Any of the cheaper condenser mics will output a " decent" sound. The manufacturing techniques and automation used in recent years pretty much have the diaphragm build process stable. The main differences that you hear are based on the diaphragm thickness and combination of diameter and tension. Those vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. The MCA uses a medium diameter element. Maybe that and combination of membrane thickness seems to have nicely damped the usual " ice pick in the ear " sound that a lot of cheaper condensers have a reputation for. To my ear it actually sounds like a very well balanced dynamic. Meaning that it sounds smooth and pretty detailed for it's price. I haven't tried the modification that is floating around because I think it does a great job straight -up. I heard a rumor that the mod makes it sound a little crisper on the high end... which is something I don't actually want. It's all relative depending on the source and what you're looking to capture, but buying a pair for less than the price of a standard decent dynamic is a real practical motivation for some.

ORIGINAL: Rbh
Please use care when putting any conductive foil inside. It won't stick forever as the adhesive will most assuredly break down after a few years. Loose conductors and pre amps and Phantom power may not be a good combination. You may be able to place some thin closed cell foam wrapping along the shell or thicker open cell foam directly on the circuit board to wedge in along the case internally.

There were two reasons for using the tape I suggested:

1. High mass-to-size ratio. For some reason, this is the HEAVIEST metal tape I've ever touched. I'm sure there's heavier out there, but we used it to damp the rattling duct work in the studio, and it was amazing.

2. Glue: It's designed to stay "stuck" for literally decades, and gets run through the hot/cold wringer more than about anything else you'll ever touch. It's for sealing up duct work: The same duct work that runs the Heat and AC in my house. After nearly 5 years, it looks and sticks just as well as the day I put it on. That's some darned good adhesive, if you ask me!

Actually... the better idea would be to just use a shock mount.

Well, I'm talking about the shell resonating when drums are played near it. You're probably right, but there are some recording situations I'm sometimes in where a shockmount just won't get the job done (too large).

Corey

Edit: bad grammar! DOH!

I just scored the http://www.pssl.com/MXL-SP1-Condenser-Studio-Microphone-With-Clip-s. Should get it this week. I was looking for a cheap mic and I found this thread and decided to give it a shot. Like some of you said, if it's no good just junk it for that price. I hope it's cool though.

Will do! I bought it specifically for recording acoustic guitar. I was using one of those Dean Markley pop-in pickups for recording my acoustics but I wanna try a condenser. Don't get me wrong, those Dean Markley pickups are cool for performance but not really for recording.

If the Dean Markley pickup doesn't mess with the acoustics much, and if you've got the extra preamp input, you could try recording with both the pickup and the mic on two tracks. They you can tweak & mix to taste. The mic probably doesn't need the help, but it might be fun to try and experiment with.

Yes. Good point. I've used this method in the past and it has worked particularly well for me when recording finger-picking guitar (as opposed to strummed). I use an LR Baggs guitar preamp and a mic. The two allow me to dial-in as much, or as little presence as I choose.

I forgot I had the CAD m177 condenser mic when I bought the SP1. a/b ing them it's hard to tell the difference. The CAD cost me 300 odd australian dollars.

Anyway...the SP1 has no bass roll off/ high pass filter (or whatever the term is for a mic that can cut out bass frequency)...so maybe the CAD m177 is a bit better for mic;ing a boomy acoustic guitar.

ORIGINAL: Slayer

I just scored the http://www.pssl.com/MXL-SP1-Condenser-Studio-Microphone-With-Clip-s. Should get it this week. I was looking for a cheap mic and I found this thread and decided to give it a shot. Like some of you said, if it's no good just junk it for that price. I hope it's cool though.

If you junk it, you need new ears

Hong Kong wow I was there for seven weeks. Well, actually Macau, singing at MGM grand. I checked out Hong Kong though.
wowo, what a city. just wow...

Yeah, Lance does grace us with his presence. I get a feeling of royalty when he actually responds to one of my posts.

The rolloff settings are a convenience, because sometimes a setting will match the source, and some folks prefer to record with a better-matched sound. Also, technically-speaking having a good match on the way in can buy you some more dynamic range in the A/D process (but with high-quality preamps and real 24-bit converters it's not needed so much, unless maybe you're recording the faintest reverb tail in the same room as a cello, for example.)

I'm a tweak-head, and actually do a little highpass filtering and EQ in my preamp on the way in, but it's mostly just for protection (HPF) and rough EQ. I do most of my EQ in Voxformer (well, on Vox anyway).

Yeah...I really need to start looking into this area in terms of its audio...as opposed to being so lazy. I'm not sure thought if I buoght it from PSSL. Actually I just picked some random internet shop and bought through that. This weekend, anyway, I'm going to an audio are in Hong Kong. I've been there before...mic shop, monitor shop, gear shop...shop after shop after shop down the road in a place called Sham Shui Po. Just to have a look

Very satisfied with the pair I bought. If you generally take care of your equipment.. I.E ( don't let some lunkhead abuse them) Slobber all over them...throw them around...scream like a banshee...ETC... they'll be one of the best bang for the bucks buys you'll ever get. They sound good.

Might be ok for boomy acoustic guitars too. Cut out the low frequencies and then you don't have to use a plug in later to do it. I dunno.

ORIGINAL: LixiSoft

OK, I didn't discover this mic, I first read about it in a gear review in TAPE OP. I figured at this price I had to try them, at worst I would throw them away. Well I bought two, they knocked me out. I bought two more, and plan on buying another two. They are cheap CHINESE mics...BUT...without that "ICE PICK IN YOUR EAR" high end peak boost most Chinese mics have, (think Ocktava Mics smooth high end sound, the real Russian Ocktava's not the GC KNOCK OFF Chinese FAKES they sold for years).

Anyway I just recorded an acoustic Folk Band from Greece, and used these on all the instruments.....they just sounded great, 2 Lutes, 2 Lyres, and a set of Bag Pipes.

These mics also sound great on Drum OH's, Toms, and Guitar cabs, that's all I've tried them on so far, besides the Greek band last week. But anyway they ROCK for the money.

Just thought I would let you guys know

Check out this LINK

After all this time I got to try out one of those things at the (1st) Dallas/Fort Worth Sonar users group meeting. Wow.. what a great mic. Fantastic value. I've had about 100 different mics over the years and I'd have to say this one is in my top 10.

Anyone know where to get one of these in the UK?

ORIGINAL: Beagle

Have you ordered one yet, Frank???

No, I'll have to wait till payday