MXL Genesis

I am a huge fan of most all of the MXL Mic Line. I use them daily at my studio complex www.chrislieckstudios.com. This microphone delivers a good punch on the low end and is a bit more bass oriented than their normal microphones. I do like the mid range dip as far as my ears can tell. I would use this for instrumentation such as guitar amps or acoustic guitars. The first thing I will say is that I don't normally like external power supply mics. I have had a great deal of issues with some MXL mics when using them with the power supply. This is a tube mic and the tube does sound good. I am not a real fan of most tube mics unless they have reliable and have a reputation for not having issues. It does have a good sized capsule so I do like that. It was a bit noisy on the 4k side and had some high end break up but it still sounded very very good for the money. I would consider this a decent buy but not a steal. I like the SPARK mic better and that is half the price of this mic. I do like it for vocals and I used it several times on a male singer. I do like the sound of the voice on male singers. I used an API and with no compression and it did have the singer right on top of the diaphragm.

There was a bit of treble but again no mic is perfect for every singer. I do like the way that it sounded on an acoustic guitar and for room micing it was very very good. The sound was clean and not to harsh as some of my other MXL mics that have tubes in them. The color is nice and it looks very good but that is not a reason to purchase a mic. I like the feel of the mic. It has a good if not sturdy feel but is not to bulky and big. Some of their older tube ones were to big and obtrusive and had some tube issues. I am more of a fan of MXL's mics without tubes but this mic was pretty good sounding and it was a pretty decent buy. I would not get a pair of these as it would be to costly for me to justify the sound of the mic.

OVERALL OPINION

Impressed with it's punch.

Good value in that it cost just the right amount for what you get. The sound is punchy and is a bit more low end oriented.

I like this mic. For the most part and it did perform better that expected as it did not get a great deal of reviews prior to my $400 purchase of mics. I looked for a review that I could get my teeth into.

The MXL Genesis will provide you with a very clear and concise sound. Not to mention that its very stylish as well. The color tone of it is something that I am very fond of. I think it just looks great and seeing it set up in a studio makes it look even better. The look of it fits perfect with the sound quality that it provides, very rich and warm. It is a Tube condenser microphone and for the price of it you really cant expect to get too much more. Its not the best condenser mic on the market but its far from the worst. For the little investment that it cost you will get a good sounding mic and a great looking mic to sit right in your home.


OVERALL OPINION

I have had several friends who have used this mic and they really didn’t like it because they wanted a more realistic sound of it. But I feel for the money you pay for it you really cant expect to get something much better. It will provide you with a warm sound (not too sure why they would say other wise). The MXL Genesis has a 6 micron gold sputtered diaphragm with an output impedance of 200hms. It really performs well with more slow music than it does faster stuff. I think its perfect for ballad songs , but not so perfect for like a hip hop up tempo song. But you would have to try it out on your own voice to see just how it performs. You can always return it if you don’t like the way it sounds, but for right around 400-500 dollars you wont find to many other mics that will out look this one or out perform the Genesis. So if you want crisp hi’s and very solid bottom end recordings then the MXL Genesis could be for you.

The MXL Genesis is a tube condenser microphone best suited for use in the recording studio. In fact, I wouldn't recommend using this for live shows as it is not only expensive, but somewhat fragile and not intended for use on the stage. It comes with a separate power supply as the tube inside needs to be powered by an external source. This is another reason that you should keep this microphone in your studio - its simply too bulky for use anywhere else.


OVERALL OPINION

I've been using the MXL Genesis tube condenser microphone for about a year or so and I have found it quite useful in a number of different applications. The overall tone quality is fat and rich in tone, which makes it an awesome vocal microphone for all types of singers. I have also used it with great success on the body of acoustic guitars and other stringed acoustic instruments. This being said, the MXL Genesis is a great all around microphone and will probably work great in any situation. While I wouldn't say that this microphone will color your signal, it does have a unique tone quality to it and will add fatness to your signal, most likely because of the tube. Besides the tone quality, the overall look of this microphone is just about as cool looking as they get. It is big, which makes it hard to place for certain applications, but it makes for a great aesthetic and is always a great choice for taking pictures with! The price of the MXL Genesis isn't exactly cheap, but considering it is a high end quality tube microphone it is probably worth the price if you are looking into getting a microphone like this. While it isn't the best microphone I've ever heard, it sounds pretty great and is a great vocal microphone. Buy It!

MXL Genesis is a large diaphragm, tube based condenser microphone. The mic is designed for use in the recording studio, which is the only place that I have experience with the mic and is really the only place I would recommend using it in. The mic has a 12AT7 tube inside of it, a -10 db pad, a 6 db roll off at 150 Hz, and has a standard cardioid polar pick up pattern. Since it is a tube mic, it does come with a power supply and the proper cables, but a big plus is that it also comes with a shock mount and a pop filter, both of which are custom made for the Genesis mic.

OVERALL OPINION

While the sound quality of the MXL Genesis isn't nearly as good as they would like you to believe, it still does have a pretty good overall sound for a mic in this price range. Certainly, it is better sounding than the other MXL mics out there that I have used. I've used the mic for recording only vocals, as it hasn't been possible for me yet to try it out on other instruments. For recording vocals though, it did the job very well with a good mix of warmth and clarity. If it will work for you or not really solely depends on what you are trying to do with the mic. I wouldn't recommend this to any professional as the sound just isn't up to par with the better tube mics out there, but for the home studio owner looking to add some warmth in the form of a microphone, MXL's Genesis is the perfect mix of quality and price. For an MXL mic though, I do wish it was even a little bit cheaper, but I can't complain too much as it is right around $500 USD. While MXL Genesis will probably get the job done in a home studio environment more times than not, I would regardless encourage those interested to shop around as there are better options out there in my opinion...