MXL 990 Mod Comparison/Shootout

Ok, here are the three stages of this mod (stock, grill + dampening, grill + dampening + capacitor swap). It's not entirely scientific, but I tried to get the setup as close as I could each time. The same preamps (Presonus Firestudio) and mics (990, SM57, Beta52) are used each time. I checked the tuning with a drum dial for each take, but the 57/52 placement may have varied a little on the third clip. In each clip, you're hearing a spoken test, then the 990 alone, then all three mics, then the 57/52 alone for the first half and all three mics on the second. Of course no eq, compression, or effects were used on any of the clips.

Stock:


Grill + dampening:


Grill + dampening + capacitor swap:
 
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moresound said:
I m on hold!?!
Click to expand...

Sorry, I got side tracked. What do you think? It was well worth the effort I think. I'm not totally sold on these as overheads, but I'll probably pick up another anyway and try it out. Does anybody have one lying around they'd like to sell?
 
I don't think this will work as an OH mic. It sounds ok, but it's clipping on the louder closed hi hat notes. It definitely wasn't clipping at the preamp. Would this be a capsule problem or an electronics problem?
 
Potsy24 said:
I don't think this will work as an OH mic. It sounds ok, but it's clipping on the louder closed hi hat notes. It definitely wasn't clipping at the preamp. Would this be a capsule problem or an electronics problem?
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Placement problem.
 
Hey, sorry to resurrect this, but I need to get something straight about the grill mod.
In two places I found people removing the OUTER two grill layers
recording.org/budget-gear/21723-mxl-990-cheap-mod.html
gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/708877-best-capsules-modding-mxl-990-a-2.html

This specific mic had the INNER two layers removed, right?
(similar to this one jordancolburn.com/2009/07/16/mxl-990-modifications/)
I got the first inner layer off on the front and then was worried about that other person's post about loosing grounding...
So, it is the inner two layers, right? This would leave only the heavy duty outer layer...
n00b here, so forgive me. ;)
 
Clone_Tekboy said:
Hey, sorry to resurrect this, but I need to get something straight about the grill mod.
In two places I found people removing the OUTER two grill layers
recording.org/budget-gear/21723-mxl-990-cheap-mod.html
gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/708877-best-capsules-modding-mxl-990-a-2.html

This specific mic had the INNER two layers removed, right?
(similar to this one jordancolburn.com/2009/07/16/mxl-990-modifications/)
I got the first inner layer off on the front and then was worried about that other person's post about loosing grounding...
So, it is the inner two layers, right? This would leave only the heavy duty outer layer...
n00b here, so forgive me. ;)
Click to expand...

Yes, definitely only the inner layers removed. The outer layer is the only rigid/protective layer.
 
Big thanks for all the info, then. I just finished removing the rest of the inner layers, and I can hear quite an improvement. I used moleskin instead of caulking because a). it's cleaner and b). if I were to screw up, it's undo-able. :) I actually did a before and after with just the moleskin, but I couldn't hear much of a difference. Part of the problem is I have to reset volume levels on everything every time I unplug the mic, and I didn't pay attention to the precision of where the gain and volume were. It could also be because my preamp stinks (Xenyx 502), or my bedroom acoustics are terrible, or... (you get the point). I would post the samples up, but I really messed up a lot of stuff since I was in a rush, especially mic placement. :P
Since my 990 is my only mic, I'll wait until I have more adequate resources before I try any circuit mods.
Once again, Thanks to all who contributed to the discussion here. :D
 
'tekboy see my 2006 mod. It is the same circuit. Aside from the capsule swap, it just eliminates two parts.

Edit: the MCA SP1 is also the same circuit and dirt cheap. You could do worse getting one of those to test the waters of modding.
 
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What is it with these single posters that say somethign along the lines of "ooh that was awesome"
 
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