All user reviews for the MXL 991

The MXL 991 is a small diaphragm condenser microphone that is most often found in the MXL 990/991 microphone package. This was actually the first set of microphones I purchased when I started putting together my home studio about seven years ago. I don't own the 991 any more, but it worked well for me while I had it, although it's not a real professional's microphone. The mic has a frequency range of 30 Hz to 18 kHz and picks up sound in a standard caridoid pick up pattern.

OVERALL OPINION

The MXL 991 is some of the best bang for your buck out there in a small diaphragm condenser mic. While definitely not the best small diaphragm mic out there, for the price it's going to be hard to beat. It's definitely worth it to get it in the 990/991 bundle as it couldn't be any cheaper for the two of them at $100 US dollars new and sometimes even cheaper if you get lucky. The mics also come with their own clips and carrying case. I've used the mic for a variety of applications, including for acoustic guitar which is probably what I've used it most often for. Like I said earlier, I don't own the mic as I sold it off a number of years ago when I moved and shrunk my studio down a bit. It will definitely pick up a lot of sound and is perfect for acoustic instruments, but isn't going to be as accurate as the next step up in something like the Rode NT5's. Still, it's a great package considering the price and it's perfect for those who are just starting their home studio and are looking to put something together at a dirt cheap price. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone other than a small home studio owner, but for those users it's the perfect mic for the price.

This is a 20mm gold spurtted diaphram condensor microphone. This means that it does require phantom paower for it to work. The frequency range is 30Hz — 18kHz. It is small and inexpensive and perfect fo what I do. The price definitely makes this mic a very valuable asset in my collection of mics.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using this mic to record my acoustic guitar in conjunction with the MXL 990 for about a year. I place this mic at the sound hole and the MXL 990 at the 12th fret. I love the clarity that this mic provides. For the price you really can't beat the sound reproduction. In fact I've recorded a full lenght album and an EP using only this mic and MXL 990. I couldn't be happier with the results, and from what I've heard the people buying the album love the sound as well.
I'm a completely DIY musician. I record, mix, master, and produce everything that I do. This mic is perfect for my needs as a solo acoustic musician, and again you really can't beat the price.
I have used other instrument condensor mics in the past, but like the MXL 990 this is my goto instrument mic. I've even wanted to use it in live performances with a cello but haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm sure that it would do the job hands down.
One thing that I would change about this mic is that it is very hot. You don't have to have the level up very much at all to get a good clear sound so you'll have to play around with it a bit before using it on any projects or live performaces. Once you get the hang of it though it's smooth sailing.
I'm really happy that I bought this mic and from my experience with this mic and the MXL 990, I'm definately a MXL customer from now on.

I got this little mic as part of a package of two mics from MXL for $100. I wanted a couple low cost mics to take with me when I was traveling that I wouldn't have to worry too much about if something happened to them. This one is the small diaphragm condenser mic. You will mostly want to use this in the studio, using this live would likely result in a number of bleed problems. It has a standard XLR connection. It does require phantom power to be used since it's a condenser. It's a cardioid pickup type, and can't be switched to other polar patterns. It doesn't have a pad, which can be frustrating on this particular mic.

OVERALL OPINION

I bought this mic package about 3 years ago. The main reason I got it was just because it was so cheap - that is definitely its best asset. The sound quality on this mic is pretty bad. Everything sounds very tinny and crispy. It's a very harsh sounding mic. Thankfully I was only ever going to use it for recording rough demos where sound quality wasn't a big concern. I had two other problems with this mic. One is that for some reason the output on this mic is very high, so that when recording a loud source I could not get it to stop clipping even my preamp gain was set to almost 0. Maybe there was something wrong with mine? I didn't have that long to figure it out though, because this mic suddenly stopped working after about a year. I didn't drop it or anything, it just ceased functioning. I tried to open it up and maybe solder a loose wire, but I couldn't find the problem. Basically, this is a very cheap, piece of junk mic. If you just want to record something simple, you're probably better off getting a computer mic for $20. I wouldn't get it again.

The MXL 991 is a small diaphragm condenser microphone that I've used in the studio on acoustic guitar, drum overheads, hi hat, other acoustic stringed instruments and on things that is essential to have a good high frequency response. Since it has a small diaphragm, it makes it perfect for these instruments because it won't capture all of the low end rubble that a large diaphragm mic would.

OVERALL OPINION

I've had this mic for about 3 years and the things I like most about it is the great clarity and the price. I've used a few other low end small diaphragm condensers and I would say I like this one the best because it has a great high end frequency response and sounds great on acoustic guitar and cymbals. For the price I couldn't find a better small diaphragm condenser mic and even though it doesn't sound as great as some higher end mics, its got the best price of all of them. I bought it in a pack with the MXL 990, and I like this mic much better than that one. I would have paid the same price I paid for both just for this one. Just because of how cheap it is I plan to keep my MXL 991 for a while even if I decide to upgrade later down the road.