MXL V67G

Musician,songwriter, engineer, some producing
20 years or so experience.

Have been a musician/songwriter/engineer/ some producing for 20 years or so. I've used/tried every imaginable mic on my own vocals. My voice is probably baratone I'd say. I've used every cheap condensor out there as well as spendy mics such as a U87. It's been hard for me to accept and believe but the V67G blows them all away (including the Neumann U87), at least on my voice. I don't care what the price is or that it's made in China. I'd easily pay $800 to $1,000 to get a mic that works and sounds this good on my voice. By far the best cheap mic out there and the best $100 I ever spent.

Presonus Blue Tube Mic Pre, Studio Projects VTB1 Mic Pre, Mackie 1202VLZ mixer, and Line 6 UX-1 Tone Port Mic Pre/USB interface/Amp & Mic Pre simulator). Generally these days I run the V67G mic into either the Presonus or VTB1 Mic Pre into the line inputs of the UX1 Tone Port USB audio interface using one of the cleaner mic preamp simulators on the Gear Box software designed for the UX1 (which by the way is a phenomenal device that no studio should be without).
My monitor setup consists of Alesis Monitor One speakers and an Alesis RA-100 reference amp. I also check mixes on Koss Pro-35A (successor of the classic Radio Shack Pro-25 headphones that are great for checking mixes as they are highly detailed sounding).
I also have the MXL 2001, CAD Equitek E-200, & Rode NT-1 large diaphragm condenser mics (in addition to tons of other dynamic mics, PZM mics, and small diaphragm condenser mics).
I have been recording music for about 13 years, these days recording to my PC through the Line 6 UX-1 although I also sometimes use a M-Audio Delta 44. For software I use Cool Edit Pro and a host of plug-ins as well as some external FX such as my treasured RNC compressor.

I have used this mic for many years and I must say that it is has always done very well on pretty much anything I have stuck it on. I'm quite astonished that some here call this mic "muddy", but I guess that like food, sound "quality" is mostly subjective and limited and variable due to our different ranges of hearing. However, with that said, I have yet to have anyone call any of the recordings I have done with this mic "muddy" or low quality sounding. Granted its not the best mic on every instrument or vocals, but generally its always done quite well on a wide range of vocalists, on guitar cabs, on acoustic guitars, on Sitar, on Turkish Baglama Saz, and on a variety of ethnic percussion instruments where it reproduces a vivid 3d sound in the right acoustic environments. Most recently I recorded a Native American flute, a Martin Backpacker steel string acoustic, and a 12" West African Djembe drum. The results were a bit too much raspyness on the Native American flute but after moving the position of the mic, I found a spot that didn't pick up so much air noise resulting in a nice beautiful smooth sound. However it was on the Backpacker guitar that I achieved a beautiful intimate sound, almost like a mountain dulcimer. Every bit of richness and high end sparkle was picked up and enlarged for that classic large diaphragm "larger then life" sound that really gave a lot of richness to the little guitar. On the Drum, likewise, the sound was rich, full, but not harsh or overly boomy.
There are many fairly decent low-end large diaphragm mics on the market, but overall I've found the V-67G to be one of the nicest I've had the pleasure of using. Ok...wait I got put some negatives just to be fair. A friend of mine had something loose in one of his V-67G's but a call to Marshall Electronics and they helped him identify the problem and easily fix it. Also occasionally on some vocalists it enhances bad characteristics of their voices (such as nasally voices or naturally raspy voices). But then again most of my condenser mics do that which is why I have an assortment of trust dynamic mics that are more rounded on the high end. I'm also buying a Nady RSM2 ribbon mic for that reason as well. Aside from that its also not always the best mic on some acoustic instruments but it also doesn't sound bad on any acoustic instrument I've recorded. People who screw that up generally didn't experiment enough with mic positioning which is crucial in recording acoustic instruments.

Finally a few years back when I needed their customer support, Marshall Electronics went above and beyond in helping me with a faulty MXL-603 mic back when they first came out and had a few problems. I got Neumann type customer service for a budget mic. You can't ask for better service. So overall if there's a problem with one of my MXL mics, I'm confident that Marshall will be there to help me out and make things right.

I've been making recordings for a couple of years. I'm in school right now studying music and recording. I've recorded bands and solo acts, mostly rock, but also a little hip hop. I record to Cubase, and I have Behringer Truth B2031A monitors.

This is a condenser mic with a large diaphragm and a cardioid pattern.

I mainly have used this mic on vocals, at a variety of distances. I've heard a few different people through it. I like the frequency response - it has a nice character for vocals, with some nice warmth. Another thing I like is that the proximity effect seems not to be overwhelming. Ultimately, though, it's just too slow and too muddy. Although warm, the midrange sounds unclear and slightly distorted. The concept behind this mic was to fake the character of tube electronics without using a tube.

Ultimately, though it seemed like a steal at the time, this mic needs to leave my collection. It's too easy to put this mic on someone and be happy with the character, but unhappy with the quality and integrity of the sound. I think the Nady SCM900 is a better choice for the money - still a little muddy, but not so bad.

