your review of the MXL 990

Compared to say... SP B1 or Shure SM57, how is the MXL 990?

  • Good

    Votes: 136 65.4%

  • Bad

    Votes: 72 34.6%
  • Total voters
    208
I just got the MXL 990/991 set free with the purchase of another mic. I see they both might have uses but in testing I did notice the 990 was a bit on the noisey side. I can't see these being anything other than an extra mic laying around my studio but hey, free is good.
 
Micter said:
I just got the MXL 990/991 set free with the purchase of another mic. I see they both might have uses but in testing I did notice the 990 was a bit on the noisey side. I can't see these being anything other than an extra mic laying around my studio but hey, free is good.
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How did you get them free? I could always use some free mics.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
How did you get them free? I could always use some free mics.
Click to expand...

GC had a sale going on. If you purchase any large diaphagm mic the MXL 990/991 set is free. I picked up an AT 3035 for $150 and they threw in the MXL's. 3 mic's for $150 isn't too bad of a deal. I'm sure the 3035 and the 990 will have uses.
 
that is a good deal, then there's the one i got that was the 990/991 and the audio buddy for $99. You know i had to jump onthat one. so now i have 3 990's i'll be putting them up on drums
 
I like it -I just got a set of 990 and 991 and it has little to no extra noise during playback and it captures my Marshall amp well - I can't wait till I work out the kinks in my setup and I'm sure it will sound even better once that is taken care of ;)
 
Have you ever heard the saying....."You can polish a turd all day, and at the end of the day it's still a turd?" Sorry to tell you this but the 990/991 have flys all over them.
 
I voted bad, but only because there are other medium diaphram mics I'd rather own (and do), like the at2020.

but for frickin FREE??? I'll take a dozen 990s and/or 991s and use them happily. There is always a use for such things, but if I'm going to spend money I can be a speck more choosy. B1 is great, at2020 is the best of the price range for acoustic guitar for my ears at least in a classic rock or pop rock setting. 990? well, it's there, it looks decent, sounds ok, but it just has nothing amazing about it to me compared to it's competition.

There are other MXL mics that are quite good. This is one of their lesser offerings. Hell, an apex 435 is a better mic than an MXL 990 for (at least up until recently) about the same price, better on acoustic guitar, better on vocals, better on most things that the 990 is supposed to be good for (IMHO). Sure, it's LDC, so it's different, but it's still a better mic.

Cheers,
Don
 
The 991 is WAY better than the 990 imho, and quite usable for any small-condenser duty. It's my understanding that the 990/991 (and the 603) have the same diaphragm, just different bodies and perhaps electronics.

I found the 990 to be harsh and glaring, with no redeeming qualities hidden under its 10khz police spotlight. Maybe there's a use for it, but I haven't found it! I suppose it's okay if you're on a very limited budget and it's really the only LDC you have, but I'll take just about anything over a 990! And I own enough other mics that every single input will be sucked down by something more pleasant before I resort to the 990. Again, maybe there's some circumstance where I WANT that glare, but I haven't found it yet.

But if I found another 991 used for $25, I'd probably snap it up. And I'd love to have a 603 pair - I've used them in a friend's studio and liked them.
 
This thread is old but relevant, since folks are still asking about the 990 all the time. I only have one, and if there are QA issues (not saying there are), then it could be that mine was a bad apple, but I have to say it sounded really bad out of the box. Actually, it sounded like it was still in the box. I got the $50 GC deal on my 990/991, too.

That said (and I've said this before here, too), if you're at all inclined to start doing modifications on microphones, this one is great to start with. Changing one capacitor on it greatly improved the sound for me, and changing a few others made small but noticeable differences. I also got some practice soldering, and it wasn't that difficult to work on. The sound of mine did improve at one point, but I don't think it was ever something I would have used in preference to some other mics I have. But I did learn a lot by working on it, and even though I messed it up pretty bad in the end, I've been able to successfully work on a bunch of other mics since then, so overall, it was a very good purchase for me.
 
I am reading this and am wondering what people expect to get in a microphone that you can buy for $54.99.

