ORIGINAL: lazarous
Shhhhhhh.......

Corey

LOL, OK, maybe Lance didn't hear us.

I got to try mine out over the weekend and was very impressed. My first non-radio shack mic was the MXL 990/991 pair. The 991 isn't bad, but the 990 is really pretty awful. I was worried the SP1 would be about the same given the brand and price range. I was pleasantly surprised, the clarity alone was remarkably better.

While I can't compare it to high end mics, compared to other mics close to this price range, this thing really is fantastic.

Also, I had no trouble at all getting the cheap $10 shock mount to fit.

haha, that's funny. As a vocal mic the 990 was always just really muddy to me. I've mostly just used it on myself though, so maybe it just doesn't suite my voice. I have some different preamp options now, so maybe I'll dust it out and try it again.

I've had decent luck with the 991 on acoustic guitar, as long as I don't get it too close, otherwise it gets really boomy.

I only have the SP1, 990/991, and an SM57, so it's not like I have a closet full of mics to compare.

Oh, and I too tried the SP1 on a banjo and was happy with the results.

lol I used to go to Maine weekly to hang with my meme and pepe and snowmobilie and such. I lived in R.I. then.

I love the L.a. weather, but I could handle the cold hah! If I ever find myself in minnesota, Ill trry to hit every Prince related spot in Minneapolis and Ill also try to get to Corey's place for a session!

Thanx for the props again lol...

Hoping to have album done very soon hehe

ORIGINAL: Lanceindastudio
every Prince related spot in Minneapolis

Lol My wife's hairdresser is the girlfriend of the guy who wrote "Kiss". Does that count?

I have ordered one of these and it's supposed to be here today. but I did a search about them and found this website:
http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/MCA/SP1
According to this website (and I do not vouch for its accuracy), the SP-1 and the MXL 990 which you guys were discussing here have the same capsule! they say it also has the same capsule as the MXL603 (yes, an SD capsule!). so while the MXL990 (which I just sold mine on ebay) has some bad characteristics according to some of you guys here (including myself, that's why I sold mine!), the SP-1 which has the same capsule has great characteristics! I'm sure that the case and other parts/electronics in the different mics will give different results, but you'd think that the two mics would be quite similar, wouldn't you?

Hey, Beagle. I think the mounting system and windscreen design is where a lot of the differences come from. The 990 has a completely different setup from the SP1. I wouldn't have thought they could fit the capsule in the 603s, frankly, but... I spose if you pulled the brass ring it's mounted in it might fit.

Thanks for the link! Love to hear what you think of it once you get it in your hands!

Corey

yeah, russell - that brittle harshness (even "tinny" sounding) is why I sold my 990. we'll see what happens when I get the sp-1.

Hey Beagle, that's an interesting find. Thanks also for the link.

FWIW, the mounting and surrounding casing do indeed have a profound effect on the response that you get. So, while it is still a big surprise that all these mics may have the same capsule, it's not so big a surpsise to find that they do indeed sound so different, owing to the surrounding mechanical differences. It is remarkable, though, that the cheapest of the bunch sounds so much better than most of them... even with that "flimsy" casing that it has!

Another note : in that recording hack article.. if you look at other MCA mics.. there's a blurb that the MCA SP1 mic has been discontinued as of late 2008. Get them while you can I guess. Glad I got a couple.

"About MCA
MCA
1910 E. Maple Avenue
El Segundo, CA 90245
310-333-0606
http://www.mcamics.com

MCA Microphones is a division of Marshall Electronics, whose better-known mic brand is MXL.

Although the SP1 is still available at a few retailers (as of late 2008), the line has been discontinued."

Ok guys - you asked for my opinion when I got the mic up and running, so here it is.

I know there will be 100 people come in here and tell me that these kinds of tests are bogus because I didn't have enough controls on the test and didn't blindfold myself while recording or didn't wipe my nose from the LEFT side instead of from the RIGHT side! and I KNOW this is not a perfect test. for the naysayers about the test: get over it - if you don't like the test, don't bother with it. for everyone else - again - it's not a perfect double blind taste test, but it might give someone some insite about these mics.

here's the test:
INPUT stage
I used a TPS II preamp on the FLAT setting (no tube distortion added, no limiting with their "pattented V3 system", just gain).
each mic was tested on a boom sitting in front of the source at approximately the same distance, height and angle. All but one mic had the same shock mount used - one of them wouldn't fit in the shock mount (990) and I used a standard rigid mount.
all were recorded in sonar 6 using an m-audio delta 44.

OUTPUT (source)
I used ONE of my behringer truth 2301A as the source running through my mackie 1604 for volume control.

setup:
I played a clip from one of my previous recordings of my vocals. since I'm most interested in my vocals thru these mics, that's what I decided to record. but I recorded the output of the speaker of a previous recording so that I wouldn't change the volume or inflection of my voice - the output source would be constant (or near it). I set the gain on the pre for the first mic so that the peak of the recording of the source would meet approximately -0.6dB. I set the output of the speaker to right side mono only and set the volume at approximately high conversation level. I did not change any of the gain or volume settings after the first mic was recorded. sonar settings were 44.1kHz, 32bit. each mic was placed approximately 6"+ from the speaker, with the diaphram roughly setting just slightly above the woofer. I tested 4 mics this way. they were (in alphabetical order, not the order I tested them): the MXL63M, MXL990, Nova (m-audio) and the SP-1. I have a KSM27 on the way and would love to add it into the test and may do so after it arrives, but you'll already have read the results by then.

here's an example of the setup. this mic shown is the SP-1, but that doesn't tell you which mic it is in the list below.


since the output of each mic varies, I also normalized each clip by using the same limiter on each one to bring them up to -0.2dB output to prevent the old "louder = better" variable.

here are the mp3 results:
MIC 1 mp3
MIC 2 mp3
MIC 3 mp3
MIC 4 mp3

if you prefer non-compressed and can stand the 8M per file download, here are the same tests in wave format:
MIC 1 Wave
MIC 2 Wave
MIC 3 Wave
MIC 4 Wave

I'll post the matches of the mics to the results in a day or two. let me know what you guys think of each one.

nope - you caught me. I decided the test needed to be redone because I left the reverb on the vocals that I played for the recordings. I went back and re-recorded - completely redid the test without reverb on the vox. just naked vox. I'm uploading them now. sorry about that!

I think, too, that the SP-1 is test 1 or test 3, but I was going to guess test 3.

#1 Sounds pretty good, although there is some high end fizzle/distortion
#2 Sounds kinda cheap - too mid-rangy
#3 Sounds good. I'm guessing this is the SP-1. It's my favorite of the bunch.
#4 Sounds fair. Can't put my finger on it, but it's not so great.

1. Sounds nice and full to me. The high end sounds fine to me, very smooth sound.
2. Kinda "thinnish"
3. Sounds good too, but not as full as #1. Little thinner
4. Sounds thin like 2 but a little smoother sounding

Again i think MCA SP-1 is number 1 but maybe number 3