MXL V69 Reviews

[brandondrury]

MXL V69 @ Musiciansfriend



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MXL V69 Description
The MXL V69 is a large diaphragm Tube Condenser Microphone. Its classic sound enhances vocal and instrument performances in professional and home studio environments. The extremely low noise level, wide dynamic range and **** sonic characteristics make the V69 mic a perfect complement to all analog and digital recording devices. Comes with deluxe flight case, versatile shock mount, dedicated power supply, Mogami 7-pin and XLR microphone cables and wind screen. Requires phantom power.

[brandondrury]

Quality: 9
The MXL V69 is one great sounding microphone for a variety of purposes. It has a very smooth sound that avoids problems with upper midrange pain but still sounds nice and pretty. I love this mic on “pretty” vocals where a lot of top end “air” is required. The mic performs great as drum overheads and on acoustic guitar. I remember not loving it on modern rock guitars as it was too smooth sounding and had too much low end.

I love the way tracks recorded with the MXL V69 sit in a mix because they don't take up too much low midrange but don't sound EQ'd or processed either. The MXL V69 is a great sounding mic for $300.

Reliability: 1
I own 2 MXL V69s. I did not buy two of these mics because I wanted a stereo pair. I bought two of them so that I could always have one working while the other was in the shop. Seriously! I have made a V69 back to MXL 3 times now and at the moment but of my V69s do not work. So in just a few years, I've had a V69 break 5 times.

You'd think I'm doing something wrong, but I've not had problems with any other microphones. My Soundelux U99 is still going strong and it is also a tube microphone. So I really don't know what the problem is. These have been terribly unreliable mics for me.

Overall Rating: 5
If you don't mind visiting the post office, take a chance on a great sounding condenser microphone for a great price. Maybe you'll get lucky and your mic will be reliable. I've not had the same luck, unfortunately. If this mic was reliable as the AT4050 or other solid state microphones I own, this mic would always be my first recommendation to anyone looking for a condenser regardless of budget.

[Brett Wall]

I appreciate this article. You can never have to many condenser mics. A cheap condenser mic I enjoy is the AT2020. Very nice sound on Acoustic guitars and most vocals...

[emdub123]

I have had a V69me for about two years and haven't had any problems, per se. My main gripe is that it goes through tubes relatively quickly. After about 6 months the tube begins to get really noisy. Change out the tube and it's super quiet again. Problem is, it's a pain to change tubes and new tubes cost about $10. I'm trying out an NOS Mullard tube from the 70s right now that is supposedly much better built, so it should last a long time (cost $25 though). I can say that the mullard kicks the sound quality up another notch as well. Adds presence and low mids, which makes it sound even ****er.

On another note, the sound of this mic is pretty incredible. I only have experience with this mic, the beta 58 and the Rode NT1a and this mic is noticeably better sounding. Not the kind of better that people would subjectively argue about, it's better in every way.

It is a retro sound however. Closest example would be Jack White's vocals on most white stripes records. They have a certain sound, right? Well, that's the default sort of sound that you're going to get with this mic. Another example would be old country records from the 60s like Merle Haggard's "Sing me back Home". You can really bring out a big, **** low-mid sound that, when you add some reverb, sounds like a time-warp.

The mic doesn't have to sound vintage, it can be eq'd to sound very neutral, so don't worry if you're thinking about this mic and don't want to sound like a retro country record.

[brandondrury]

It is a retro sound however. Closest example would be Jack White's vocals on most white stripes records. They have a certain sound, right?

Interesting. Your mic sounds DRAMATICALLY different than both of mine than. I thought the V69 was very modern sounding with plenty of air on top. Strange!

Brandon

[emdub123]

Who knows, they could sound exactly the same and we hear/describe them differently???

Anyway, I posted a track in the Bash this song thread that has my V69 on vocal. The thread is called "Michael Weston - Long way from Home". That didn't turn out to be the song I actually posted, however. It's actually called "Broken Man". Not that it matters, I guess.

So Brandon, let me know if my mic sounds similar/different to yours. What I hear could also be the coloration of the Chameleon labs 7602 that I always use?

[Acoustic Audio]

I bought an MXL V69 on Ebay at the same time with a Studio Projects T3, and put them up side by side. I was shocked to hear (after all the good hype) that the V69 sounded like a turd next to the T3. Honestly, in my 30 plus years of performing and recording, I've heard better recordings made with an SM58. Nothing but mud, mud, mud,
no matter what I tried, and minimal detail; just one dimensional, a really marginal sound.
Meanwhile, the T3 was everything the V69 was not, rich, detailed sound, and the power supply allows for dialing in varied amounts of tube from subtle to really ****. Female vocalists request it,
saying "Lets use the **** mic".
Maybe I just got a lemon, but the V69 went back on Ebay for some other lemonade stand, while the SP T3 is in regular use in my studio.
I don't think I'll try another MXL mic.

Note: I used all caps on the word which means the opposite of cold, spelled with a W, an A, an R and an M) but this posting tool sees it as **** , and various edits don't change it.
Quirky.

[brandondrury]

Nothing but mud, mud, mud,
no matter what I tried, and minimal detail;

That is NOTHING like my V69s sound (when they work). In fact, I'd rate my V69s as having a very tight low end and are more of a top heavy kind of mic.

I'm not calling you a liar or anything. It's clear that MXL has huge quality control issues with the v69. This explains why mine are always breaking and why yours sound so much different than mine.

Brandon

[Madguitrst]

Okay, here's the deal with these mics:

MXL's QC has improved IMO, just as many Chinese capsules are becoming more more consistent - they're being held to a higher standard by many of the rebranders - and some Chinese capsules are actually pretty darned good, good enough to be used in some high end mics, such as Manley, some Soundelux (U195), etc. Additionally, 797 Audio, which produces the Studio Projects line (and also makes the capsule for the MXL 2003) makes nice capsule - and products in general.

All of that said, the V69 has gone through a few incarnations and early on was inconsistent IMO (the earliest V69 had tubes that were soldered in).

The mic is interesting in that it can be thick and gooey but some have a weird, sort of displaced high end spike (around 10kHz). Depending on many variables, ie: particular mic, source being mic'd, preamp, your golden ears, this may or may not be noticed.

One off the best bangs for the buck mod is to replace the stock tube with a Mullard CV4024 ($20 or so). BTW, a tube mic should NOT be going through so many tubes.

I've had two V69ME and never had a problem with either.
I liked them for what they are and feel they can be a capable performer - but like any mic, it is what it is and will either fit you or not (or sometimes or not).

I have found MXL to have excellent service. Recently someone walked off with the cases to my V6 and M3, two of the very few lower cost mics I still use (I actually prefer the V6 to the V69 for thickness without the odd high end.....and when I'm lazy and don't want to plug-in a power supply) and MXL sent me two for free. Nice.

BTW, I now take out the inner mesh on all of my mics. It has made a huge difference on some and a subtle difference on others, but a difference every time.
In general, if you find a mic harsh/eshy/hashy, a mesh mod may help.

-Mad