Been doing music forever, but just started setting up a home studio. My friend who runs a studio brought over all of his microphones to do a comparison for my vocals. He was using an Avalon M5 preamplifier, and we were running into Sonar and auditioning on KRK RP5 monitors.

We compared the following microphones:

Audix OM5 dynamic microphone
MXL V67G
Audio Technica AT4033
Blue Baby Bottle
AKG C414 ULS

My voice is male medium high tenor. A little bit raspy, but reasonably clear sounding.

We found that the AKG and the Audio Technica were both extremely true sounding, less coloration than the other microphones. BUT, for my voice they were a little bit lifeless.

The Blue and the MXL both sounded very good, though we both agreed that the Blue was a little boomier, almost too much in the mids.

For my vocal, the coloration that the MXL added was very desirable.

The Audix produces a good tone, and it is similar in coloration to the Blue and the MXL, but it feels like the sensitivity and sustain of note reception wasn't as good. My tones sort of dropped off sooner with that microphone, as would be expected.

So, all in all, for my voice, it looks like I might come out fortunate in that the least expensive microphone did my voice the most justice.

For what it's worth, the engineer who was working with me, who has a much lower voice, very low tenor or maybe high baritone, finds that the AT4033 is best for his voice and that the Blue and the MXL don't sound good for him. So it's obviously voice dependent.

Been playing for 25 years, messing around in studios and home recording the last 5 years or so, mostly with ProTools Free, moved to GarageBand this year.

Current setup is V67>ART Tube MP>Griffin iMic>G4 eMac w/GarageBand 2.

Monitoring with Sony headphones, my monitors are a pair of old Yamahas I've had forever (I use them because I'm used to their sound-I'll also check my mixes on other gear, such as my main stereo, car CD player, boombox, etc.)

Large diaphragm cardioid condenser mic, you defintely need a decent pre-amp to get it to work properly (phantom-powered). That said, the Tube MP that I use for the preamp seems to work quite well-keeps the warmth, while brightening things up some.

Using the mike for vocals and acoustic guitars mainly. For vocals I place the mike 6 inches above the singers mouth about a foot away, pointing down to the mouth (I read this technique on-line, just make sure the singer is singing straight ahead-cuts out nasal sounds, plosives, and a little brighter sound with no pop filter needed). For acoustic guitar, I point the element at the neck/top joint, and alter picking technique (and picks) for flavor. BTW, I recorded a dobro with this mike-the sonic color of the mike compliments and smooths out some of the dobro's jagged edges, giving it a warmth that wasn't there before.

When I got this mike, it was a right place-right time kind of deal. I had been looking for something in this mike's normal price range, I tried this one and immediatley liked the sound. This particular mike is probably brighter than what most people are hearing, but it still retains the warm sound that everybody comments on. I was using an SM 58 before; this mike is miles better for voice and acoustic instruments. As good as a $1000 Nuemann? No, it isn't, but if it's a project studio on a budget, this is a good choice.

I have been playing in bands for about 15 years. I have been recording bands for about the past 8 or so. The last album from my band did very well on regional public and college radio. I have used a ton of different microphones and know what i'm looking for when I listen to a microphone.
I am normally running this mic through a JoeMeek VC6Q "Brittish Channel" channel strip. Although I did try it through a channel on my a mixing board and found the same characteristics.
I have a home studio where I'm currently writting music for a solo album. I use this mic on guitar amps and for vocals. The monitors I'm using are Event TR8-N powered monitors and my recording setup is a MOTU 1224, a Behringer board and a computer running Cubase SX.

This is a large diaphram condenser mic with a fixed cardioid pattern. No bells or whistles. I've been using this for the past couple weeks mostly on guitar cabs and as a vocal mic. I chose this mic mostly on price. I am very familiar with the Blue Baby Bottle and the AT4050 & 3035, and the Rode NT1 and NT5s, and a handfull of other mics, including a $2000 Lawson. Unfortunately for me, I'm recording a solo album and don't personally own the mics I've used in the past. I probably should have spent a little extra and bought the Rode NT1-A instead. I'm sure I would be happier.
The V67G does look very nice, which as we all know, is the most important point to consider. The gold plated grill is very sharp and makes the mic look much more expensive than it is. Unfortunately, it's hyped up too much by a lot of reviews from people who don't know what a good mic sounds like. It really sounds boomy and muddy. It gets so much proximity effect that you need to back off the mic and will probably end up EQing out the bottom end on your vocal tracks. The top end really needs help. Maybe this is where they say it sounds "warm"? It's really muddy sounding. It lacks any clarity in the upper end. I really had to boost the EQ around 5k to 7k to get any kind of clarity on the vocal tracks. Once I did that, it started to sound ok. Still, not very clear. You can get a useable track if you EQ the hell out of it, but I wouldn't count on it for a professional release. It's just not a pro mic.

Broadcast engineer for 20 years. I made my bones making young, inexperienced jocks with undeveloped vocal chops sound presentable.

