MXL 990 Condenser Microphone for Podcasting, Singing, Home Studio Recording, Gaming & Streaming | Detailed Sound | XLR | Large Diaphragm (Champagne)

This mic is definitely sufficient for normal recording, especially if you run it through a vocal effects processor. I plan to get the TC-Helicon VoiceLive 2 here at Amazon eventually (I really love the gender conversion that makes you sound like a good female voice) but right now I have the KORG EMX and ESX as well as the KORG Kaoscullator Pro, and this mic works great when connected to any of those (but of course connected to a phantom power source first, the patched to the Korg devices). The fact it comes in a nice durable case with foam padding impressed me right from he start. Then I hooked it up to the included shock mount and added a pop mic filter (VERY important you use a pop filter because condenser mics are sensitive to moisture from your mouth).The sound quality is far beyond anything I'm used to, but I must confess that I was one of those poor fools who didn't even know what XLR and "phantom power" was -- I only used mics with a USB connection or the 1/8" stereo plug, and they all sound terrible compared to an XLR microphone with 48v phantom power.And even the XLR cables themselves are a dream come true! -- I was always getting so angry with the normal 1/8" cables messing up and then you have to lick them and plug 'em back in, then spin them around to get the sound to work right. (Nobody told me there was another option!)But XLR cables make it impossible for any humming or hissing sounds or disconnections of any kind since they lock in place and never need any toying with. Now I use XLR cables for all my speakers too, and for all the patch connections between my mixers, amps, and musical devices, and it has made creating music so much more enjoyable! Now I don't have to fidget with those crappy 1/8" cables anymore, and there's never any hissing or annoying humming sounds to worry about. And of course I also realized that you can't just plug your music output right in to your computer's sound card and expect to get professional recording that way -- you have to use a box that converts the music to digital and sends it via USB port to the software, and the box should have XLR inputs for mics and 1/4" inputs as well. Only problem is Amazon has so many of those boxes, I can't decide which one to buy. I want the Lexicon since they are masters of high quality sound recording, but some of the bad reviews make me worry. With musical devices, sometimes you just end up with a unit that has manufacturing defects, and unfortunately those people post bad ratings and make it seem like the product itself is to blame.

After 5 years, still my favorite mic! I use it for streaming/singing

The mic is great for its price. Wish it had more options of polar patterns. It is always a cardioid mic and doesn't have a pad or hpf like other condenser microphones. Otherwise, the quality is great. The shockmount and case are very well built. As for its sound, it is pretty good.

I bought this mic for a school project because I needed to make a CD and needed a mic for vocals. This works great for that (just make sure to use a wind screen). Im also the sound tech for my choir class and in the past we have used individual Audix handheld microphones for each singer. However this year we are taking a different approach to mic the singers. We just had an all day gig to sing Christmas songs at all the elementary schools in my town. Ive had some bad luck in the past with using condenser mics for choirs and live sound mainly because of feedback being so easy to get. When setting up for the gig at the schools, I forgot to grab cables to run my EQ so I knew that it was just going to be a wreck. But I decided to give it a try anyway. All of our gigs for that day were in school gyms so that defiantly wasnt going to help with my feedback issues of the past. I used 3 of these mics for a choir of about 25 kids. Ran them into a 6 channel Peavey Mixing board and directly out to 2 QSC K10 active speakers that were used for mains. No EQ except for the 80Hz Cutoff option on the board. I placed the speakers about 10 feet in front of the mics and gave it a shot. To my surprise they didnt feedback AT ALL. Even with the terrible acoustics in the gyms. I was easily able to project the sound of the choir without feedback issues. I was even told by one of the school administrators to turn the volume down at one point. So basically what Im saying is that for the money, these mics are great for many different uses. Whether it is recording at home or micing a choir for a live gig. These mics sound great. We will be buying about 6 more for our spring show in our performing arts center just because they are so cheap.

It is in the ear of the beholder. Is it the perfect mic for everyone? Nothing is. For my purposes of doing voice overs and being I have a rather deep voice, the "muddiness" some don't like work brilliantly for my sound. On the other end, I find that it is a bit sensitive to sibillance and requires a pop filter set back a little further than I would have thought. I admit that I move a lot of air so I cannot necessarily fault the mic. In my setup, I record directly to a TASCAM DR-70D which has high and low setting for microphones. On the low setting, the microphone would in my opinion be muddy but on the high setting, I can hear a mouse wetting cotton in the next room. Perhaps, the subjective nature of sound and the tendency of some to not like bass while others do is something to think about for your recording needs. Oranges to apples, I like the brightness of this large diaphram condenser over my Shure SM-7 but for most that is the go to mic in radio. Marshall is famous for making solid video monitors and other devices, so I feel this will be a solid choice especially for the home studio and budget concience producers. Also take note that the frequency response chart is a little different between the standard XLR version and the USB version. I am speaking to the XLR version.