MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone
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A versatile vintage-sounding mic with clarity and tons of character.
The MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern is a condenser microphone designed around a Class-A discrete FET mic amp specially chosen to match its large diaphragm capsule. The capsule itself has been sized and tuned to provide a silky and airy top end with a full, warm midrange reminiscent of vintage microphones. Hand selected internal components create a sound that enhances both vocal and instrument performances.
Using the polar patterns
To take advantage of the versatility of the MXL 4000's polar patterns, here are some miking tricks of the pros.
Figure-8
Figure-8 mics pick up sound equally well from front and rear. So, if you're looking for a rich vocal sound with the added ambience of room tone to add depth and spaciousness, use the figure-8 pattern and have your vocalist sing into one side while the other picks up the reflections of the room. Only do this if you have a good-sounding room. You can also use the figure-8 pattern for isolation from other instruments. For example, if you're miking drums and want to give the hi-hat it's own track, position the MXL 4000 so that the side of the figure-8, where rejection is greatest, is pointing towards the snare while the front or rear of the mix faces the hat. Do the same if you're recording a singer-guitarist who's playing an acoustic while singing. You need two figure-8 mics for this one. Position the vocal mic so that the side is facing the guitar, and the guitar mic so that the side of the figure-8 points towards the singer's mouth. Now both singer and guitar are isolated. Again, make sure you do this in a room that sounds good, because the back side of the mic will be picking up the room.
Omni
In many cases, the least used, but best-sounding of all the polar patterns. Omni has very little off-axis coloration, which means that sounds entering the sides of the mic sound just as good as sounds entering the front. If you have a great-sounding room, by all means, try omni before anything else. Omni gives your recordings the impression of being in the room with the sound. It also works very well as the "mid" mic in Mid-Side stereo recording.
Cardioid
This is the most used pattern. It's basically point and shoot, but keep in mind that you can use it's rear-rejection to your advantage, or by turning the mic slightly away from the source, you can use it's off-axis response to tame sharp transients. Aside from straight-ahead recording, most people us the cardioid pattern is the "mid" mic in Mid-Side stereo recording.
Requires phantom power.
Features
- Warm-sounding, low-noise, classic recording studio mic sound
- Large, 6-micron gold-sputtered capsule
- Steel head and woven-brass mesh grill
- Heavy duty metallic blue finished enclosure
- Vintage transformerless design
- Attractive mahogany colored storage case
- Specially designed MXL 60 shock mount included
- Custom foam windscreen
Order with the protection of our 45-day lowest price and total satisfaction guarantees!
4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone Specifications:
- Preamp: Class-A FET
- Polar Patterns: Cardioid, Omnidirectional, and Figure-eight
- Frequency Response: 20-20kHz
- Equivalent Noise: 20dB SPL
- Sensitivity: 15mV/Pa
- Maximum SPL: 130dB
- Typical Load Impedance: >500 ohms
- Output Source Impedance: 200 ohms
- Power: Phantom Power
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Review Snapshot®
by PowerReviews(based on 61 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
100%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Pros
- Good audio (4)
Cons
Best Uses
- Home studio (5)
- Amateur recording (4)
- Professional recording (4)
- Reviewer Profile:
- Professional musician (4)
Most Liked Positive Review
Perfect condenser microphone!
I just got the MXL 4000 andthe 603 mic. Both microphones come with a case, the 4000 has a nice wooden case and the 603 has a plastic case, I used that to make...Read complete review
I just got the MXL 4000 andthe 603 mic. Both microphones come with a case, the 4000 has a nice wooden case and the 603 has a plastic case, I used that to make space for my sm57 so now I have both the 603 and sm57 in one case. The 4000 is pretty big and comes with a high quality metal shockmount, I tested it by hitting the stand and monitoring, very little response could be heard so the shockmount does it's job pretty well. The microphone has several features! bass roll off and all the different patterns. I first used the 4000 to record my guitar cabinet along with my sm57 and I was finally able to capture the cabinet's resonance. Then a friend came over and recorded some vocals, they sound clear and beautiful! I finally used it to record an acoustic guitar and it was flawless. You could go ahead and spend more money on expensive microphones but I'm sure with this one you will find the quality and features you need for a very low price!
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Difficult To Work With
I am using this mic for demo recording using the duet by Apogee interface/pre-amp. After 20 - 30 vocal recordings I am not a big fan of the mic. Overall I find it ...Read complete review
I am using this mic for demo recording using the duet by Apogee interface/pre-amp. After 20 - 30 vocal recordings I am not a big fan of the mic. Overall I find it dirty sounding with a very brash high end. I am a baratone, so perhaps my voice is not suited for the mic. The mic requires excessive EQ work to pull out ugly frequencies and set the voice in the mix. I am still experiementing with room configs and voice/source placement, but so far I'm not too optimistic. One thing for sure, the recording conditions must be carefully managed. Any bleed from headphones and other room adnormalities will kill the sound.
This is not a 'bad' mic for the money obviously, but it does not appear to really deliver pro sound. In the end you usually get what you pay for.
