MXL 603S

Multipurpose SDC that gives decent results on most sources. Won't flatter or colour most sources though. Has a very neutral sound with a slightly hard top end.

Useless on vocals (though the manual doesn't suggest vocal use anyway), decent on acoustic guitars and amps, sounds pretty good on piano.

Generally bought as a stereo pair by engineers on a budget who need to record acoustic guitars or drums.

If you have one and want to get it upgraded, send it to the dude who advertises tht service on this page. He's got a reputation for doing a good job on mic mods.

Overall, not a brilliant or particularly likeable mic but a good quality all-rounder considering the bargain basement price-tag.

Award-winning microphone designer

A great value microphone, an interesting history and surprising potential!

The condenser capsule used in the MXL 603 is a very fine-sounding clone attempt of the legendary Neumann KM-84 / KM 184 small diaphragm capsule (same capsule used in both mics). As you know, the capsule is the heart of a condenser mic - get the capsule right and you're on your way to getting the mic to sound right. The 603 uses a really sweet 17mm (active diameter) capsule with a gentle 2dB / octave boost of 4dB which shelves at 15kHz. The top end stays well integrated with the midrange and doesn't stand out like a peak on the plains.

But a close comparison of a stock MXL 603 and Neumann KM-184 reveals a shortcoming of the 603 capsule - the diaphragm sits about 5mm below the front edge of the capsule housing. With the diaphragm so far away a tunnel is created between the diaphragm and grille causing resonant chamber coloration. Also, the 603 capsule has a sharp front edge which causes diffraction coloration.

I recently developed the "Ultimate MXL 603" modification to address these shortcomings and also install my field-proven "Premium Electronics" upgrade into these mic. The results are remarkable - virtually indistinguishable from the $750 Neumann KM 184. But don't take my word for it, listen for yourself at:

http://www.oktavamodshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=119

I've been a musician for 18 years and recording music for 14 years starting a long time ago on a little Tascam 4-track cassette recorder. While I recorded bands for many years, today I just have a minimalist setup in my home studio with Presonus Blue Tube and Studio Projects VTB1 mic preamps running into a Line 6 UX-1 Tone Port USB interface and modelling software. This gets recorded to Cool Edit Pro. Monitoring is done through an Alesis RA-100 reference amp and Alesis Monitor One reference speakers in addition to a few smaller speakers for checking compatability with cheapo car speakers and boomboxes. I also have an old Allen & Heath 24x4x2 mixer and a little Mackie 1202 VLZ mixer.

For mics I have the following: CAD E-300 large diaphragm condenser mic, Rodes NT-1 large diaphragm condenser mic, Marshal V-67G and MLX-2001 large diaphragm condenser mics, class Radio Shack PZM mic, Nady RSM-2 Ribbon mic, Sennheiser 421 dynamic mic, several Shure SM-57 dynamic mics, EV RE-10 dynamic mic, various misc. cheap dynamic mics, and a Behringer ECM-8000 reference mic (I normally hate Behringer gear, but that mic is another best bang for your buck mic).

The MLX-603S is a small diaphragm condenser mic that has a cardoid pattern but is actually very wide and is almost an omni mic.
I own a stereo pair that I use on damn near anything. I've successfully used them as overhead mics on drumkits, pianos, acoustic guitars of all types, Turkish Baglama Saz, Sitar, various types of ethnic flutes, and on many types of ethnic drums like Djembes.
I mainly bought these mics as the price was excellent. However one of my mics had a problem with it. Marshall's customer service was AMAZING!!! I got the same level of personal service I would expect from Neuman. I had sent them both of my mics as I thought the other might develop the same problem (some of their early model mics had some defects that they rapidly corrected). Marshall responded by replacing them with a perfectly working matched pair.
The level of personal professional service made me a very dedicated fan of their mics which also just happen to sound damn nice for the price. I've worked in studios with very high-end Neumann and AKG mics and while they are not quite on that level, they come I think much closer then most of the budget condenser mics on the market.
The MLX-603S in particular sound very accurate. So if your instrument sounds like crap, then expect no miracles. However if you like they way it sounds and you know how to properly position your mics in a room with good acoustic properties, then you will capture that sound fairly well. I've tried it also on vocals with mixed results. It really isn't my first choice for vocals as I have better mics suited for that. So basically if you want a hyped larger then life sound, then stay away from these types of small diaphragm condenser mics. They are designed more for accuracy and detail. They are bright sounding, but not overly harsh which is something I can't stand in many cheap condenser mics (harshness on hgih end). How silky smooth your high-end sounds like is largely depends on what mic preamp you plug it into and what else you run the signal path through.

In general however, I believe that for a budget minded studio, a pair of these is an absolute must for stereo recordings. They're just a good solid work-horse type of SD condenser mic that you will always reach for first as they tend to sound fairly good on most things you mic up with them.

I've been recording/engineering for 14 years and have experience on both analog and digital systems. Currently recording with Sonar 5 and monitoring with NS10ms and AKG K240 headphones. I shelled out a Franklin for a pair of these sdcs.

I A/B'd these mics against my AT 4033s on Acoustic Guitar and my vocal. First off, DO NOT USE THIS MIC FOR VOCALS! Like many sdcs, it simply cannot handle plosives, sibilances, etc. I even placed the windscreen off of my TB1 over the mic (why not, eh?) and still had issues. Obviously, it was silly to attempt to use this mic for vocals as it is not what it's made for. However, the pair of these on my Tacoma DR 20 held their own beautifully against the much pricier 4033s. Very detailed and bright without being overly bright. I still declare the 4033 the winner on both vocals and ags, and will continue to use them on acoustic guitars, but bang for the buck wise, the 603's are amazing! If something happened to my 4033s, I'd record with this mic, and few would know the difference.

