MXL 4000

Been making music for 7 years, and recording digitally for 4 years now. Good amount of recording experience; Guitars, strings, bass, voice, woodwinds, full bands, choral ensembles as well as software instruments and synths.

Dedicated Logic 9 user with Apogee pre-amplifiers and hardware. Monitor with Yamaha HS80m's and Sennheiser Headphones. Into Digital recording and mastering with analog equipment, mostly Neve brand stuff

This is a very well marketed, cheap, and relatively versatile condenser mic with multiple polarity patterns. I say very well marketed because some online retailers have really thrown a lot of unusual weight behind it via a $1200 list price, free gifts thrown in, pretty pictures, and very positive product description. Overall verdict on it comes down to realizing that you are paying about $200 for a mic, and what you pay for is what you get.

This is still a cheap overseas made condenser mic amongst MXL's budget mic line of products. As a result it has a definite harshness to it. It is marketed as a silky sounding mic with a vintage character, but that is basically a marketing device for it (also given its appearance). That vintage silk in really just a whole lot of Sibilance from the 6Khz range on up. It will not do much for anything with a complex sound such as a full band in a room mic situation or even a metallic/overtone happy sounding male vocalist. The sound just comes out too harsh. Eq'ing it a bit will help, but not entirely. If you are looking for a mic with a exciting sibilance range, then this will be good for you. I have found it to be good for recording darker sounding woodwinds like sterling silver flutes and clarinets, as it excites the sounds these instruments make.

The multi-pattern aspects of this mic can come in handy, but overall this mic is not too versatile given the harshness of the high end that it possesses. Experimenting with different polarity patterns in a controlled room/booth may help you get a better sound for your application. I have been somewhat satisfied using this to record an acoustic electric guitar amplifier (roland ac-60) using the omni pattern and placing it slightly off axis a meter away in a wooden booth. It picked up plenty of higher frequency overtones bouncing around, however the treble range (2khz to 5khz)seemed a bit too saturated and harsh.

Overall it can be a solid mic when used as a supplement to other mics, especially something dark sounding like a ribbon mic. I would not recommend it as a solid utility mic though, and not as a primary vocal mic. It will add harshness to a voice more than it will add cut, and will make breathy vocals way too sibilance-y. It can serve its purpose for someone getting started with recording as it can be fun to experiment with, and eventually serve as a good secondary room mic once you decide to get better and more specialized mics. Also the 603 pencil condenser this came free with is actually pretty good. It's Alright for overheads or for acoustic guitar at the 12th fret.

Had done some recording of guitar awhile back, but disbanded the PC and other equipment that I was using. Never really liked the setup I had. Now I want to do some electric guitar and some acoustic guitar recording again. This time around I am getting myself some nice microphones, and eventually a nice preamp and a digital multitrack recorder.

This microphone is impressive especially for the price. Nice storage box, shock mount and wind shield. The microphone appears to be made well although the two slide switches for setting the pattern and roll off feel a bit flimsy. I was able to A-B this microphone against a recently purchased AT4040 playing acoustic guitar. The mics were plugged into a mixer with similiar settings then to a digital recorder. The AT4040 is a very nice microphone in its own right. Very smooth sounding. Definitely more sensitive at picking up even the smallest noises then the MXL. I found the MXL microphone to have a brighter yet articulate and clear sound. I liked the MXL for acoustic guitar over the AT4040 as the AT4040 was too sensitive picking up the sound of my fingers fretting the strings. I do like both microphones and think they are both well suited for a various recordings needs. I would recommend the MXL to a person looking for a good condenser microphone that can be had at a very attractive price.

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I compose, arrange, perform, and record music on a DAW, and do both personal projects and professional work (bands, concerts, video scoring). I use a wide range of microphones to record a huge variety of instruments like piano, bass, drum set/percussion, ukulele, mandolin, sitar, tabla, harpsichord, woodwinds, brass, harmonica, acoustic & electric guitar, banjo, accordion, violin, cello, vocals, and just about anything else you can think of, I've played it and/or recorded it.

The MXL 4000 is a multi-pattern, large diaphragm condenser mic and to me, the immediate appeal was the super-low price for such a versatile mic that also looks really, really cool and has a great shockmount included and came with a free 603s mic. Having 3 different pickup patterns, a -10dB pad, and a bass roll-off switch makes it useful for a huge number of settings, and that was definitely appealing to me, given the range of instruments and projects I typically record.

Although I have several other excellent mics (a few dynamics and a few condensers of varying sizes), I wanted a mic with some serious range to it, and the 4000 definitely has that, and has a reasonably smooth frequency response of a wide 20Hz-20Hz, and I wanted that mic to be really affordable (in case I liked it enough to buy another).

I was mostly hoping that, with this mic, I would finally have my "go-to" vocal mic. I've tried many different condensers and found none that seemed to reproduce my voice accurately without a lot of tweaking and fiddling. Most make my voice sound a tad nasally or overly mid-ranged.

This mic makes my voice sound very smooth with excellent fidelity. The recordings of my singing using this mic sound more like the way I actually hear my own voice straight from my mouth to my ears, requiring less fiddling with EQ. The sensitivity and detail is absolutely stunning. I can't believe this thing is so powerful with such rich clarity for under $200.

