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Old 12-20-2016, 08:52 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Default I just bought a MXL Blizzard 4000 mic, pre-amp and compressor talk too......

The blizzard mic is a limited edition mic that's painted white and has 4 blue led lights in the capsule which lights up when phantom power is applied.....the regular MXL 4000 mic sells for $399, the blizzard is on sale for $199....so here's a chance to get a large condenser mic that's built around a class A amp for under $200 bucks...I've had excellent luck with my V-69 ME and thought this sounded like an excellent addition to my mic collection. They say it has a sound of a vintage mic and is very sensitive. It also comes with a shock mount. If you buy the 24 month protection plan for $28 bucks, they'll throw in a matching white 603S pencil mic. I have two of the 603S's and they test out very well with my recording tests I did a few months ago. So to get another one for $28 is a great deal...to buy it separately would cost you $99 bucks. So in effect, I'm getting $500 dollars worth of mics for $228. For more info, goto....


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-a...ser-microphone
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Last edited by Yamaha Man; 01-17-2017 at 09:52 AM.
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Old 12-20-2016, 10:01 PM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
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Congrats! My next mic purchase (probably this coming summer) is going to be a Flea 47. I need to sell off a few things before then ...and decide where I want to extract the pound of flesh.
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Old 12-20-2016, 10:26 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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I couldn't find a price on the Flea 47 so I'll pass on it, it looks expensive.

I listened to some sound samples of the MXL4000 on You Tube and was pleasantly surprised of the quality of the sound. I think I'll like it...on the above link, there's some pictures of the mic with the 603S and they look like a very nice combo. They are using the MXL 4000 for vocals and the 603S on the guitar....I was thinking of using the MXL 4000 on acoustic guitar. I'm already getting a great sound with my Nuemann TLM 102's, but having extra mics always comes in handy for different flavors of sound or when friends come over for a recording jam session.
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Old 12-20-2016, 10:35 PM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Maniac View Post
I listened to some sound samples of the MXL4000 on You Tube and was pleasantly surprised of the quality of the sound. I think I'll like it...on the above link, there's some pictures of the mic with the 603S and they look like a very nice combo. They are using the MXL 4000 for vocals and the 603S on the guitar....I was thinking of using the MXL 4000 on acoustic guitar. I'm already getting a great sound with my Nuemann TLM 102's, but having extra mics always comes in handy for different flavors of sound or when friends come over for a recording jam session.
It's a very good looking mic. I've got a few MXL mics that I had intended on modding at some point but never got around to it. In the past, I'd found that on many MXL mics the top end needed taming. To me that was always the biggest difference between the MXL line and a better microphone. But that's years ago and I have no idea if that's improved.
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2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi
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2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar
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1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce

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Old 12-20-2016, 10:52 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Well looking at the frequency chart of the MXL 4000, it does seem to drift up in the high end of the chart, so it's not a flat mic by any means. But the sound samples of it that I heard are very good. There's a couple of mic shoot outs on you tube that really impressed me. It's not much different from a U-47.....and that's a $3,200 dollar mic....

My experience with the MXL V-69 has been very good, my experience with the MXL603S's has also been very good, so I am a fan of the MXL products. Excellent bang for the buck. A friend of mine uses a MXL 990 for live singing and acoustic guitar and it sounds just fine to me.

Class A amp ?? That's kind of cool....
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Old 12-21-2016, 12:31 AM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Regarding modifying mics, when I bought the V-69, on the Gearslutz forum, I was pressured to modify it by a few people. I kept telling them no because it would invalidate the warranty, but they kept insisting, and I kept refusing.
I didn't do it.

I went thru the same thing with an Art Tube pre-amp....oh change out the tube it'll sound so much better....well I tried the recommended tube and in my opinion it was too hot and sounded like garbage...so no more mods for me. In my opinion, it was a waste of time and money.

See I'm a trained electrical technician and I know that when you do a modification to a circuit, you change everything including voltage and current amounts which could easily damage other components in the circuit, by over driving something or over heating something. So I won't do it anymore. Remember if you do a modification, you do so at your own risk. Some of these hotshots that recommend doing it, don't always know what they are talking about.
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Old 12-21-2016, 12:42 AM
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These mics are going to be my Christmas present to myself. I'll be happy to get them.
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Old 12-21-2016, 09:24 AM
RustyAxe RustyAxe is offline
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I have two MXL 4000's, and agree that the high end can be a bit brash, but easily EQ'd. Otherwise, I like 'em a lot. Got two 603's, too. Nice pencil condensers that were "free" with the 4000's. Bought the 4000's a few years apart, and got 'em both for $199 with the 603s. I use the two 4000's in fig-8 pattern, aligned at right angles for vocal and guitar separation when recording. I've use the 4000's on stage in a bluegrass band. I've used them for mid-side mic'ing. Versatile, inexpensive.

