« Good Mic for Room Mics »

I like most of the MXL line and I sue them every day at my studio complex www.chrislieckstudios.com. I like this microphone for room micing for drums only. I think that this V line of mics is great for room and acoustic but I personally dont like the boost or enhancement they produce on the top end at about 7K. I don't find that to my ears suitable for vocals. This mic is a decent mic for the money but is not a mic that I would use for vocals. We use this mic for room micing the room from afar and at the longest point of the room. The mic does well for room micing. I placed this about three feet from the kick drum and with the drummer hitting the set rather hard the mic delivers a good punch for me around 100hz. I like the way the mic is not to bright but bright enough for my ears. I have similar mics around this price range but we use this mic quite frequently on room micing the drums. I also have used this mic for acoustic guitar and I am picky when micing the acoustic so I like this mic for the money on certain instruments but not for vocals and when I see guys using them for vocals I am not really on boat with that for my ears. I also found some reviews that state that the mic is fat and warm but when we tested the mic we see a great deal of mid and high mid on the EQ graph and that is not a frequency that you want a high bump on the high mid and high end, at least I don't. I have not tried it on a female singer so I can't comment on that but I can as for male singers and that is a big part of why you buy a vocal mic. You want to have both male and female singers sounding fat and warm if you buying a mic for a home studio.

OVERALL OPINION

I like the sound it gives for room micing

Good value for the money but depends on application.

I have most of the MXL line at my studio. I like it for specific instruments such as guitars acoustic only and room micing. I don't love this mic or even like it for vocals. I only used it on male singers so I can not say that it would sound bad on a female singer but I do not like the mic for male singers. I do think that MXL makes great mics. I would buy a SPARK but Blue for $200 and you will like it more.