MXL 990

Musician for over 30 years, trumpet primary instrument, songwriter, arranger, recording to DAW.

Is it the world's finest mic? Perhaps not, but I don't you'll find better one anywhere near its price. I got two on some special sale a couple of years ago, I believe it was 2 for $59 - including case, shock mount and standard mount.

I've recorded acoustic guitar, male and female vocals and trumpet with it. IMO works fine on them all, the fact that it works well on trumpet and can handle the SPL's is largely what sold me on it. You have to adjust everything to the situation of course, but for all the naysayers, I wonder if anyone would be willing to put a lot of money on a blind bet that they could distinguish this from some high dollar mic. I believe the results depend largely on the care one takes in setting it up and subsequent treatment of the tracks.

Someone stated you couldn't record female vocals with it. Here's an example where you hear both female vocal and plunger trumpet.

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/11/1809238/lorriemix.mp3

I have been a musician for 22 years and have been recording for about 12 serious years with actual equipment. Recording into a Boss BR-1600 now.

4 overall rating. I bought this mic 4 or 5 years ago because it was cheap and I didn't know anything about recording vocals. It is horrible with my vocals. It distorts really bad no matter what I do. Has a very thin sound. But for overhead drums it is very crisp and clear, and sounds great, so that's what I use it for mainly. I wouldn't reccomend it for vocals.

I have been playing music for around 22 years. I have more experience on the performance side of recording but I also have worked engineering and producing several projects. I am currently using Cubase and occasionally a BR-1180. I use Edirol MA 10D's for monitoring and pre-master mixing.

The MXL 990 condenser is a fair mic for the price. I use it the most on vocal tracks. It is ok on acoustic guitar, has the tendency to be a bit muddy. The 990 also does a fair job on mandolin as well. I would suggest experimenting with various placements on acoustic instruments as this can drastically change the sound. Whatever you do, don't attempt to record upright bass with this mic. It cannot handle it, distorts bad on lower notes, but then again the 990 is not really meant for that task. Overall I would say that the 990 shines the brightest in a live application. It does a good job when used with a bluegrass band. You can set it up high to capture the vocals and set one low to get the instruments and you have an instant good mix.

Musician for 35 years.

Recording for about 5 years.

Recording to desktop PC and notebook, currently through Cakewalk Sonar SPS-25 USB box (which is really an Eridol UA-25).

For mixing, Audio-Technica ATHM40 headphones.

I bought a pair of these for occasional live recording. I just put them on a dual mike stand, angled at about 120 degrees. The issue of which mikes are "best" for this application is moot to me: Whatever they are, I didn't want to pay that much. So here's the deal: Pick any mike in this price range (or 2 or 3 or 4 times this price range) and search for reviews, and I guarantee you'll find as many negative reviews as you care to read. So, you have two choices: Crank your budget WAY up or take a stab at doing the best you can for the money. I decided on option 2, and after reading many reviews (and adding many grains of salt), I decided on the MXL 990s. I'm very happy with the results, considering that most of the places I use them have pretty crummy acoustics to start with. In fact, I have been told by several people that they were the best live recordings they had heard. So, FOR THE MONEY, these are great -- 'nuff said.

Been casually recording for a number of years, now getting the gear for myself and getting more serious. Just ditched the ol' 4-track for a nice firewire digital interface.

990 Condenser Mic used for acoustic guitar mainly, some vocals. Got this due to the price. Wish I had waited and saved a little more cash for something more durable. The mic stand had a little slip and the mic fell and hit the ground from about 2 feet up. Now it crackles like crazy and you can't open it up to try to fix it. It worked nice when it was babied, but no durability. Maybe I'm just used to my sm-57s and 58s... Either way, this mic sounds ok for what it is: a cheap entry level condenser mic.

making music for 8 years.

recording for 2 years. no schooling. just what works, works.

recording to digital multitrack on labtop. (qtr inch to usb)
with preamps and weird things that work for me.

i don't think listening equipment matters, but i usually preview on some pretty decent speakers, then plug my laptop into my car stereo for final changes, then rendering.

mxl 990.

do not order this mic through mail. be a jerk and make that guitar center employee hook this mic up for you. listen to it. spend an hour at guitar center. if it sucks, make him try a different of the same model. they have a little recording booth specifically for this. these mics are unoticebly damaged early in their lives. i have two of this mic and they both give me different sounds when used the same way. if you read what the company sends along with it, it can even be damaged by slight wind. so don't blow into it and break like i did on my first one. i guess i'll say it's a good mic. i like it's price to quality ratio. it's actually unbelievable when you buy the 1 out 4 that hasn't been screwed up in shipping.

