Should I buy an MXL 990

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Mxl990

Well I mounted the mic in my vocal booth and did a little song called " I only have eye's for you" I love that song, anyhow I am a baritone singer, I set my levels at 0 , on play back I had gone up tp +3,and +7. There was no distortion, the play back was clean with no colorazation from the mic at all. the mic seems very neutral and clean sounding for a $70.00 mic?? .it is a large22.m pressure gradirnt condenser mic with a cardiod pattern. It does favor a tlm 103 alittle because it is short and stubbj like me!! But so far I would have to say that it is a keepper. Next I will try it on my drums, it seems that it may also be a good Bass drum mic???
 
Well I got mine.

First off, It's is not a total piece of crap and I am sure you could do much worse for $70.00. It did come with a CAD pop screen that seems to be about the same quality as my popper stopper screen. I have not tried swapping screens to see if there is a difference but, the CAD screen that cam with the MXL990 seems to have slightly heavier fabric on it.

Compared to my AT-3035 it seems to have a little more low mids (boxier) not so much that I would send it back, and I have to also say that I have a bit of a honky low end voice so it may not be the perfect mic for me. The mic seems to lack presence slightly on my voice not to a great degree though. Maybe someone with a higher voice with lots of presence could really dig this mic and I will have to try it out on some instruments . Any way the final verdict is not in I had a long day and only did a quick comparison.

To summersize (as in susan) for $70.00 it seems like it would be worth having around. I only ran it through a Mackie sr-24-4 board preamp. a better pre might help. I will not be sending mine back:)

Later

F.S.


PS it does seem to have a little hotter signal than my AT-3035 with the AT's pad and roll off turned on. with out the pad and roll off on I'm certain the 3035 would have a hotter signal considering I can't event sing (belt) close to the 3035 with out the pad on.
I feel the at-3035 is a better mic but at over twice the price it should be!! For $70.00 I am very happy.
 
How do you think it comapred with studio projects B1?

Thanks
 
Mono-man: I have never had my hands on a B-1 so I couldn't say.

Later

F.S.
 
MXL990

You are so right about the presnce the mic seems to be very neutral, not a lot of high end? I ran my right into my Solo Sea sound into Sound Forge 5.0 so I could look at the graph, no processing. Next I will try it through my Joe Meek VC1Q, And dbx 386.
 
Well I'm back after more testing on vocals. This time I spent a little more time on it. Keep in mind that when I compare to my AT-3035 that it (the 3035) has the pad and the roll off both on.
I would say that having the roll off on is fair because the 990 specs show to be close to the 3035 with the roll off on (on the bottom end). The main difference I see is that the 990 has slightly less presence than the at 3035 and that the signal varys more greatly between being at 6-8 inches and 12-14 inches on the 990 than on the 3035. This could be a disadvantage for those singers that can't stand still. The sound on vocals is very useable. With me it woud require some EQ but nothing to drastic.

I could not hear any large proxemity effect on the 990 on the low end. I also tried it at 45 deg at 6-8 inches and 12-14 inches and got pretty much the same results.

This mic seems to be a little boxy sounding. Later in this post I sort of settle on the notion that it lies in the low mids.

I belted into the 990 at 6-8 inches and could detect no distortion even though my software waveform was showing I was reaching clip. I am using cakewalk though and I have never had a great deal of trust in the wave form image as far as clipping goes.

Next I tried it on drums (keep in mind my room sort of sucks).
I thought it sounded pretty accurate. once again to me it seemed like it lacked presence slighty most noticable was on the snare but then I have mic'd this snare close with a sm-57 and it I often add a little air to the mix. I think it did a pretty good job over all and am thinking of ordering another one to use as with this one as stereo overheads. It is a cardoid pattern and that helps me because of my room. I think I would rather have super cardoid but with a little more work on the room and some shielding for the kick These could really work I think.

Next I tried it on accoustic guit. And this time I tried a little EQ after I was done. I thought it did pretty good but still a little boxy. I tried addin some highs and didn't really get what I was looking for so I tried scooping a little around 400hz and walla. It deffently made a greater improvement scooping 400hz by 2 to 3db than adding the high shelving from 12khz up.
So I think the highs are there but being masked a bit by low mids.
a 2 to 3bd adjustment is not all that bad and I can deal with it no problem.

For $70.00 I am going to give it my thumbs up:D
I have no Idea if a B1 is better or worse but I think you will be getting at the very least your moneys worth with the MXL 990.

Later
Dave
 
Lites-out

I wish I had more equipment to test it with. Send me some if you would:D I did not see your post before I posted my last review.
It seemed to me (at least on the accoustic guitar) that the low mids were masking the presence. I tried boosting the highs and cutting around 400hz with the parametric and cutting around 400hz even by 2 or 3 db really seemed to bring the track to life more than boosting the highs. I am sure that on different applications the fix would vary but this was on a thin body guitar that to me is not going to be real boxy naturaly.


Later

F.S.
 
F.S.

