mxl 990 an improved 603s?

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travelin travis

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i was just reading up a bit on the 603s. i found a couple of threads from other forums saying that the mxl 990 is basically an improved 603s. does anyone know if there is any truth to this? has anyone compared the 603s and 990 for the same applications? if the 990 does have an improved circuit and components over the 603s, why is it cheaper? i could see the 990 body making for a roomier fit for components.

the 990 was my first condensor mic which i tried using for vocals and acoustic guitar. it was'nt bad on my acoustic but sounded boxy and sibilant on vocals. i now understand why, not being a ldc. or, maybe i did'nt know what the hell i was doing at the time. i also tried using it for micing my guitar amp but it distorted. i'm pretty sure that was the fault of low phantom power on an audiobuddy. i read some where that the audiobuddy only provides 40 volts.
 
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from what I have gathered, the 990 has "different", not necesarily improved, electronics to the 603 but the same capsule.
 
I have both and they sound very similar to me. The 990 looks a lot cooler though. :D I do know they have the same 20 mm capsule. The 990 is made to look like it's a LDC but it's not. The 603's are much easier to arrange as an XY pair because you can get the capsules very close mounted on a stereo bar.

Tim
 
Timothy Lawler said:
I have both and they sound very similar to me. The 990 looks a lot cooler though. :D I do know they have the same 20 mm capsule. The 990 is made to look like it's a LDC but it's not. The 603's are much easier to arrange as an XY pair because you can get the capsules very close mounted on a stereo bar.

Tim
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Do you mean the 991? That and the 603 are the same exact mic (95% sure).
 
From what I gather, the 991 has the "Schoeps" balancing design / circuitry. Which allows for really good impedence-matching without the need for an expensive transformer.

Basically, they have the "Dorsey Mod" stock. Pretty cool stuff, for those one or two people who actually know what the fuck I'm talking about. :D

I'd have to say some of these mid-diaphragm mics with that 603 capsule sound worlds better than anything else out there for less than a couple hundred bucks. Probably even better than some for a thousand or less. That's how good and useful it is. Not anything like a lot of the other Chinese-made crap out there.
 
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Yeah, Scott Dorsey is one of the coolest people around. His posts over the last number of years on rec.audio.pro, if compiled, could be a bible of "good sense" audio production. And his writing style is a model of humanistic tact and scientific clarity mixed together. His magazine articles and mic mod's are pretty good too.

Tim
 
i see the 990 has gotten an upgrade. the "990s" has a low rolloff and -10 db pad for an extra $20.

as for vocals with the 990, i could'nt ever get a vocal track to gel in a mix. when i just added a vocal over an acoustic guitar it worked but it was still sibilant. i guess that puts me in the dumbass crowd. :D
 
That would also put me in that crowd -- the 990 has always sounded TERRIBLE on vocals. There is a hideous upper midrange peak. I far prefer the 57 on all voices I have experimented with.
 
i once asked at the guy from the music store, which is a damn good soundman, what he tought about those mics, he told me something around "made in japan, will do well on one thing, but as some cheap components + cavities in the membrane, will cause phase alignment problem with more than one sources, especially when using as overhead, i will never sell this to you"

never tried myself, just wanna help a bit

anyway
cya
 
cavities in the membrane, will cause phase alignment problem with more than one sources, especially when using as overhead
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:D You've been reading too many Walters posts.

Tim
 
It depends on what kind of cavities he's talking about, I suppose. :D
 
ha ha......yep cavities in the membrane will cause all sorts of problems.
 
i recorded a whole acoustic/percussion project using only a 990. it was interesting, to say the least. i need a better sounding room, thats for sure.
 
treymonfauntre said:
i recorded a whole acoustic/percussion project using only a 990. it was interesting, to say the least. i need a better sounding room, thats for sure.
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i'd be interested in hearing it if it's available. i really don't know why chessrock claims the 990 is such a good mic. what's your opinion of the 990?
 
TravisinFlorida said:
i really don't know why chessrock claims the 990 is such a good mic.
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Because you record stuff with it, and it sounds good.

It's a small diaphragm condenser and it has a presence peak. So I wouldn't recommend using it on things where you don't want a SDC or a presence peak. :D
 
TravisinFlorida said:
i really don't know why chessrock claims the 990 is such a good mic
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Maybe chess got the paragon and you got a dud?
 
He's just messing with you, man. I bet he stripped out the guts and put one of those tiny Schoeps CCM mics inside the casing.

Tim
 
me and my friend made a drum/bass groovy funky punk rock band about 2 days ago and have recorded both of our practices with just the mxl 990 and the 991 sitting pretty hazordously on a plant and an easy chair pointed at the drum set (the recording is just for documentation sake, i didn't feel like dragging in my stands). i'm honestly surprised at how good they made his set sound. i honestly think if you micced a kit up in stereo properly and threw a bass drum mic in there you could get a great mix. i'll throw a song up if i find one where we don't stop and laugh at how much we just screwed up. i hope you like lots of snare rattles cause that bass was destroying it.
 
paddyponchero said:
Maybe chess got the paragon and you got a dud?
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i would hope so. the last thing us newbs needs is someone fuckin with our heads about mics though. that's just inhumane. :D
 
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