Has anyone done the MXL 2001 Mojave Audio mod?

octoruss

octoruss

New member
Ok, I may be a bit late to this game, but I only recently read the tube mod article in last month's Home Recording Magazine http://www.homerecordingmag.com/feature2.asp

I must admit...very interesting stuff...

Has anyone out there tried it? How easy was it, and did you get the same glowing results as David Darlington?
 
I have a MXL 57 (an old champange colored one)..

It has the same casing as a 2001, as well as very similar frequency response (so says the little brochure that came with it)

Can I pull off the mod on one of these...?

you can check it out at www.mojaveaudio.com
 
I'm still mulling over this mod. If I do it I will probably sacrifice my V67G. I will not be using an army ammo box for the power supply however. You can pick up a much better solution at radio shack that would look better.

I hope this isn't hype, its still a good amount of money to shell out. $100 for the mic, $300 for the mod, I am also concerned that you can pick up a NTK or V69M for this amount of money. If there isn't a significant amount of improvement over these two mics or even the SP mics then it was a waste of time and money.

Now that I think about it. I may wait until someone I trust recommends the sound. David Darlington, the writer of the article is not a name I recognize. Does anyone else know what he has done in the industry?
 
Dave Darlington composes and produces the music for the HBO series, OZ. He's a senior contributer to HOME RECORDING magazine, and has produced records for Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson, and some other names anyone would recognize. He's a dedicated Pro Tools and DP user, which makes his advice a little biased, but anyone who reads HOME RECORDING owe mucho to his knowledge.

I think his studio in New York City is called Platinum


-Chris
 
Im doing the mod very soon. I have the MXL-2001 coming in tomorrow, and ill be able to order the mod in a few weeks. Any ideas...I was thinking of doing some before and after clips with acoustic guitar and maybe vocals. BTW, the power supply doesnt come in an army box any more. It comes in a more traditional power supply box.
-Mike
 
I must say, I'm quite intreigued....

I love the concept of doing a modicifaction to a mic I could get for $100 and making it sound great. Plus the fun of DIY is very appealing.

But I must wonder in all practicality, is it worth it? If I spend $100 on a Marshall and $300 for the upgrade, is the finished product going to be any better than other inexpensive tube mics, such as the SP TB-1?

There's the Cons of 1) DIY 2) making a mistake 3) A modified Marshall MXL's value is only as good as a Marshall MXl. At least you'd be able to resell a TB-1 for something close to what you paid for it.

I hate discouraging people from doing the mod, because I love seeing innovations like this in our field--particulalry those that give us great improvements for little cost. But unless the mic mod was signicantly better than the TB-1 or other tubes for less than $500, I don't think it's worthwhile.
 
Im the kind of person who likes the DIY stuff. I've built a couple of Guitar effects boxes as well, and it is very fun. I really am interested in learning more about how a microphone works, and I think this is a good way to do so. I'm not particulary concerned about resale value...if I were, none of my musical stuff would be unique like it is to me. I see where you are coming from though.
 
If you are going to buy the Marshall just in order to mod it why not buy the whole DIY kit from Mojave rather than the upgrade kit
 
The reason I'd buy them separately is because the complete kit (with mic) is $500. Separately, you can get the mod kit for $300, but you can buy a new MXL2001 for about $130, used about $80 on ebay. End result is you have a savings of $70 to $120 on the complete package.
 
edit: Right Octoruss...pretty much the same thought here

The main reason I got the MXL-2001 was because it comes with a 603s and costs 50 dollars less. So for the mod (299) and the Marshall MXL-2001 + 603s (154), I paid 46 dollars less than just the Mojave audio mic (499). Almost enough left over to make it a pair of 603s's and the MXL-2001 for the same price.

My other thought was selling the 603s I got, and buying a stereo pair...but thats a bit more. I know that would be the better setup, but I'm just a poor college student. Thoughts?
-Mike
 
They seem to have raised the price on the kit also. A few months back before all this hype I emailed Roger and the kit alone costed 160 bucks plus the valve, wich had to be purchased separetely at $60. That was a total of $220 (without the mic of course). This was supposedly started to bring an affordable tube to the poor, but now it seems a little bit pricey to me.
 
Just to be clear, the Mojave kit will feature a 1.07" Five Micron Capsule. The same Capsule that will be in our new JP Mod "S" Series. The Royer folks did an A/B and thought that this capsule had a much improved sound. Which is not to say that anyone who wants a 1" Six Micron cannot acquire an LD from a variety of sources. I have personally tried these mics and put them up against some of the best vintage valves in my closet.

It's certainly a great mic and destined to be a classic, in my view.

My bias, of course, is up front about this. I am flattered as I can be that one of the industry icons heard what we were working towards in our new five micron capsule - which is transparency that is lacking in most 6 micron capsules, without the problems of sibilance attendant to most 3 micron caps. The 5u is clearly more responsive (for a variety of reasons) than the standard 6 micron design. If performance matters, it's worth considering.

It's a pretty democratic process! No one is forced to use the 5u.

You can use the Mojave Retro-Kit on just about anyone's LD Mic,
or at least that is my understanding. You really do have options!


Respectfully,

Larry J. Villella, ADK Microphones
www.adkmic.com larry@adkmic.com
1-360-566-9400
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top