Last edited by RustyAxe; 12-21-2016 at 09:45 AM.
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Old 12-21-2016, 10:05 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jim1960 View Post
Congrats! My next mic purchase (probably this coming summer) is going to be a Flea 47. I need to sell off a few things before then ...and decide where I want to extract the pound of flesh.
The Flea 47 gets good reviews
Another 47 -ish (although not multi-pattern) from a very small small boutique builder to consider in that price range, is the Cathedral Pipes Notre Dame which is less well known but has a loyal following, all the components and build are said to be top notch.

http://www.cathedralpipes.com/notre_dame.php
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Last edited by KevWind; 12-21-2016 at 11:14 AM.
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Old 12-21-2016, 10:16 AM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevWind View Post
The Flea 47 gets good reviews
Another 47 -ish (although not multi-pattern) from a very small small boutique builder to consider in that price range, is the Cathedral Pipes Notre Dame which is less well know but has a loyal following, all the components and build are said to be top notch.

http://www.cathedralpipes.com/notre_dame.php
But look at the price...$2,400 dollars.
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Old 12-21-2016, 11:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Martin Maniac View Post
But look at the price...$2,400 dollars.
Yes the Flea is about that price also ?????? and the post was for jim1960's information.

And a Neumann 147 is $2900 are you saying Neumann mics are not worth the price, or just not what you are willing to pay??

Also since you already decided by virtue of some YouTube shootouts, there "wasn't much difference" I was not trying to dissuade you other wise
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Last edited by KevWind; 12-21-2016 at 11:19 AM.
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Old 12-21-2016, 11:42 AM
RustyAxe RustyAxe is offline
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From $199 to $2900 ... yeah, useful stuff. Like trying to sell someone a Ferrari when he's looking to buy a Honda, isn't it?
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Old 12-21-2016, 12:01 PM
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Originally Posted by RustyAxe View Post
From $199 to $2900 ... yeah, useful stuff. Like trying to sell someone a Ferrari when he's looking to buy a Honda, isn't it?
No one was trying to sell a Ferrari to a Honda shopper particularly since the Honda shopper already bought the Honda
Apparently the fact that it was jim1960's post that was quoted, and being specifically referred to , got lost on some readers
And thus suggesting a $2400 vs $2575 is quite useful or more importantly at that level of mic, offering a possible slightly different flavor is relevant.
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Last edited by KevWind; 12-21-2016 at 12:10 PM.
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Old 12-21-2016, 12:16 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevWind View Post
Yes the Flea is about that price also ?????? and the post was for jim1960's information.

And a Neumann 147 is $2900 are you saying Neumann mics are not worth the price, or just not what you are willing to pay??

Also since you already decided by virtue of some YouTube shootouts, there "wasn't much difference" I was not trying to dissuade you other wise
What I am saying is that the Neumann mic is way out of my budget, but yet I can get a similar sounding mic for 1 tenth of the cost, so there's no way I can justify buying a Neumann at this time. So no I'm not willing to pay $2,900 for a mic. I have two Neumann TLM 102 mics which cost me about $1,000 bucks total, and yes they are wonderful mics and worth the money. Spending only $199 for the MXL 4000 is a whole different thing. It gives me a great sounding mic to add to my mic locker at a very reasonable price.
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Old 12-21-2016, 01:10 PM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Maniac View Post
What I am saying is that the Neumann mic is way out of my budget, but yet I can get a similar sounding mic for 1 tenth of the cost, so there's no way I can justify buying a Neumann at this time. So no I'm not willing to pay $2,900 for a mic. I have two Neumann TLM 102 mics which cost me about $1,000 bucks total, and yes they are wonderful mics and worth the money. Spending only $199 for the MXL 4000 is a whole different thing. It gives me a great sounding mic to add to my mic locker at a very reasonable price.
When I first started recording about 10 years ago I loaded myself up on "economy" gear. I was never really happy with the results and over time all the economy gear has been upgraded. My two main pres now are a two-channel Hardy M1 and a Demeter VTMP-2c, my main vocal mic is a Blue Kiwi which sounds pretty good through the Demeter pre.

I do just about everything in the box but I do have a JDK R22 compressor in my rack that I'll occasionally use on vocals when the dynamics are greatly varied.

My mic locker is probably my weakest link right now. I have the Kiwi but the rest of my mic locker are pretty much mics I bought to record guitar....a Blue Woodpecker, pair of ADK A6, AKG C451B, AKG C414B-XLII, Earthworks SR30, and an assortment of MXL mics and some other economy mics. For guitar, I can work with that but I've long wanted to get something better for vocals and that Flea is at the top of my list (but I'll spring for the one with multiple patterns which I can get for around $3300).

I think all these decisions really come down to goals and expectations. I've had some success in music in the past, more than I thought possible actually. But music had to take a backseat to my day job in recent years. I have another 18 months before I retire from the day job and then my plan is to jump back into the music thing again. When I retire, I'm going to move because I want to upsize my house. I plan on having a much larger studio and, in addition to working on my own stuff, I'd like to be able to help out young artists who might not be able to afford studio time by helping them record a demo or two. I've done this for a few people in the past and really enjoyed it. Plus, doing it for free allows me to choose who I want to work with. So with those goals in mind, and while I'm still getting a healthy paycheck, I'm buying the toys that will keep my busy in retirement.
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2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi
2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood
2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar
2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce
2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce
1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce

along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos.

YouTube
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