I've been playing music for years but am new to the field of recording.

This is my first pencil condenser (it's a cardiod), and I really like it. I got it for free with a purchase on Musician's Friend, and I must say that now I believe that good things in life can come for free! I use this mainly to record acoustic guitar. When placed by the bridge it does a really nice job at brightening up the sound of a dreadnought. It also does nicely for percussion (good with bongos). Overall a real solid mic that I'd highly reccomend. You can check out how it sounds at www.myspace.com/phenotypeband on the track "Driftwood".

Hi, I'm a choir conductor and a piano entertainer, at home I use a simple 4 track cassette recorder and on the road I just use a md recorder.Sometimes A choir askes me to record a concert, and then I bring out the MXLs. At home I like to record myself so I can hear what other people hear.

I just used the mic's recording a little concert with a choir. I have the two in one case version and it worked lovely. I had to boost low frequencies a little bit, but then the low male voices came out real good. As said before by others, the mic's have a clear open sound.
I also recorded a few songs at home and they sounded great compared to my condensator handmic from Samson.
I bought the microphones specially for recording choirs, and I think they're price/quality ...you know (I'm dutch, don't know all the words)
is very good!

THIS IS FOR THE NEW 604

25 years experienced pro

I use pro level everything.

Sounds virtually identical to my Octava MK-012-01 which is an OUTSTANDING MIC

New these are $99 compared to the Octava which is now twice as expensive on ebay (though I got mine years ago for about $100)

I got mine used-- but actually in new condition-- for $50.

Amazing.

I use these mics instead of a Seinheisser shotgun for video as well-- MUCH better than the pro Sein shotgun in all respects.

Although I've been playing blues and folk for over 30 years this is the first mic that I've bought, as part of the MXL 603s and 2003 pro pack. Only just started recording so have gone digital with a Zoom MRS-8 and a couple of Art Studio preamps to provide 48v power and tube warmth for the condenser mics. Just a small home studio setup. Upload the projects onto my PC where they are converted into wav and then MP3s via iTunes, and then post onto MP3 web sites.

The 603s is a small diameter polar condenser mic, ideal as an acoustic guitar mic.
Usually situate it about 8" from the 12th fret. It has a relatively poor bass sensitivity which is actually an advantage as it saves me having to EQ the bass out when recording on my dreadnought. Gives a clear and bright acoustic image which is always distinct in a mix. Not tried it for vocals.
Well made and looks and feels robust. It should give good service for years.
Shortfalls? It is very sensitive, so be careful to site it correctly as that can be critical.
Would I give it a Recommendation? Yes. 9 out of 10 ( this is good by any standards) Ideal for recording instuments and at a reasonable price too. A good value home studio mic.

making music for 20 years.
started working with DAW`s mid 90`s
recording mainly acoustic instruments (singer songwriter pop).
logic audio, rme hardware.
main mic is a neumann tlm 103.

condenser mic, bought as stereo pair with shock mounts in a nice case. i have been using the neumann tlm-103 for years on acoustic guitar an vocals.. great mic. i wanted to get a stereo pair for ac gt.(mostly XY- positioning) the neumann km-184 where over what i wanted to pay, so i bought the mxl`s. great value for the money. they high end is a bit boosted, wich is in some cases very useful, i am using it mainly on a martin acustic guitar, ), wich is very full and bassy, with the tlm-103, i always had to take low freq. out and boost a bit of the top end. so, this mic does a bit of the job. i am quite happy with them, the low price gave me a chance to spend money on a decent preamp (spl goldmike). the neumann is a bit warmer. but on acoustic gtr it is nice to have the sparkle. i tried the mxl 603 on vocals as well and i was surprised how good it sounded. used with a pop filter it`s character fits good on vocals wich could use a little low cut and boost of higher frequencies. i didn`t compare with other mics in this pricerange but i am very happy with it. even if i had the money to go and buy earthworks or neumanns, i would keep them for situations where a little top end is missing.

My wife and I perform and record folk music, old-time style music, old gospel music. We have been doing this for about 8 years, recording for the last 2 years. We use a Roland VS-880 for recording and mixdown and master on a PC. We use decent headphones while recording and a pair of Edirol 10's for mixing/listening. We transfer all tracks from the Roland digitally into the PC via SP/DIF thru an M-Audio Delta 410 sound card.

We use a Behringer PreAmp for phantom power and gain/level matching.

The 603S was part of a pack including the MXL 2001. The 2001 is a decent vocal mic, but frankly the 603S is my go-to mic for female voices.

The 603S is a small-capsule cylindrical shape cardiod condenser mic. It was purchased for use as an instrumental mic (guitar, dulcimers, autoharp, flute, pennywhistle). It worked very well for the guitar, mountain dulcimers, flute and whistle. It also works decently well as a vocal mic, particularly for my wife's voice range.

It was chosen based on price and flat response curve and other favorable reviews.

I like the fact that it is very "transparent" and open sounding. It is excellent on the guitar and winds. The only thing I don't use it for is the hammer dulcimer and autoharps. Those are so percussive in nature that the 603S seems muddied. I use a dynamic mic for those instruments now. I have had some success with the 603S on autoharp by placing it behind the player and near the instrument back where it peeks up over the player's shoulder.

The 603S is VERY SENSITIVE and making sure that background noise is minimized is absolutely necessary. Matching the gain/level to the recorder input and keeping the mic close to sound source is vital.