Thanks for the honest review. I guess it will be a toss up between the MXL 990 and a SP B1. (for only another $10) I am glad that it the 990 is gonna work for you. By the way... where in Oregon are you?

Cheers

brutus
 
I've got both the 990 and SB B-1 (just got the B-1). I've been pleased with the MXL's performance on my little Fender amp. I like a pretty bawlin tele sound and this mic captures the feel quite well, i do have to boost the highs on the amp.

The B-1 is more "transparent" that the 990 and suits my vocals quite well. I don't detect the colouring that the 990 presents, the two of them together in stereo is sure to be some fun to play around with. I am running both of them into a Presonus Blue Tube and Blue Max pre/comp and I think both of these units have quite an impact on the sound. the B-1 is so far proving to be more "open" and I think will work well for vox, ambient room micing and maybe even on cabs.

My only gripe so far with the B-1 is the lack of included shockmount, for 80 bucks can't complain but MXL is managing to include them, so maybe consider the B-1 more of a 120. mic after shockmount (although I've yet to find one).
 
Re: Already got mine

I have both the C1 and 990 also, and there is nothing wrong with your C1, the 990 has more gain. Oh, and I like the C1 way more than the 990.

blackmonday said:
I got mine 2 days ago from MF with the free CAD pop filter (better than a pop filter I paid 25 bucks for).


I liked it on my vocals, I compared to my Studio Projects C1 and there are some interesting differences.

The C1 has much more clarity and bite, but the levels of the MXL are much hotter than the C1. I wondered if there might be something wrong with my C1. The gain has to be set about 50 percent hotter to get the same signal as the MXL. After adjustments, the C1 was better, but I wouldn't really say it was over 2X better.

I recorded an acoustic guitar with the C1 as the min mic and the MXL as the 2nd ambience/room mic (farther away). I was floored. Beautiful combination.

I highly recommend the mic at the price, I'm glad I got it before they ran out of stock. Plus, as has been said before, when you consider the cost of the pop filter, plastic hard case and shockmount, the mic is basically free. Can't beat that, no siree.

PS I am liking this forum better than HC.

-j
Black Monday
http://www.blackmonday.info
Click to expand...
 
So, what is this mic really excellent for? Not voice, not acoustic guitar apparently. Needs a lot of EQ to make it shine. Thats not a plus. It works as an ambient mic. Alex Gerst likes it as a sax mic. OK. Ambient mic and sax mic.

I'm not dissing the product, please understand. I'm just playing devil's advocate a bit. Yes, I understand that a case and a shock mount are great features, and that 69 bucks is a great deal for a condenser mic with those extras. Its just that all these reviews sound like justifications for buying something that is not very versatile and not particularly incredible sounding--based on a low price. While I love a low price as well as the next guy (V67, V93, Oktava 012), the overall tone of the reviews gives me the distinct impression that this $69 wonder is no must have for the mic locker. Yes? No?

I mean, if it was $29 I'd probably buy one just to do some cheap on the fly live recording or something. Maybe I am misinterpreting the feedback, but the SP B1 is getting stellar reviews from the "Dot" preamp tests and its only $80. Given a choice between the two, I'd forget the case and shock mount and go with the B1 in a hearbeat. Granted, I have heard niether mic, but I do read the tests and reviews. The reviews of the MXL seem like folks are hunting for a reason to justify the purchase a bit. This sends up a bit of a red flag to me.
 
Hey Crawdad - I'm thinking about buying a couple just to have around. I have several MXLs around here & I trust 'em. I guess that's my justification. I mean, if you get in a pinch and need another condenser for something, seems that at $70 you can't go wrong with this one. Dunno though, I don't have one YET. :D
 
I've been thinking 990 vs B1,and it is starting to look like the SP mic.I do own a V76 and like it,though.
 
The Marshall MXL990 works good for miking up guitar amps. And for only $150 you really should checkout the Studio Projects B3 mic. IMO, the SP-B3 mic is the best deal happening right now.
 
blipndub said:
mic after shockmount (although I've yet to find one).
Click to expand...
None of the places have ordered them yet as far as I know. The shock mount is available under the part number SPSK-B and should sell for $19.95 or so. Contact any SP dealer and ask them to get one from PMI for ya. Im getting mine after Christmas. The MXL-57will work with the B1 but its more money and too snug, it won't work on a b3 though because of the switch for patterns.


Peace,
SoMm
 
Thanks for the tip SOM I'll check that out. Right now I've got a piece of foam wrapped between the mic and shockmount for my mxl.

How does the internal shockmount perform?
 
Jitteringjim--If I were buying a pair of cheap condensers, I'd go for the SP B1. Its another ten bucks, but it sounds like a winner for many situations. Gotta admit I was tempted by the 990, but I have a V67 and V93 already, so I don't really know what I would do with the 990 if I had one! Gear lust is uncurable for me!
 
The B-1 does include sort of a clip mount that works well in securing the mic but after working with it last night I can't say I have much faith in the internal shock mount, it's pretty sensitive to floor movement
 
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