suppose.
Here's a demo of a song with them used in this spaced-pair fashion. No EQ or effects on them whatsoever.
Click to expand...


Well I'm new to recording, but not music. I would have to say to my ears, the drums sound pretty lively and dynamic. Right now I only own a few Mic's more geared towards live vocals and amplifier micing.

I would say this would be a good deal to get these for other applications like acoustic guitar micing. How is it for strings? violin, viola etc?

Sly
 
Thought I'd throw 2 pentz in here.

I had the opportunity to review the 603's and my conclusion was that they're fantastic for acoustic guitar, but as overheads they're upwards of the "better mediocre" range.

Definitely the guitar player's microphones. Matched pair is the way to go.

I ran them through my 737's and they were absolutely astounding on acoustic guitar.

Just my 2 pentz and worth just about that.

-muzakal
 
Well i got up today and thought i would try these mics again
and all I can say I must have been on drugs or something yesterday cause I set them up again using the fletcher thing
two sticks away and switched back and forth between the
603,s and the oktavas and they sound great today.
the 603,s seem to be a hotter mic than the oktava,s
so Im going to keep them.
The reason I got these was the price was right and was just in
the mood for some new toys and you can never have enough
descent condensors around.
Dont know what i could have done wrong yesterday but today is
another story.

Did another test with the ksm32 and v67g also just to check and
see if something had changed from yesterday on those two and
couldnt hear anthing differant with those two either.
They still sound alot alike.

And as far as my shock mount i had it upside down is why it wouldnt hold the mic in place.
Duh!

Any way thanks for the replys hope I didnt scare anyone that has got some of these mics comming.
 
Herm
I think your really going to like the MXL603S when you start recording acoustic instruments like guitar and mandolin, and they sound very sood on strings also.
 
I find myself often starting with the 603 on accoustic, but almost invariably I end up just using the V67...it might be in the "how to mic an acoustic guitar handbook", but for solo acoustic guitar that needs definition, I think the V67 works better! Interestingly enough, however, they are similar enough mics (the 67 & 603) that they can be used in stereo (not hard stereo of course).

Slackmaster 2000
 
I too like the 603's on acoustic stringed critters...I get a good sound from my Taylor with them, and they even make my cheap $145 plywood mandolin sound good. I swear by them in ORTF on the top rotor of my Leslie, too. If you want to hear a sample on Leslie, here's a bit of noodling:


It's an intro idea I've been kicking around...was fooling with it yesterday. Needs work, but you can hear the mics (and noise from the L-100's failing power supply caps...my B-3 is way quieter but I wrote this for the L...)

TP
 
DJL said:
Herm
I think your really going to like the MXL603S when you start recording acoustic instruments like guitar and mandolin, and they sound very sood on strings also.
Click to expand...
That's why I got mine!;)
 
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