Re: MXL Mic was Recording tools

[Catilyne <catilyne@icicle.net>]

At 10:20 AM 4/16/2003 -0700, Squid Loop wrote:

> > I'm curious: since you've got a couple of those MXL's, is the sound 
> quality
> > and tone consistent from mic to mic?  They sound like a pretty good 
>deal,
> > but I don't want to have to go out and buy four of them in succession 
>just
> > to find a single one that sounds decent.
> >
> > And I don't mind a bit of 'coloration' at all (heck, that's precisely 
>why
> > you buy some mics), but what kind of sound sources do you find it works
> > best upon?
>
>I would be the wrong person to ask about this since I
>am known to use good to bad mics for whatever desired
>effect I am looking for.

Heh!  Actually you'd be a pretty good person to ask, since I often do the 
exact same thing myself <*evil grin*>.  If you've a decent idea on which 
source material it gives good results, though, you've probably got a 
pretty 
good start on how best to use it for whatever sound-mangling results 
you're 
trying to get.  ;)

>Consistency wise the two I have don't let me down. If
>you mean consistently sounding good / decent - yeup
>they keep to that between the two models I have.

Kewl.  I was just afraid there might be large differences in frequency 
response from individual mic to individual mic.

The reason I ask is that, back in college, the instructor for my Studio 
Recording class stumbled onto the fact that the electret condenser element 
sold at Rat Shack was from the exact same source as that of a fairly 
expensive AKG mic -- the only difference was the quality control from mic 
element to mic element.  He then showed us how it was possible to build a 
$450 microphone very simply from a drinking straw and $8 worth of 
electronic parts.  He made quite a few of these (filled the bloody studio 
actually), and the only problem was that about every three or four mics 
you'd encounter an element with a whacked out response.  At that point you 
could either solder on a new mic element, or mark that microphone for 
different uses (they'd occasionally have very "interesting" response 
curves).

There's quite a difference between spending $0.75 for a new mic element 
and 
$75 for a whole new mic, however.

(Later, Rat Shack wised up and started putting out their own condenser 
mics 
using that same element -- and with even worse QC -- for about $10 a 
mic.  This time, you'd get only about one really good microphone out of 
every two or three but, again, a $450 mic for $30 is still a steal with no 
soldering involved.)

So, I wanted to make certain that the two MXL's of yours didn't sound 
wildly different from each other, especially since MF is mail-order and 
there's no chance to actually audition the mic you're taking home.  It 
sounds as if they're fairly consistent between themselves, so I'll quite 
probably just go ahead and take the plunge.

Thanks!

         -c-


_____
"i want to reach my hand into the dark and *feel* what reaches back"
                                                 -recoil