My impressions of the three Marshall mics I own:

[chessrock]

* mxl v67 :

Pros: Great sound. Not necessarily smooth, but does have loads of character to it. Excellent proximity effect. Very flattering on the human voice. For this reason, it is a good option for vocals and particularly for the spoken voice. Could be one of the best voiceover mics that no one in the voiceover industry even knows about.

Cons: Whoa! Easy on the proximity effect, there guys. This mic will make you sound like a late-night DJ or James Earl Jones if you're not careful. This could be viewed as a pro for voiceovers and certain types of vocalists. In most cases, though, this means you'd better have a decent equalizer and/or highpass filter to cut a lot of that extraneous low end.

Verdict: I want to bitch about it not having a bass-cut switch, but for it's meager price, who am I to complain? If you haven't bought one yet, what's the matter with you?

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* mxl 603:

Pros: I don't have all day to write, so I won't get in to it now. Let's just say your accoustic guitars will like them. Very clean, open, detailed in the high-end, while surprizingly manageable and "EQ-friendly."

Cons: Nothing. Maybe a bit bright at times, but again, it's EQ-friendliness makes this a non-issue.

Verdict: The Oktava mc012 belongs in the bang-for-buck microphone hall of fame. I would even consider it worthy of consideration for the "numero uno" heavyweight title in that department.

How the hell Marshall Electronics managed to out-bang a mic that has been out-banging everything else for so long now is beyond me.

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* mxl 2003 / V93:

Pros: Clean, detailed, smooth, accurate, versatile. You probably won't love it on any particular application, but there isn't anything that you'll dislike it on, either.

Cons: It's frequency response curve suggests it to be flat all the way out to 20 khz. My ears tell me that it has just a hint of exaggeration in the top end. No biggie.

Verdict: The most versatile mic I own. I could probably use one on everything, and everything would sound good. Not particularly colorful or sexy. Just very accurate and neutral in character.

The fact that it comes with a bass rolloff / -10 pad, and a shockmount make it perhaps the best and most versatile mic I can think of for the price.

 

[neirbo]

* * mxl 603:

Pros: I don't have all day to write, so I won't get in to it now. Let's just say your accoustic guitars will like them....

...Verdict: The Oktava mc012 belongs in the bang-for-buck microphone hall of fame.

How the hell Marshall Electronics managed to out-bang a mic that has been out-banging everything else for so long now is beyond me.

Ummmm, Chess, are you talking abouth the MXL or the Oktava?

 

[Bowisc]

I'm waiting on the pair of 603s purchase. I'm afraid I may regret it once the Rode NT5's come out. I know they are much more $299 (pair, including case), but they may end up having better qualities than the 603.

Anyone head anything on the NT5's yet?


Bowisc
NYC

 

[chessrock]

Re: Re: My impressions of the three Marshall mics I own:


Both. My point is that I didn't think the Oktava's could be outdone, untill now. The 603's just defy all logic to me.

 

[Tom Cram]

Hey Chessrock, have you compared the 603's to the C451b's? I'm currently digging the C451b's and if the 603's are anywhere close they might be my next mic purchases. I tried searching to see if Harvey had done the comparison, but the archives don't seem to go back far enough.

Tom Cram
dbx Senior Technical Support
(801) 568-7530
tcram@dbxpro.com

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.
-Noam Chomsky-

 

[chessrock]

Indirectly, I have . . . sort of. I've compared the C451b and a KM 184 to the Oktava mc012.

That was when I originally got all pumped up over the Oktavas. Don't get me wrong -- the 184's were noticeably better than either. Just not by very much.

The slight differences between the Oktava and the akg were much less noticeable to me at the time I tried them out. Really, there could have been maybe a 1/2 point difference, sonically.

And the 603's, to me, are equal to the mc012. I can't hear a difference. They even have the same pppplosiveness.

Honestly, though, if price weren't an issue, I might be tempted to take the akg's, even over the Neumanns! And the reason is because I am a bass rolloff freak. And the akg's have a lot of options in that department. I counted them, and I believe there are about 72 different bass rolloff positions and another 100 or so pads all over the side of it. Or maybe I had had to much to drink and was seeing double/triple/quintuple.

Along with the -10 db pad (I think it even has a -20 if I'm not mistaken), it just makes life so much easier getting the sound the way you want it going IN, instead of relying on all that heavy eq after the fact. I know a lot of people who get a mic and never use the pads or rolloff switches, and if you're one of them, then the akg's would be a colossal waste of money for you. I live for pads and rolloffs, though, so I could definitely use that mic.

 

[Tom Cram]

>I live for pads and rolloffs, though, so I could definitely use that mic.<

You and me both. I already have a pair of the C451b's (love 'em). I've been thinking of getting the 603's for um, less finesse oriented drummers. I would feel better about putting a 603 on the hat with an aggressive drummer than the C451b's, if ya know what I mean

I tend to think of the chinese mics as my sacrificial mics. If a V67 gets mangled, no big deal, at least it wasn't my C12VR.

Tom Cram
dbx Senior Technical Support
(801) 568-7530
tcram@dbxpro.com

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.
-Noam Chomsky-

 

[chessrock]

Yea, they'd make a great compliment for that. I'd take the 603's any day for the drums. It sure would be nice to have a stereo pair of those akg's though, on accoustic guitar. Man, am I envious.

 

[Beezoboy]

Ok so you got to do a comparison of the km184 and the mxl603. I am very interested in that comparison myself. I mean I would really like to do it, but I don't know anyone with those mics and no store near me has them.

So here is my question. What were some of the differences you noticed. Difference in accuracy?? Difference in presence? Stereo image difference?? I would really like to know. I was thinking of using the 603's for doing live stereo recordings of bands and small orchestras. I was also looking at the the V93 and as soon as I get some money I am going to buy a couple. I really like stereo micing with large diaphram mics on classical instruments. Have you tried the V93 as overheads or for any other role you would normally consider a small diaphram condenser for??

I know I ask a lot, but I am really interested in mics for applications outside solo voice and rockbands.

Let me know
Beezoboy

 

[chessrock]

The Neumanns are just better mics, as much as I hate to admit it.

Smoother, rounder, warmer . . . insert whatever drippy adjective you can think of. Crisper highs, smoother mids, tighter bass, etc. The good news is they are not "significantly" better. "Noticeably" better, yes. Certainly not enough better to justify their cost for my purposes. For classical instruments, perhaps, but even then the difference will not blow you away.

Rather, you'll be blown away at how close an Octava or a 603 is to a $1,000 + mic. What really surprized me is that I had to listen really closely, and on some really nice headphones before I could hear the difference.

That's really about as scientific as I am capable of getting, sorry.

Yea, I have used the 93's as a stereo pair, but I liked the sound of the 603's in that role better, so I traded my 93 to a friend for his Rode NT1, which I ebayed, and eventually used the money to buy the v67.

I've heard a lot of people mention that they prefer stereo-pairing LDCs on classical instruments. There must be something to it. If I were to mic a Grand Piano, I would probably trade back for my other 93. But For what I'm doing, the two 603's are just FAB - U - LOUS.

What is it that you like about stereo-pairing the LDC's as opposed to the small-diaphragms? I'm curious to get some opinions, as I might want to get a hold of another 93 again, just in case.