B
BlindCowboy
New member
I posted this message on another thread, but it seemed with all the recent purchases of the MXL V57M for $40.00 that there may be a couple of reviews coming up that needed it's own thread. Here's mine.
I was pleasantly surprised. I expected to get burned for $40.00. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. I've got the MXLV93M, 319s, 57s, 58s, and a couple of ATs.
I placed the 57M, 93M and a 319 in a semi circle with equal distance to the source (vocal) and recorded to 3 different tracks. I tested both male vocals, female, and several high pitched giggles from an over-excited 17 month old. (Oddly enough, his high pitched caterwalling is a gift. There's no way I could get that high without a pair of vice grips.) Secondary was acoustic guitar, then harmonica, and lastly, native percussion. (Bongos, rainsticks, etc..)
So that you understand how I feel about my existing mics, my assessment of the V93 M, is a bright, warm mic that seems to grab the source. It seems to be almost hypersensitive and my best recordings come out of a dead room where the mic and source are isolated. Used mostly on vocals/acoustic guitar/amp micing/female vox
The 319, is a darker mic. It tends to thicken up bassier sounds and grab alot of the room's details, not just focusing on the source. I have never gotten a 'crisp' feeling from this mic that I get from the V93M. I use it mainly for acoustic guitar/bluegrass instr./percussions/room micing/etc. It's just a good all around mic.
The V57M cheesy as it may look, sits damn near in the middle of both of these mics. It has the warmth of the 93, but shares the darker coloration of the 319. It 'captured' my son's excitement without any noticable deviation and tended to stay focused on the source instead of the room. It performed well on harmonica, and acoustic guitar micing. Though I prefer the 319 for my percussions that were tested. (Though the rainstick did sound quite nice through it.)
All in all, it was probably the best $40.00 i've spent on my studio. I kick myself for not getting two when I had the chance.
The cheesy though, had to go. It was stripped of it's sheath last night, air sanded the grille and air brushed. The grille band and ring was painted royal blue and the grille got a shot of gold. The body was finished in a dark blue/black and the bottom ring, again, royal blue. Gotta love paint.
BTW. Take the grille off of the 319 and give it a shot of yellow. Totally changes the look of the mic. Makes it stand out bigger than a gold tooth.
Blind Cowboy...
I was pleasantly surprised. I expected to get burned for $40.00. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. I've got the MXLV93M, 319s, 57s, 58s, and a couple of ATs.
I placed the 57M, 93M and a 319 in a semi circle with equal distance to the source (vocal) and recorded to 3 different tracks. I tested both male vocals, female, and several high pitched giggles from an over-excited 17 month old. (Oddly enough, his high pitched caterwalling is a gift. There's no way I could get that high without a pair of vice grips.) Secondary was acoustic guitar, then harmonica, and lastly, native percussion. (Bongos, rainsticks, etc..)
So that you understand how I feel about my existing mics, my assessment of the V93 M, is a bright, warm mic that seems to grab the source. It seems to be almost hypersensitive and my best recordings come out of a dead room where the mic and source are isolated. Used mostly on vocals/acoustic guitar/amp micing/female vox
The 319, is a darker mic. It tends to thicken up bassier sounds and grab alot of the room's details, not just focusing on the source. I have never gotten a 'crisp' feeling from this mic that I get from the V93M. I use it mainly for acoustic guitar/bluegrass instr./percussions/room micing/etc. It's just a good all around mic.
The V57M cheesy as it may look, sits damn near in the middle of both of these mics. It has the warmth of the 93, but shares the darker coloration of the 319. It 'captured' my son's excitement without any noticable deviation and tended to stay focused on the source instead of the room. It performed well on harmonica, and acoustic guitar micing. Though I prefer the 319 for my percussions that were tested. (Though the rainstick did sound quite nice through it.)
All in all, it was probably the best $40.00 i've spent on my studio. I kick myself for not getting two when I had the chance.
The cheesy though, had to go. It was stripped of it's sheath last night, air sanded the grille and air brushed. The grille band and ring was painted royal blue and the grille got a shot of gold. The body was finished in a dark blue/black and the bottom ring, again, royal blue. Gotta love paint.
BTW. Take the grille off of the 319 and give it a shot of yellow. Totally changes the look of the mic. Makes it stand out bigger than a gold tooth.
Blind Cowboy...
