All user reviews of 5/5 for the MXL 990

People should keep in mind. This is a value mic. You aren't going to get $3000 sound quality from it. I just wanted to say that up front. But for the price this thing is great. This is a very cut and dry condenser with no frills at all. However I was shocked at the build quality. It's built quite solidly despite the specs making it appear cheap. It's not cheaply built.

OVERALL OPINION

I initially got this for a friend who needed a cheap vocal mic, but during testing it we discovered it had a lot of other applications. Yes it does vocals pretty well. Particularly male tenor vocals. That seems to be the sweet spot. We did not try female vocals on it. It didn't like low male vocals very much. It takes a specific mic to do that well. It's not very forgiving if you have imperfections in your voice. A lot of cheaper condensers are like this. So if you are a bad singer it will show it with flying colors. If you have bad technique this mic can fix that. It's also very volume sensitive and it can peak pretty easilly. You have to play with the levels a bit to get it right. Not a huge issue really since this is a studio mic and you can control the environment.

We also found it was great on dreadnought acoustics and other smaller bodied guitars. The clarity and trueness to the sound was very surprising and this mic beat out a few small condensers we had costing a lot more. This gave us the idea that it might make a good ambient mic because of the clarity, but we tried it for hallway vocal slams and it was too "bouncy". I'm not sure how to describe it but it doesn't fair well as a room mic. Still though, for the cash this is phenomenal. Get one.

I've used it to record voice, horns and acoustic guitar. Is it the greatest mic ever? Possibly not but I believe it represents a substantial bang for the buck. I can only assume those who rate its sound extremely negatively either had a defective unit or didn't really know what they're doing or didn't take the time to work with it to get the most out of it. Here's some examples from things I've used it on. Non-treated room, differing degrees of processing. I think with further experimentation it can sound even better on the acoustic 6 string. http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/22/2800754//mxl_samples.mp3

This is a quality (for the price) condensor microphone. It has a 3/4" gold sputtered diaphram. The frequency response is 30Hz-20kHz, with a 130dB max SPL. Not to mention it comes with a shockmount, mic stand adapter, and a pretty sturdy case.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using this mic for about a year or so. I'll admit that I wasn't really sure what to expect from a condensor mic that cost less and $100, but I love it. This mic is a great value for the price, and the sound is great.
I do alot of acoustic guitar recording along with vocals. The mic is great for my vocals and the gutiar both. When I use it I get a live performance feel from it. I really like that because the sound from the recording is exactly the sound I hear from my voice and my guitar.
When I record my guitar with it I use this mic at the 12th fret and the MXL 991 at the sound hole and I love what I get from it. Using this technique I get a stereo sound without having to record the track twice, makes recording alot easier.
I've uses other condensors, MXL, AKG, and others and to be honest for what I do I love this mic and really can't tell much of a difference from its performance compared to more expensive mics.
I'm really glad that I bought this mic, I couldn't have expected more from it. In fact, it far surpassed my expectations of it. It is my goto mic, even though I have access to much more expensive ones.
This mic is durable as well, after a show once I set the mic case on top of my car and forgot it. I drove off and the case fell on the road. My buddy picked it up for me and after all was said and done the mic was unharmed and still performed perfectly.
In short, buy this mic...you won't regret it!

- What type of microphone? (live, recording, mixed...)
Recording.

- What technology? (electret, condenser...)
Condenser.

Comes in a plastic case with suspension.

OVERALL OPINION

- For how long have you been using it?
I tested this at home and compared it to an AKG C3000 and a Rode NT3.
Also used it on several recordings (vocals).

- What thing do you like most/least about it?
It's cheap, looks good, sound great, comes with suspension & case.
But it's chinese and probably not gold coated...don't think it'll last, but who knows?

- Did you try many other models before getting this one?
See above.

- What is your opinion about the value for the price?
This costs around 50 euros second hand. That's cheap by any standards.
Once you've used this, however, you'll think it's the best value mic on the planet. Possibly even by far!

- Knowing what you know now, would you make the same choice?...
I don't own this, it was lent to me.
But if there is one mic studio i would recommend to anyone, this is it. Without the slightest hesitation!

The best value mic i've ever tried, by far.