MXL-993

n-Track Studio Discussion Forum
#1

Anyone have one of these?

#2

I’m looking for a couple of inexpensive condensers for my project studio for recording acoustic guitar (mostly). I’ve got an MXL-990 LD condenser for recording vocals, and I like the sound of it quite a lot (especially at its rock-bottom price point). I use it to record acoustic guitar right now, but it’s not quite the right sound (anywhere I point it), and I don’t have a pair for stereo recordings (although combining it with the guitar’s piezo pickup isn’t bad).

I’m considering the stereo pair MXL-993 condensers from MF. Has anyone had experience with these guys? I’ve taken a look through the recent “first mics” thread, but I didn’t see any thoughts on them. Or, alternatively, can anyone recommend a pair of mics (SD condensers or otherwise) for acoustic guitar?

Thanks!

#3

I only own one condenser mic which I bought recently, a Kel HM-1.

http://www.kelaudio.com/

Since getting it we have only had about 2 hours of spare time to record. Here is a short ditty I recorded on acoustic guitar:

“Guitar Stuff Kel HM-1”

http://www.motagator.net/bands/69/

#4

What price limitations? ???

#5

That Kel mic sounds pretty nice, and the price is nice, too. Definitely under consideration, thanks!

And Tom, I don’t really know about my price limitations yet, but ideally I’d rather not spend more than $200 or so. I don’t know yet whether this means getting 2 cheap mics (like the 993s or HM-1s) for stereo recording, or mixing-and-matching a (slightly) more expensive mic with my MXL-990 (which can be very bright). I just need to get a stereo image of an acoustic guitar for demos, so a matched pair isn’t really required.

#6

The Kel look like the deal of the year. Wish I had one or two. :)

Folks loved the MXL 603. $179 for a pair here:

http://www.music123.com/Marshal…0.music

#7

The package deal for 2 of the MXL 993’s looks pretty good, just viewed the last cat. from MF. Haven’t checked their web site yet, maybe even better deals going on them. I have used a MXL 2001 for 5 years now and still love it. The frequency looked good for the pencil mics, along with the low cutoff switching too. Would probably do very well on acoustic guitars.

#8

Hi all,

I decided to buy the pair of MXL-993s from MF, so I figured I’d post a sample clip to let you all know how they turned out. I think they’re a great value for the money. You decide for yourself. This clip hasn’t had any EQ applied to it, only a little compression and gating.

Click here to listen

(Ignore the sloppy playing! I just learned this bit last night :D )

#9

Wow, that sounds really, really nice.

What did you use for preamps? :)

#10

The preamps were the ones in my Behringer MX802a, if you can believe it. There’s a lot of noise on the track, if you noticed, but I don’t know if it’s the fact that I nearly had to peg the gain on the pres or that the room is just noisy (you’ll notice a lot of noise in the right channel, which was pointed a little too closely at the computer). Either way, I’m definitely satisfied with these mics. They’ll add lot of nice presence to sparse guitar-and-vocal demos.

#11

I do believe it. The berry preamps are great for cheap preamps. People who are down on them have very very high standards, but the truth is if we had preamps that good at that price point even a decade ago we would have been in hog heaven. I didn’t notice the noise, but I wasn’t listening that closely, I was just listening for the overall effect, overall sound, and it is really good, esp. when you think about the cost of the equipment. :)

#12

Those DO sound nice! I’m on the hunt for some “bargain” SD condensers myself. Have you tried them for overheads on a drum kit?

Thanks for posting that clip. If you wanna hear sloppy playing, I’ll post some of my acoustic stuff! :D

TG