I just can't understand why this mic hasn't gotten more attention. It's not only really cool looking and inexpensive, but it sounds and functions wonderfully. I can't say enough good things about it. This was just one of those "deals-of-a-lifetime" in my opinion.

I haven't had a chance to run this thing through the full gamut of instruments yet, but so far, piano, acoustic guitar, ukulele, percussion, and vocals sound absolutely sparklingly clear and lifelike without being harsh or brittle. No disappointments yet. It reminds me of the classic AKG C414, but at nearly a fifth of the cost.

One thing that really impressed me was the internal shockmounting of the capsule. This thing is so quiet when tapped it is startling. It is very rugged and so well built that you could literally slap this mic and it would take it like it's nothing and remain quiet (although I don't recommend that). NONE of my other mics are anywhere near that impervious to handling noise. You honestly wouldn't even need to use the external shockmount. Again, I can't believe this kind of high quality can be had for such a low price.

General pros:
The super-low price is refreshing (although that huge list price sounds like BS to me). The classy, vintage looks are great and it's size is impressive. It just looks top quality and sounds that way, too. It is as versatile as you can get with all the switches and wide frequency response. It's built extremely rugged and will likely last a very long time. It comes in a nice box with blue velvet lining and also includes a foam windscreen and a heavy-duty shockmount. The output is very strong and the sound is rich, smooth, silky, crystal clear, but not brittle, harsh, or dull. The pickup patterns function beautifully and each one sounds very clear and accurate.

I wouldn't hesitate to use this mic on virtually ANY source (with the exception of perhaps extremely loud percussion or a waterfall) and I'm seriously considering purchasing a second 4000 to have a stereo pair. And since it came with a 603s pencil condenser, you can't go wrong. Again, it's just a bargain of a lifetime.

General cons:
There aren't many to me. Although I don't mind, the huge size of the mic might be an issue for some people. The front switch for pickup patterns is just a tad bit flimsy, but it functions fine, although you need to turn down the input gain before switching.

Overall:
This is a GREAT mic at an absurdly low price. Get it while you can. The features and quality make it an awe

I've been making music and recording small and medium venues for about 30 years. I use a variety of DAWs; all mostly involving Cubase.

The MXL 4000 is a very unique microphone. Not able to find alot of info, I e-mailed MXL; they returned my e-mail in an hour! They were very helpful and sent literature concerning the MXL 4000. This is a very nice vocal mic; however, I'm finding that a solid-state pre sounds better than any of my tube pres . . .not sure why yet. This mic does well on acoustic guitar, piano, and is also a nice room microphone for background vocals. Get it!

I've been playing music for years now, but just starting to break into recording, and this is my first large diaphragm condenser mic. I'm recording into a Lexicon Omega with Cubase LE, and listen to the mix through a variety of headphones/speakers including Bose, Sony, JBL's and Cambridge Soundworks.

It's a multi-pattern condenser, with cardiod, omni, and figure 8. I'm using it primarily for recording percussion, and really like the sound it's getting. It's got a warm, crisp tone that stands out well. Using a doumbek, placing mic a few inches away from slightly below the rim, the mic gets that nice snap while also capturing the bassy thud. I'm also using it to record shakers, shaking about 2-4 inches under the top of the capsule. The mic really captures the depth really well. I wasn't sure about the quality of this mic after seeing that it was a list price of 1200 selling for 200, but I really cannot stress how much of a bargain this MXL is. I've tried it with my acoustic (a dreadnought)in various positions, but find that I like the sound of the 603s better than the 4000, however, it depends on the guitar and the sound you're looking for. Overall I highly reccomend this mic to anyone. You can hear how it sounds at www.myspace.com/phenotypeband on the track "Driftwood".

RecordingProfessional with many years of recording experience. DAW recording and 2 inch analog

MXL 4000 FET multi pattern large diaphram condenser. This is one of MXL's online retailer exclusive mics so I was hesitant in purchasing cause I couldn't find any info on the thing. I decided to take a chance and buy the thing cuase it is so cheap. I am SOOO glad I did. This mic is amazing, at any price. I own a few of the mxl v67 mics which I really like. This mic has a similar vibe but has a much larger 3 dimensional sound to it. Has a tougher mid range that cuts through a mix better and a sweeter top end. Really has a great warm fat vintage sound overall. All I can say is I am in love with this thing. After I got my first, I quickly ordered a second. The fact that these have omni and figure eight and a 10 db pad and low cut makes these even more useful. These have quickly become my go to mics for male vocal, acoustic guitar, Rock drum overheads in omni in the right room.Using them in omni for room mics in great with these things..I can't say enough good things about these. Put these up against some vintage telefunkens. Do they sound exactly the same, no. Are the telefunkens $10,000 better, big no. These are definately an undiscovered gem in the mic world. If you have been on the fence about getting one, don't hesitate, they are awesome mics, and at the price from MF, are an absolute steal. I am still scratching my head over how you can get such a great mic at such a stupid price. These sound so good, I would have no problem payng 10 time as much for one, just glad I don't.