Large diaphragm condenser, side-address, cardioid pattern.

I have been looking for a mic for my amateur radio station which would move beyond "communications grade" and impart some much needed warmth and clarity to what is a highly "optimized" communications mode. With only 2400 Hz of bandwidth, it poses a tremendous technical challenge to even sound "human".

I tried many different mics, including dynamics and condensers of all stripes -- from consumer-grade to "computer headsets" (surprisingly good!), to broadcast standards such as the EV RE-20 and Sennheiser MD421, and even the highly worshipped Heil Sound mics.

I was not satisfied.

I went to the local guitar store that carried pro mics, and tried a whole range from Neumans to CADs to AKGs to AutioTechnicas to the Marshall MXLs including this mic. This was not the best of the bunch, but was second or third for my voice. It has lots of proximity effect, which is good for radio work. It has a wide "sweet-spot", so as the announcer turns his head from side to side looking for the notes he desparately needs, the fall-off is minimal.

Why didn't I choose the #1 or #2? The deciding factor was price. At under $100, I was comfortable spending this on a "hobby". The others (the MXL V69 tube mic, and the Neuman M 147) were both tube mics, and the famous "Broadcast Sound" developed in the age of tubes. They weren't that much better for my voice, and the V67 was way more than "adequate". Someday, though, I might try a V69 tube. Maybe. Just to be "cool" and "warm" at the same time... Maybe.

But for now, the results of this mic are awesome. Comments I have received on the air from other Amateurs range from "nail it down" to "put Scotch tape over the controls -- you're done" to "What are you running and how did you get it to sound so good?" Not a single negative comment.

I like the sound in the headphones. If I had to describe the sound, it would be "Old School Tube Mellow". WHich happens to be in demand for commercial spots these days. So I've been doing some voice work with it into the computer and Adobe Audition. So far, every demo has sold.

And my voice stinks! It's tinny and nasal and whiney on the best of days, and hoarse and unintelligible on the other 364. But not through this mic!

Tracking through a Delta 1010 into Sonar 3.

This mic is VERY colored. I only used it on vocals. It can be sibilant with some voices, usually needs de-essing.

I have found this mic needs a fair amount of EQ to work well, but when properly EQ'd, it can have a nice BIG image with a vintagey color to it. The mic adds some interesting stuff in the upper mids which works well with some voices. It is pretty scooped in the mids, too much for my tastes, I add a bit at 1K to make it a bit fuller sounding. This mic is the polar OPPOSITE of a boxy sounding mic. In fact it is a bit hollow sounding.

Overall a good value, though not a do-all kind of mic. Don't expect to just throw it up and get a perfect sound right away. It needs a bit of tweaking, but certainly has a cool character to it not to common with budget mics.

30-year veteran home studio weenie. Going from Teac 2-track sound-on-sound through various cassette and reel-to-reel multitracks to my current VS-1680 monitored through Mackie HR824s

Chinese-made large diaphram cardoid condensor mike. Gold plated grill with lurid green body (presumable meant to be reminiscent of the much more expensive AKG C12, but having an umistakable Chinese vibe).

No adjustable patterns or pad on this one. It is designed purely as a solo vocal mike and that is what it does well. It is by design a "warm" mike but it still has enough clarity to stand out in the mix without a lot of EQ teaking. I like it on my voice, which suffers from many "issues" of it's own. It is more sensitive than my Oktava MK-319, which is good because I don't have to push the gain as much on my substandard preamps. It is MUCH smoother and pleasing than my shrill AKG C3000.

I have never used a Neumann or other high end mike, so I can't compare them to the MXL, but on the budget vocal mike front this has to be a great bargain. $99 with a shockmount and cable on eBay.

I'm fairly new to the recording process but I have been doing it for a few years.

I mostly just record myself and some friends bands.

I record to computer on Pro-Tools LE 6.1.1 through Digi001

AKG240 headphones and some TEAC stereo speakers (havent gotten "real" monitors yet.)

Lar Diaphram condensor mic, fixed cardiod parttern.

Mostly just vocals, pop filter about 4 inches away then I sing between 4 inches to 18 inches away from that depending on what Im singing.

I was looking at the Studio Projects B-1 but I went with this one because I thiought it would be better on vocals.

I has a colored tone which I like on my voice, I'm still getting used to it beecause it sounds richer and warmer like it won't fit in the mix, but it really does kind of stand out in the mix well. I'm also running it through a studio projects VTB-1 preamp, when I run it straight into my digi it sounds brighter. The only place it falls short is its versatility. It doesn't really sound great on anything except vocals. Its useable on acoustic guitar, but I have a pair of Audio Technica ATM11r's that I use for that.

I would definately recomend the mic, I got it for 100$ with shockmount and cord. If you just want a good sounding clean vox mic. I dont know how it sounds on females yet but I am starting to record more people so I'll see. If you need more of a do it all mic I would get a pair of studio project B1's because of what I hear they are very versatile and they still sound good on vox, but I like the MXL it is a good sounding mic and great for my first vocal mic.