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moosers
Published on 08/30/11 at 14:05
The MXL 990 is a large diaphragm, FET preamp based, condenser microphone, aimed at the consumer looking for a condenser microphone for their home studio. The 990 is featured in a mic package with the MXL 991 (a small diaphragm pencil condenser), and has become very popular over the years as it was one of the first microphone packages to be super cheap and easily available to home studio owners. This was actually the microphone package I purchased when I first starting putting my home studio together about seven years ago, although I no longer own these mics. The 990 specifically is a cardioid based mic, with a frequency response ranging from 30 Hz to 20 kHz.
OVERALL OPINION
The MXL 990 is quite a popular mic and for a pretty good reason considering the price. It has a pretty decent sound and will pick up pretty much everything in the room as it's quite sensitive. I wouldn't consider it a professional mic, but for recording demos at home, it will get the job done, and I know people will be using it for more than this anyway. It's a good combo with the MXL 991 if you buy them in a pack together as you're getting a good range between the two of them. I've used the 990 for recording vocals amongst other things, and it definitely does have a pretty clear sound even if it's not the richest sounding microphone out there. I think you can buy the 990 on it's own, but if you can still buy it along with the MXL 991 at the same price, I'd recommend doing that if you're looking to get the cheapest possible condenser microphones that don't sound terrible. While the 990 wouldn't be my first choice out there, you can't go wrong for the price.
OVERALL OPINION
The MXL 990 is quite a popular mic and for a pretty good reason considering the price. It has a pretty decent sound and will pick up pretty much everything in the room as it's quite sensitive. I wouldn't consider it a professional mic, but for recording demos at home, it will get the job done, and I know people will be using it for more than this anyway. It's a good combo with the MXL 991 if you buy them in a pack together as you're getting a good range between the two of them. I've used the 990 for recording vocals amongst other things, and it definitely does have a pretty clear sound even if it's not the richest sounding microphone out there. I think you can buy the 990 on it's own, but if you can still buy it along with the MXL 991 at the same price, I'd recommend doing that if you're looking to get the cheapest possible condenser microphones that don't sound terrible. While the 990 wouldn't be my first choice out there, you can't go wrong for the price.