MXL 990 vs 603

Thanks. I am trying to find out if the guitar center by me has this deal right now. I am going to try to get their phone number and call them, but I have a feeling that they won't tell me over the phone. I really hope they will though because I don't want to drive and hour to find out that they don't have that deal anymore! Anybody know anyway to find out if they have it for that price, or any techniques to get them to tell me. Do you think this is just a price that the one guitar center with the grand opening is having?
 
patlang12 said:
Thanks. I am trying to find out if the guitar center by me has this deal right now. I am going to try to get their phone number and call them, but I have a feeling that they won't tell me over the phone. I really hope they will though because I don't want to drive and hour to find out that they don't have that deal anymore! Anybody know anyway to find out if they have it for that price, or any techniques to get them to tell me. Do you think this is just a price that the one guitar center with the grand opening is having?
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It's probably just that local grand opening price, but many of the GC's are willing to deal. The managers seem to have great leeway in pricing. Call them, ask for the pro audio department, and dicker. Tell them there's another GC that's offering that deal, and that you'd buy two if they'd give you the same price (or even a little higher.)

You can get the number of your local GC off the website:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/locations/
 
Also, I see on the website they have the Oktava 319's for $70 apiece. They would probably fit your needs too, as an un-hyped LDC which will work for OH's, vocal, and probably acoustic instrument, and they might come down a little in price, as they were selling them last year for $50 apiece on sale.
 
patlang12 said:
anybody else have an opinion on the oktava 319's.
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:) Yeah... the Oktava MC-319 is a LDC mic and it's a darker sounding mic than the MXL603S or MXL990... the MC-319 is good for overheads, vocals, and etc.
 
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I have read that the oktavas are hard to get a good matched pair. I am very tempted to go into GC and say I want two of the 990 & 991 packs for one hundred bucks (like at the one store with the opening) Would it be better just to get some of those oktavas. Or should I just use my friends glx 1200's for a while until I can get some better mics?
 
patlang12 said:
I have read that the oktavas are hard to get a good matched pair.
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True... but that's also true with many of the cheap budget mics. But, you can get matched pairs of Masharll MXL603S really easy. ;)
 
patlang12 said:
I have read that the oktavas are hard to get a good matched pair. I am very tempted to go into GC and say I want two of the 990 & 991 packs for one hundred bucks (like at the one store with the opening) Would it be better just to get some of those oktavas. Or should I just use my friends glx 1200's for a while until I can get some better mics?
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If you have a friend willing to lend you the 1200's, it's a no brainer. Get them, use them, get some experience, and keep looking around and auditioning and comparing other mics while saving your money. Then you'll be able to make a much more intelligent decision when it's time to get your mics.
 
I think I will try that. I have to check with him to make sure that he has 1200's. He got the CAD drum mic pack and I think those came with it. How do those work for vocals and acoustic guitar?
 
I saw in a different thread that the glx 1200's are very similar to the 603's. Does anybody know about this. I know that they do look very similar, but how about sound.
 
patlang12 said:
But aren't those matched 603's around $300?
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Use eBay, I got mine for $231.00 (including shipping).
Not really too bad of a deal considering that matched pairs usually cost a bit more anyway.
 
I would be afraid that someone would lie that they are matched pairs. I think I am going to use those glx 1200's for a little while. So does anybody know about them compared to the 603's. Are they decent?
 
patlang12 said:
I would be afraid that someone would lie that they are matched pairs. I think I am going to use those glx 1200's for a little while. So does anybody know about them compared to the 603's. Are they decent?
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I used "Buy It Now" from the user MusiciansAdvocate and everything was brand new, even with all the plastic and stuff still on it.

Here's the actual item:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3755375189&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

Just check the seller's feedback - every buy I've dealt with has been great.
 
I've gotten mics from MusiciansAdvocate in the pass too... and I never had any problems with him either.
 
patlang12 said:
I would be afraid that someone would lie that they are matched pairs. I think I am going to use those glx 1200's for a little while. So does anybody know about them compared to the 603's. Are they decent?
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The matched 603s come in an aluminum case, with shock mounts, and a certificate from MXL that they have been hand matched by MXL in California. They carry the designation 603SPR on the packaging. I bought mine from Musician's Advocate (off e-bay) for $231 (shipping incl) and was very pleased with their service. As I mentioned on the first page of this thread, www.audiogear.com and www.macmidimusic.com also sell matched pairs for $199. I think macmidi has free shipping as well.

Just buy some damn mics, already!!! :) :D
 
I didn't think I'd have a lot of mic's when I first started here 2 1/2 years ago, or so.

Then I got an ecm8000 and a preamp w/ phantom, and then I had to upgrade from that mic and it just grew from there. If you're gonna be recording and trying to perfect it, you'll be getting a bunch of mics. It just happens, and with these cheap mic prices, it's easy to aquire a nice bunch of them. Then you get a good idea of how they compare, just by using them. And I have 3 cheap pre amps too.

I don't really see any way around having a few different mics, some pre's and learning on your own what the possabilities are with them.

Then I made a bunch of tracks w/ different combos of stuff and now I sit here every once in a while and listen to the CDs I've made of the samples and then every once in a while I say, 'hey, what the hell was that sound? It's great.' And then I replay the track and listen to what I was saying that I was using for that sample track.

I include info on the mic, the pre, the pre settings, the placement, the instrument.

But If you can get 2 mics for the price of 1 and they aren't too bad, I'd do it. If you think you really need a matched pair, then you have fewer choices, but you'll also need a matched pair, or a 2 (or more) channel preamp.

Personally, I think a matched pair of mics is something rather advanced for me b/c I can't yet hear the problems w/ an unmatched pair. And untill my ears learn enough to know what I'm listening to, then I'll go for that, but it still takes me a long time to hear the differences in my new gear, and sometimes I have absolutely no clue and I can't hear the diff and I figure I'm either fatigued, don't really care, not able to focus at the moment, or, there's just not enough of a difference for me to have an opinion.

I have some tracks that sound astoundingly similar and are still of high qualtiy and I still don't care which one I'll use b/c they are all good enough, and they are all different signal chains. Then I realize that It will matter more when it gets into context, in a song, a track, a production, a combination with other instruments and then the differences make more sense than abstractly soloing them.

Maybe you've gone thru all of this already, but if you're looking for a mic or mic set and it's the beginning of your mic collecting, then I'd try to get a few diff types of mics before spending 3x more for a matched pair. Or, get the pair and go from there, it's just one more POV.
 
I think I am going to wait a little while to pick up some mics because I think I can just borrow my friends gxl 1200's for a while. I still don't have phantom power because I can't decide whether I want to get a new recorder or just a mixer or go into computer recording. I can borrow a vf160ex for a little while too I think.
 
patlang12 said:
I think I am going to wait a little while to pick up some mics
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I think that's a good idea... it will give you a little more time to save up some more money for better mics... plus you'll know more by then. ;)
 
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