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[djwayne]

There'a another way of looking at the value too. From my perspective, about ten year go, I needed 4 quality recording mics, and bought 4 MD421's. I wanted a different flavor mic for acoustic and got the AKG C-1000 also around the $250 mark.

Now fast forward 10 years to today, and I got the V-69 for just a little more, around $300.

So is the V-69 comparable to these mics ??

I'd say it's much better, at least on acoustic guitar, and that's what's important to me....On my sound checks that I've done, the V-69ME blows the 421 & C-1000 out of the water. The Superlux CM-H8A is the big darkhorse surprise though, as it's holding it's own against the V-69 very well. Not a classic name brand, but with the Tubessence 107 pre,doesn't sound bad at all.

[compasspnt]

djwayne wrote on Fri, 29 July 2005 16:52

Even the manager of Sam Ash told me after I requested a quote on the mic, that the V-69 ME is a very good mic. If it was a junky mic, he would have told me that too.

[djwayne]

Here's a review found on the MXL website...Check out the writer's website....he seems to know what he's talking about, and has a very impressive studio.
*******************************************************


"The MXL V69 (Mogami Edition) is the latest in a parade of low-priced tube condenser mics on the market today. Apparently MXL recently acquired or merged with Mogami Cabling and this "Mogami Edition" of the V69is sort of a "new improved" take on the standard model. As I understand it, all of the inner wiring, as well as the included XLR cables are now made with high-end Mogami materials. The V69 is a large diaphragm (1" diameter) tube condenser mic (12AT7 tube) with a fixed cardioid pattern. Classy-looking, its brass body is finished in flat black with a shiny gold windscreen. When I picked up the mic I was surprised at how light it was. Still, it seemed sturdily built. Or sturdy enough, anyway (it's not as if I planned to use it to close mic a snare...) The mic lacks any pads or rolloffs, presumably to keep costs down. It comes with its own external power supply, a black birdcage style shockmount, a foam windscreen, and the aforementioned Mogami XLR cables (one standard 3-pin for audio output and one 7-pin for interfacing with the power supply). The whole lot is housed in a not-overly robust road-style carrying case. I've never used the old version of the V69, so I couldn't compare the Mogami version with it, but I put this new version up against a couple of similar large diaphragm tube condensers (a vintage Neumann U47 and an SE Electronics Z-5600) for some subjective listening. As a drum overhead mic, the MXL sounded great. Full, rich toms. Bright, but not painful cymbals. Even though there was no pad on the mic, loud drumming did not overdrive it. The U47 behaved similarly. The SE Z-5600 sounded nice, but more scooped in the midrange, with the cymbals poking out a bit. On male vocals, the MXL performed well but not spectacularly. There was a bit of scoopiness (as with lot of these budget-priced tube condensers out now), but it was not as scooped as the SE. Meanwhile, the U47 sounded the best of the three in this application. On acoustic guitar, all three mics sounded very fine, exhibiting sparkly detail and a full, natural sound. But in my book, at least on this particular day with this particular guitar and player, I thought the MXL sounded best. It definitely was quieter and had more sheen than the 40-year-old Neumann. I should mention though, that all three mics were very similar sounding, with very subtle differences; this was not a situation where any of the mics blew away the others. Soundwise, I was very impressed that the V69 could hold its own against an industry standard like the U47. It struck me as very versatile and of higher quality than other budget tube condensers. My only beef is that a rolloff, pad, and pattern selector would have been handy. But I understand those features are not absolutely essential and would have bumped the price of the mic up significantly. Speaking of which, the V69 lists for an astonishingly low $399 (street price is in the $300 ballpark.) I could understand a large commercial studio eschewing the V69 for a more exotic (pricier) tube condenser, but for a smaller project studio on a budget, the V69 offers a severe bang to buck ratio and could play a key role in that studio's mic cabinet.

Pete Weiss
www.weissy.com

[djwayne]

Here's a better sample of my mics.....

[djwayne]

Here's a very short sample of vocals done with the V-69ME, and with some effects, and processing done to enhance the sound....

This will give you an idea of a finished sound you can get with the mic.......

[LawrenceF]

DJWayne...

You don't have to justify your purchases man.  I have a V69 also and I love it, everybody who has ever sang through it in my studio loves it...  that doesn't mean there won't be people who don't like it.  This is a very subjective business.

Enjoy your purchase and stop trying to justify it.  You don't have to.  BTW I just got a Grace 101 preamp that I'll use with the V69 for vox.

I expect very beautiful things.

Lawrence

[djwayne]

I'm not trying to justify the purchase of it...just having some fun with it, and doing some sound checks....posting them for anyone who may interested....it's really difficult to try out many things before you buy, I wish I could have heard more mp3 samples, to get a better idea on how the mic sounded, I did hear some, but the actual sound I heard in the store, sold me on it immediately..it was just what I was looking for....

With gear even though there is some $$$ investement, time wise, the cost is an even greater investment for me....in today's market, every item has different features, and it's important to know as many of the features beforehand...unless you can afford to buy many different brands...I have to be very cautious with my budget, and only buy one of most things, so I spend considerable time doing homework before I buy anything, then spend lots of time getting to know the piece, again, before doing any serious recording....I call it "practice".
Even just posting the above mp3's has been great practice for me for my mixing and editing skills.....the more you do it, the better you get.