This is not to say that you could get some use out of it as I have some cheap mics including a V67G that I use for some things, but they don't compare to more expensive mics. If you want a good sounding mic in the cheaper price range it's hard to beat Rode.

Cheers

Alan.
 
both 990/991 are sdc's same cap different package which makes a difference if i remember correctly

it's been a while...
 
I have a 990 and a 991 and I like the sound they give me. Although I have to say that the 990 IS a bit harsh on vocals, I can fix that incredibly easily. If I really don't like it, I'll just compress the raw track in T-Racks or something to cut the high end, if it's too much.

Some of you said it was really bad for amps, but I have gotten pretty good sound with it. It works great with acoustics too.

I've never tried recording vocals with a 991 but some of you make me want to try. How do you guys think it compares to the 990?

I'm considering pickup up an SM57 (since I'm on a budget)...I wonder how that might sound for vocals and amps in comparison to the 990/991 set.
 
The qc problems are very real...

First hand experience tells me the quality control is terrible; my brother has one of these and so does a friend of mine. My brother's sounds ok (not great, just like it is supposed to I imagine). My friend Ryan's sounds like garbage on everything. Seriously, like someone previously mentioned a tin can. Everything you record sounds like it was recorded in a room lined with aluminum. I noticed the difference in these mics separately so I borrowed them and sure enough. One is way better (or worse) than the other. Even though these are way cheap I would make sure you try out the one you are going to buy first.
 
thestuckup said:
...My friend Ryan's sounds like garbage on everything. Seriously, like someone previously mentioned a tin can. Everything you record sounds like it was recorded in a room lined with aluminum...
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This sounds like a capsule with a small particle lodged between the diaphragm and backplate. When this happens the diaphragm tension is raised, the mic gets real thin and toppy and also distorts easily. Another problem could be the wrong diaphragm-to-backplate spacing. This should be factory-adjusted for an ideal capacitance range by the installation of 0-3 thin spacers between the diaphragm and backplate. In either case, if you or your friend want to fool around with it since its not really usable, I'll describe a procedure where you may be able to make it sound pretty good.

Take a look at the pic below. This is a disassembled capsule of the type used in the MXL 600, 603, 604, 770, 990, 991, Apex 180, 185, CAD GLX 1200, Cascade M39, Nady SCM 800 and MCA SP-1 ... whew.

If you disassemble the 990 you'll find a capsule like this sitting in a round ring. Remove the wires from the capsule and the capsule from the ring. Wash your hands and dry them well. Using the tips of a small pair of scissors (I like the Fiskars brand - go Fins! though I've made a special tool to do this work) turn the retaining ring counter-clockwise to unscrew it and release the guts of the capsule. I suggest the tips of a pair of scissors because you probably don't have one of those tiny little pin wrench thingies that is used to tighten the retaining ring.

Note the order of the way the stuff comes out of the capsule housing - retaining ring, backplate, spacer(s), diaphragm and grille (this may not come out). Take a new, very clean and dry artist's brush and clean off both surfaces of the diaphragm. Put it back into the housing - flat side up (ring side down), clean off the spacers (little clear circles barely visible in my photo below at front). For a start, put all the spacers that came out of the housing back into the housing. Clean off the downward surface of the backplate and put it back into the housing. Clean off the retaining ring and re-install it. Now re-assemble the mic and check it out. Still sound like crap?

The diaphragm could be touching the backplate and needs another spacer to increase the air gap between them. Oops, your local hardware store doesn't stock these several-micron-thick-spacers? SOL I guess. But at least you will have had a good tour of a KM 84 / 184 style SDC capsule and will understand some of the issues involved in building them and making them sound good.

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Perhaps using a combination of scissors to cut the outside diameter and an X-acto knife to cut around a correctly-sized disc for the inside diameter. Actually, the little chrome trim ring on the front of the capsule housing is just about perfect as a template - for both inside and outside diameter of the diaphragm/backplate spacer.

I haven't had to go there yet because I've found some capsules have too many spacers in them for correct capacitance so I've built up a small surplus of these things.
 
The price of a new Nady Cm-90 or CAD GXL1200 (same mic as all the other 22mm SDC mics) is $49.

So a used 22mm mic should sell for around $25-$35.
 
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