MXL Microphones
By Dave Schwartz
While at NAMM we stopped in
at the MXL booth to talk
microphones and some new
additions to the MXL product
line. The sales staff was
happy to point us toward the
new product as well as
refresh us on some of the
old.
iPAD Compatible Mics
The Tempo is a brand new
addition to the MXL product
line. It comes in two
finishes, red / black and
silver / black. The thing
about the Tempo and the
other mics that we currently
make for the iPAD, we’ve
reduced the current
requirements of the
electronics in them so that
when you use them with an
iPAD you won’t get that
annoying message that comes
up that says: “Requires too
much current.” These mics
all plug directly into the
iPAD camera connection kit.
They work with GarageBand
and any other recording
software that works on an
iPAD. Price Range: $79 and
up. They are available
through all the major stores
and distributors around the
country.
There are numerous
applications for this mic.
Many people carry an iPAD
with them daily. It can be
used for taking notes as
well as for musicians on the
road. If a musician is in
the tour bus after a gig and
wants to work on a song,
they can plug into their
iPAD and capture ideas to be
used later. It’s all
extremely portable because
you don’t require an
external power supply. I’ve
recorded both electric and
acoustic guitars with this
mic and it’s worked very
well.
http://www.mxlmics.com/microphones/usb/Tempo/
CR-24 Mic Kit
The CR-24 Mic Kit was put
together with the amateur
musician in mind. The large
diaphragm mic in the kit is
based on the MXL 2003A. It
has been a stalwart
microphone for us, has a
very good reputation and is
known for its very high
sound quality. In this kit
you get both a large and a
small diaphragm microphone,
shock mounts and a flight
case to store them in. It’s
a perfect combination for a
singer / songwriter. They
have a large diaphragm mic
for their vocals and a small
diaphragm mic for their
guitar. This kit will work
in so many applications.
Apart from the quality of
the mics, they look great
too. The black chrome finish
really stands out. MXL
believes that a microphone
that looks good as well as
sounds good will always
attract attention.
http://www.mxlmics.com/microphones/900-series/Cr24/
V67 Series
Microphones
The V67 series has been a
very popular line for us.
Let’s start with the only
small diaphragm mic in the
series, the V67N. This mic
is different from MXL’s
other small diaphragm mics
in that it’s a transformer
coupled output as opposed to
the FET outputs on the 603
and 604.
 Next we have the original
microphone of the series,
the V67G. This large
diaphragm mic has been
available for several years
now. We like to be
responsible to the our end
users and customers. Users
loved the sound but the most
consistent feedback we
received on this microphone
is that we add a roll-off
switch and a pad. So we’ve
added a 6dB pad and a
roll-off switch (6dB/octave
at 150Hz) and retained the
price of the original
microphone. The V67 remains
available for full
distribution while the V67GS
will be available only to
the pro audio stores.
The next step up is the
V67I. This microphone has
two diaphragms mounted back
to back within the
microphone. The microphone
has a switch on the front
labeled “Warm” and “Bright”.
I’m not sure if those terms
really are indicative of the
performance of the mic. On
the “warm” side of the mic
the performance sounds warm
and intimate. If you switch
to the “bright” setting,
it’s not as much a case of
the mic sounding brighter as
much as it opens the sound,
makes it sound more forward.
In that I guess it could be
perceived to sound more
bright. The advantage of the
microphone is that you have
two mics in one package. If
the “warm” setting isn’t
doing it for you, just flip
the switch and turn the mic
around and you have an
alternative sound available
to you. It’s like have two
mics.
Moving up from the V67I we
have a stereo version of the
V67 series, the V67Q. This
mic uses two smaller
diaphragm capsules arranged
inside the head in a 90° X/Y
pair. It comes with a Y
cable that has a standard
XLR connection for the
Microphone and two XLR
connects that go to the
recording console or
interface. This mic can be
used for a lot of things.
People use them for a drum
overhead. I know someone who
recently used one to record
a grand piano. They angled
it in such a way that one
capsule was pointed toward
the high strings and the
other toward the bass
strings. This microphone has
pretty incredible
performance for a mic that
costs under $200.
The member of the V67 series
is a tube mic. This mic is
designed on the same
principal as the V67I and is
called the V67I Tube. It
shares the same lineage and
has the warm and bright
switch on the front. This
microphone runs a 12AT7 tube
inside that gives it
additional warmth and a
characteristic sound that
you can only obtain from a
tube rather than solid state
electronics. The 12AT7 is
replaceable and is readily
available online or in most
music stores.
http://www.mxlmics.com/microphones/studio/V67g/
http://www.mxlmics.com/microphones/studio/V67gs/
http://www.mxlmics.com/microphones/studio/V67i/
http://www.mxlmics.com/microphones/studio/V67i_tube/
http://www.mxlmics.com/microphones/studio/V67Q-Stereo/
Revelation Series
Microphones
The Revelation series now
consists of 3 microphones.
The original Revelation mic
was a continuously variable
multi-pattern microphone.
 There is a large knob of the
front of the power supply
that allowed the used to
sweep all the way from Omni
to Cardioid patterns, all
the way to figure 8 with
little detents in between.
So what ever pattern that
you’re looking for, this
microphone is capable of
providing.
Another nice thing about the
original Revelation mic is
that all of the controls for
the microphone are on the
power supply. So once you
position the mic in front of
the artist or amplifier, you
can control the mic from the
power supply. All the
pattern changes are done
from there. There is an
on/off, a phase invert and
even a ground lift switch on
the power supply for
instances where a studio
might have grounding issues.
You can actually lift the
ground without compromising
safety in any way.
Next is the Revelation
Stereo. It looks a lot like
the original Revelation
accept it’s a lot larger.
The Revelation Stereo
actually has two full size
EF86 pentode tubes inside.
The power supply for this
doesn’t have any controls on
it. Once again this is an
X/Y pair of capsules set at
90°. The microphone really
is a plug and play solution.
You plug it in and then take
the two XLR connectors from
the power supply and plug
them into your board and
you’ll have a really
truthful representation of
the position where the mic
is sitting.
Our newest addition to the
Revelation series is
Cardioid version of the
Revelation and is called the
Revelation Cardoid. It’s a
cut down version of the
original Revelation with a
single capsule. When we put
the original Revelation into
production everyone loved
the sound of it on the
Cardoid. We were asked if we
could make a Cardoid only
version of the Revelation
and so we’ve done so.
http://www.mxlmics.com/microphones/studio/Revelation/
http://www.mxlmics.com/microphones/studio/Revelation-Stereo/
*** UPDATE ***
In our April 2012
issue of DaBelly we reviewed
the
Marshall Electronics MXL
Tempo Microphone.
Check out the review
here.
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