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Published on 12/05/11 at 19:26The MXL 2003 Condenser mic was made for recording acoustic guitars (mostly). A lot of people will record instruments with a regular vocal mic (not that there is anything wrong with that) but there are mics out there that are built for specific applications yet they serve a dual or multiple purposes.
Decent sized condenser capsule
3 micro diaphragm (gold)
Balanced Output
10-dB pad Bass cut
Comes with shock mount
3 position Switch
OVERALL OPINION
A pretty good condenser mic if you are working with a limited budget. I had a chance to work with this mic during a sound designing session and I wasn't too impressed with it because it very unpredictable. I found that if you recorded 5-6 inches away from it then it recorded very well but any further it seemed to pick up less of source and if you boosted the preamp it would get noises. This wasn't the amp or the surrounding it was the mic it self. Another odd flaw that I noticed is if you got to close to the mic the vocals would sound muffled. Keep in mind the distance comparisions were when recording vocals (male). When it came to recording instruments it shinned, not as clear as other mics but it did it's job well. If you stay centered on the mic it sounds really good. Some people complain about the recording not picking up so well on the sides of the mic and that's is because this is not a omni directional microphone. So the clarity isn't going to sound the same when directing sound toward different positions of the mic. One thing this mic is great at recording aside from guitars is drums. It works wonders when it comes to over head mic drumming as well as percussive instruments.
The microphone is really easy to use just make sure you have the following for best results
good recording area
phantom power
preamp
pop filter
good cables
I stress good cables and preamps a preamp can make a mic sound a lot better and if you have bad cables you're going to have a lot bad noise in your recording. Oh and last make sure your outlets are grounded. That's just general information but it's good to know.
Decent sized condenser capsule
3 micro diaphragm (gold)
Balanced Output
10-dB pad Bass cut
Comes with shock mount
3 position Switch
OVERALL OPINION
A pretty good condenser mic if you are working with a limited budget. I had a chance to work with this mic during a sound designing session and I wasn't too impressed with it because it very unpredictable. I found that if you recorded 5-6 inches away from it then it recorded very well but any further it seemed to pick up less of source and if you boosted the preamp it would get noises. This wasn't the amp or the surrounding it was the mic it self. Another odd flaw that I noticed is if you got to close to the mic the vocals would sound muffled. Keep in mind the distance comparisions were when recording vocals (male). When it came to recording instruments it shinned, not as clear as other mics but it did it's job well. If you stay centered on the mic it sounds really good. Some people complain about the recording not picking up so well on the sides of the mic and that's is because this is not a omni directional microphone. So the clarity isn't going to sound the same when directing sound toward different positions of the mic. One thing this mic is great at recording aside from guitars is drums. It works wonders when it comes to over head mic drumming as well as percussive instruments.
The microphone is really easy to use just make sure you have the following for best results
good recording area
phantom power
preamp
pop filter
good cables
I stress good cables and preamps a preamp can make a mic sound a lot better and if you have bad cables you're going to have a lot bad noise in your recording. Oh and last make sure your outlets are grounded. That's just general information but it's good to know.