MXL 990 Good mic?

They are clean, quite precise and technically fine. They're not smooth or warm sounding. So good for perking up a dull voice, not so hot for somebody with excessive plosives, teeth gaps and a voice lacking bottom end. Pop shield required for close in use, and the only thing that made me sell the pair I had was that they have a very responsive body. You need to be careful with the shock mount and cable positioning, or mechanical noises get introduced. I had one of them on a radio style anglepoise and the springs were picked up beautifully!
 
rob aylestone said:
They are clean, quite precise and technically fine. They're not smooth or warm sounding. So good for perking up a dull voice, not so hot for somebody with excessive plosives, teeth gaps and a voice lacking bottom end. Pop shield required for close in use, and the only thing that made me sell the pair I had was that they have a very responsive body. You need to be careful with the shock mount and cable positioning, or mechanical noises get introduced. I had one of them on a radio style anglepoise and the springs were picked up beautifully!
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Alright, thanks for the heads up, I will assure to get a pop filter.

How do you think I should position it, I too have a loud MX Red's keyboard and I bottom out
 
I think they are good mics (the old ones) one of my friend has an early one and it sounds pretty good, he uses it for vocals and it suits his voice well, I remember it sounding good on acoustic guitar as well.
 
Never used the 990, but I have a pair of 992s and really like them. They're a little bright, as mentioned earlier and yes, they do accentuate sibilants and plosives when used for vocals. They're a bit on the bright side, and it's easy to get a harsh sound if not placed properly.

But overall, for the cost of an SM57, IMHO you get a little more than you think you're paying for.

I really like them on acoustic guitar, room mics for drums, and with the proper placement they can sound pretty good on violin. I've used them as a stereo pair for recording choirs, and the results were pretty good. I really like the way they sound micing my old Ampeg Portaflex, seems to really capture that Ampeg 'growl.'

Some uses where they have been problematic for me have been banjo, dobro, and female vocals. It's really difficult to capture those sources without them sounding harsh or tinny, but then again capturing a dobro or banjo without excessive tinniness can be a challenge within itself...
 
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