Reviews
Reviewed by 61 customers
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Displaying reviews 1-10
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Pros
- Clear Sound
- Versatile
Cons
Best Uses
- Home Studio
- Professional Recording
Comments about MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone:
I've been searching for that elusive perfect vocal mic (that I can afford) for my soft, raspy dull voice for a long time. Based on other reviews I decided to give the MXL 4000 a try and purchased one. I compared vocal only tracks with 5 other mics through an ART mic pre and no EQ for 1 verse and 1 chorus of a melodic country folk rock song that covered a fairly large range of notes. I listened for clarity, tone, and smoothness over the entire range of the song. MXL 4000 was very good in all of those categories and I will not have to add high-end EQ to mixes with this mic. It actually is close to perfect for my voice. My Neumann KM56 tube condenser was a tiny tad clearer but needs a slight high-end EQ boost for my voice. An EV RE20 was super clear but darker and not as smooth over the entire range. The higher notes got a little thin. A Shure SM58 was fourth with less clarity and brightness. Last was a Blue Encore Performance mic which sounded considerably darker compared with the others. However I have a customer with a strong baritone voice who recorded an album with it and sounded great so I suspect the MXL 4000 would be too bright for him.
The bottom line is as always it depends on the voice being recorded to determine if this is the right mic or not. It's great for darker soft voices like mine. The switches are a little fragile but no more than any other mic I have with switches like my Neumann and AKG mics. I haven't tried yet but I believe it will be good for classical guitar, finger picked steel string guitar and lower voiced string instruments. My next vocal recording will definitely be with the MXL 4000.
Pros
- Clear Sound
- Comes With Filter
- Does the job
- Has 3 Options On Mic
- Nice Box
- Nice weight
Cons
- Really Big
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Home Studio
- Rapping
Comments about MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone:
I use it everyday and I have not had any complaints! You will Enjoy this Mic!
Pros
- Clear Sound
- Easy To Use
- Great Sound
- Lightweight
- Works As Good As It Looks
Cons
- Fragile
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Home Studio
- Professional Recording
Comments about MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone:
the first one I ordered came broken. the replacement is great and works terrific. love the quality it produces. works great with pro-tools, as well as the rest of my set up.
Pros
- Clear Sound
- Easy To Use
Cons
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Home Studio
- Professional Recording
Comments about MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone:
By far the best microphone I've ever owned. Brilliant sound.
Pros
- Great value
- Multiple Patterns
- Versatile
- Warm clear sound
Cons
- BIG and Heavy
- Threaded Shock Mount
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Home Studio
- Professional Recording
Comments about MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone:
I Love this mic! It is my favorite mic for my own voice.My recording space is fairly small, and dead sounding. I love the fig 8 setting for vocals, since it adds "space" to my recordings, that I couldn't achieve with other mics, even in omni mode. I use a couple of ribbon mics, also MXL,as drum overheads,for the same reason- to add some space to the sound.The 4000 has a much brighter sound than the ribbons, but there is not a hint of harshness, at least with my voice. I also got an incredible sounding acoustic guitar track with this mic, using it as the fig 8 mic in the "Mid-Side" micing technique I used. I plan to buy another!
Comments about MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone:
At this price point, I'm very happy with the overall quality so far. A little adjustment and I think this will be a good mic for demo work and for certain voices.
I bought this to use as a vocal mic in a home studio. Plugged into a Mackie VLX mixer, and recording in CuBase 5.
So far, I've used this mic on only one session. The singer was very pleased with the reults, which is the bottom line I suppose. As the engineer on the session, I noticed there was a lot of sibilence on the track after recording. This was pretty easily corrected with EQ'ing, but shouldn't be neccessary. I'm going to add a tube compressor and see how it goes. I haven't yet experimented with the various settings. The look of it is pretty impressive, if that matters at all. The wooden box is nice.
Comments about MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone:
I am using this mic for demo recording using the duet by Apogee interface/pre-amp. After 20 - 30 vocal recordings I am not a big fan of the mic. Overall I find it dirty sounding with a very brash high end. I am a baratone, so perhaps my voice is not suited for the mic. The mic requires excessive EQ work to pull out ugly frequencies and set the voice in the mix. I am still experiementing with room configs and voice/source placement, but so far I'm not too optimistic. One thing for sure, the recording conditions must be carefully managed. Any bleed from headphones and other room adnormalities will kill the sound.
This is not a 'bad' mic for the money obviously, but it does not appear to really deliver pro sound. In the end you usually get what you pay for.
Comments about MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone:
Mutli-Pattern makes this a very useful tool for the mid-level price and quality of this mic. Please keep in mind while this mic sound good through a good mic pre, it is still a mid-level mic and it shows under critical conditions. The reality is that most musicians do not record under critical conditions anymore, instead opting for post-production fixes or enhancments.
If you found yourself needing to 'capture' pure sounds using mic placement only, you would eventually hear the reality of this mic. All in all a great choice for the mid-level or bedroom studio. Great recordings can come of this with mic.
For the money you pay, I would rate the quality of this mic an 8. Happy with my purchase.
Comments about MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone:
This product will make your recordings better. If you are someone skilled with mixing you will immieditly notice a difference in your recordings if your use to a lower quality and lower priced mic. I honestly have no cons about this except the size is kinda big but it still looks tight im just not use to such a huge mic!
I give this mic an 8 because it has amazing features but i didnt give it the 10 because its a lil too big and if you dont know how to postion a big mic like this you wont get the sound yu need.
The quality is hands down amazing. I do reccomend a preamp for it to go into first before it hits your computer so you wont have to use plugins which distort quality. But overall if your mixing skills arent great, not much editing is going to be needed to put into the audio because it comes in crystal clear and picks up alot so make sure to insolate your room.
Great Price for a QUALITY mic Hands Down.
Comments about MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone:
great vlue for the price!
This mic is awesome!! The sound quality is unmatched by any mic in its class. I am working out of a temporary location right now. None of this space is acoustically treated, and the MXL still delivers an awesome warmth in the vocals,and doesn't need a lot of time-based or dynamic processors to catch the qaulity in the vocals. I can't wait to see what this baby can do in a well treated room utilizing all three of the pattern types!!!