Musician for 20 years, recording in home/project studio for 10 years. Record to Adat hard disk w/ Alesis monitors.

This is a condenser mic so if it is your first one you will probably be like, "wow this thing is awesome". After you get over the honeymoon and try more expensive condensers you will find that the 990 is just a cheap sounding condenser. It distorts very easily and has a huge proximity effect. I spent 3 times the amount on my CAD M177 and it sounds and preforms 10 times better than the 990. My 990 will go on Ebay for some other sucker.

* How long have you been making music?
1 month (just starting to get in this stuff)

* What kind of recording experience do you have?
home recording of vocal
* What are you recording to? (DAW, analog tape, cassette, ADAT, digital multitrack, etc.)
digital computer recording
* What is your primary listening equipment?
Senn HD-280

1) this is a condenser, some listed the thing as a large diaphranm condenser, it is not, it's at best a mid size (20mm), large are 25mm+ or ~ 1 in, like the CAD M177 that's 1.1 in.

2) I use this mic on a regular mic stand, with pop filter, i place it upside down because it looks cool, other than that, placing it right side up or upside down shouldn't matter much. It's going through M-audio buddy then into sound card.

3) the positive point is that it's got the clarity of a condenser, compare to the dynamic like SM58 or Senn E835 it's deffinity winning on the clarity and pickup, HOWEVER, this thing has got a huge huge bump on the high frequency, and it's brittle, can not EQ it out because it mud up the sound really bad, i don't know how to deal with it yet, this is probably good for stuff with lower frequency than vocal, female vocal is out of the question, it'll sound so harsh it's not even funny. But if you look at it, ALOT of people have this mic (30+ reviews), u see them alot on ebay too, it's a good starting mic to learn the rope, after a month or 2 it's best to buy a better mic.

Playing for 30 + years
New to low/moderate priced home studio recording, appx 3 year.
Have recorded using 4 track tape decks in the past.
Using a DAW, with Sonar 5 PE.
I listen through Berenger Monitors, M-Audio monitors, and a variety of other sources , including home surround systems, high end car system.

MXL 990 Condenser, labeled as a Large Diaphram ,but actually a 3/4 in small/med diaphram condenser.
Using to record Ovation acoustic at or near 12 fret slightly pointed towards sound hole (most often that is)
Considered and bought other mics also.
Works good on acoustic with good placement, as it is somewhat colored in the highs. This mic is for those who have an ear for it, if you like the sound it produces, you like the mic, I like the sound recorded with this mic on my acoustic in my space.
I recommend to all who record acoustic guitar, for the price it can add another weapon to you arsenal.....

I've been recording for about 5 years now and ive been playing for 7 (still in high school) yet i know recording. im recording with the 001 still.
this mic is prety basic, you'll have to tweak it during your recordings with each session and practically use what you have to balance this product out, but for what you pay its great, the problem with that statement is you arent paying much. For what its worth its the cheapest you can buy without buying complete trash. where i currently intern the set up is way easier but for what its worth he drove to the musicians friend distrubution center to get his deal. But if your starting out you'll learn a lot, and find out what your doing as you tweak around distrubution because it'll kick you hard unless you have an avalon mic pre or something.

-Styson Hunter

large diaphram condencer bought with 991 pencil condencer. I used it for vocals. Im concidering AKG C4000B. I choose it because i needed something cheap at the time. Obviously the reason why i bought it was because of the price, but the biggest problem is distortion. I would recommend it if you cant be flexible with you budget.