It is normal for a large membrane microphone in omni mode to be a bit directional for the high frequencies. The reason is that form the side, the high frequencies roll over the membrane and make it wobble rather than go in and out. The wobble averages the movement of the membrane out a bit. Many houses have a resonance to them, which is exited by traffic (including boats) and pipe lines. Cool video, thanks.
Thanks for watching! Yes it does make sense that a microphone with a capsule like this will not be totally perfect as an omni directional, but I am still really happy to have that functionality in my mic collection now, even if it is potentially better used in a bi-directional style. Yes i figured out that it was the resonant frequency of the townhouse block we lived in, with furnaces and air conditioning running. I had just never had a mic sensitive enough in those low frequencies, or low enough in self noise to ever pick it up clearly in recordings.
@@richpenceif I send you the components and everything, could you build one exactly like this for me? This modification made the Mxl 990 sound like a u87 for a major fraction of the price. I’m so serious, please respond back to this and thank you 😊🙏🏾
@@xavierreid9995 Hello, unfortunately no. I'm not comfortable building projects like this for others, and I would charge for my time and work. So if it takes me 6 hours, even at a modest charge of $50 an hour + the initial price of $400 for the kit and the 990 mic, you're looking at over $600. Which for that price Micparts already offers pre built microphones with the exact same components and designs for between $500-800, so you could just buy one now. Or any number of other good u87 clones like the w87 from warm audio. You will only get significant cost savings by doing it yourself, which I do highly suggest, it is a worthwhile hobby beyond just cost savings.
@@richpence oh I certainly understand, and I would pay you. Do they have any with that same capsule and same circuitry already built? I love the tonal characteristics from it
I am very happy with it still! It got a fresh coat of green paint. The low rumble after walking around the house with it was actually my neighbors AC unit! Until this mic I had never had anything with even close to that level of sub bass frequency response.
@@richpence Some bass-trapd and other acoustic treatmetnt might help cut that down. Though, if it's THAT low of a frequency, you could probablu just EQ it out...
@@BrianJurkowski Yes, of course proper space treatment is really key. I have pulled this mic back out and am using it as my main desk mic now. I do not notice any weird frequencies at any reasonable gain settings for close VO use. For this video I was using a fairly cranked gain setting to hear the noise floor, and with the mic having basically no self noise, I was then hearing the rumble of ac units. Of course for VO stuff a 80hz high pass works well. I even found and occasionally use the Shure A15HP, an analog inline high pass filter, that has a very smooth 100hz rolloff before the mic hits any preamps.
Damn. 130 for the mod kit, then it says it should use their large diagram kit for like 300 or 400. Then the thing itself for like 75 dollars. Is it worth all that when another mic in that higher price range will also work along with analog or digital tools to help?
The price is for sure a question for each to answer on their own. For me, I already had the mxl990, which a lot of people do; and then that the whole DIY modding and diy music equipment (like guitar pedals) building, soldering, and in some cases designing and tinkering, is it’s own hobby and passion, so in many ways my feelings on the money and time is that I ultimately enjoy the hobby and the get something that is a high quality piece of equipment at the end. One that I’m more proud to use and have and to understand how it works. Of course audio quality is subjective. The idea is that for my $300 or so dollars and a couple afternoons of work I am getting a microphone that can “rival” something like a Neumann u87 which runs upwards of $3000. Now is the Neumann worth $3000? Is my modded mic really that close in quality? Who knows! It’s all subjective. I can say that I hear a distinct difference and it is the highest quality, at least objectively the lowest self noise and smoothest response, to any of the microphones I have. And above anything else. Being proud of and believing that the mic is really high quality makes what you make with it higher quality.
It's been a few years so I'm not sure I can totally remember. I believe I was more interested in the u87 sound vs the u47/67. But also at the time I was most interested in the Omni-directional functions, which the rk87 capsule seems to list more function and testing based on that. Also at the time the 990 circuit upgrade was just recently updated and improved just a couple months before. Also note I am doing the Circuit upgrade kit, not the 990XF kit, which I don't remember if that was out at the time. The 990XF kit is built around the rk47c and rk67c capsules with finer and more stylized frequency tuning. but no note of the omni possibility. Ultimately I wanted a more flat and modern sounding mic at the end, and the 990 circuit specifically lists the rk87 capsule for that purpose.
Bought a used mxl 990 for $70 shipped. $10 for capacitor upgrade and $25 for 34mm diaphragm from China. It sounds sooooo much better. The diaphragm makes the biggest difference. First I did the capacitor and used it until the diaphragm came in. Both make a difference but man, the diaphragm is such a big difference. Im wondering if the PCB board is worth the upgrade. Im new to recorsing and am really interested in how it stacks up to others
Ive done both the cheap capacitor way and the Micparts version of the mxl 770... got to say micparts is just on a whole other level. worth the money.. the cheaper way wasn't bad but the micparts one still is top dog in my opinion
I can say that the modded 990 is by far my best microphone, but I really don't have a lot of other nice mics to compare it to. The noise floor alone is exponentially better, it is basically silent at any gain level. Also the frequency response is lower than any other microhpone that I own; it is able to pick up sub bass that were never audible with any other microphone I own.
I agree, the Micparts mod was totally worth the money. I have zero desire to upgrade to any other condenser mic, neumann or whatever. I'm really interested in their small diaphragm condensers, but really would love for them to come out with a dynamic voice mic. My only dream mic still is an RE20, but I'm sure micparts could come up with something even better for the same price.
No I don’t have any kind of schematic. Since it’s a circuit design by MicParts it’s their work to sell and keep the schematic to themselves if they want to. I’m sure there are lots of free general mic designs out there though like the U87 this mod is based on.
I have like 3 of these type of cheap mics and was looking at getting these mods from so could repurpose and recycle what i have instead of buying super expensive mics. what tools would you recommend or helped you in the process that someone wanting to do this might not be thinking of?
Really worth it to get one of these mods! it's a whole new mic hitting way outside it's price point. some helpful tools and tricks all can be bought on amazon: a decent adjustable temp soldering iron and a stand with brass coil tip cleaner. on amazon ANBES is selling a adjustable 60w soldering iron kit $24 with a little screwdriver set and a digital multimeter, both are also needed in this mod. and Noah premium makes the stand I use $12 GET TIP TINNER AND SILVER SOLDER! This will save your iron tips from oxidizing and being eaten UP! Thermaltronics tip tinner, use as follows: after soldering clean the tip in the brass coil cleaner, then melt the tip into some of the tinner and then give a couple more dunks into the brass coil cleaner. Get 0.020" silver solder, nice and thin and quick to melt and position. Kester PB36 / AG02 is what I use. Some spring loaded needle nose pliers, the $8 ones from outeels are perfectly good a couple sets of little helping hands to clip onto and move/ hold the pcb while soldering. NEIKO make them for $11 with a little magnifying glass and two clips. Some good wire stripper pliers that can also trim leads so as not to use your nice flush cutters. DOWELL have some for $7 Which leads to flush cutters! Whizzotech are great. Their 5" Micro Flush cutters are awesome and perfectly flat on the bottom for beautiful pcbs. Baby them a little to keep them sharp. Get a small cutting pad to work on. Olfa make a little 6x8 one that is perfect for just bringing onto the desk for these little projects. and TOP TIP! Pen, Paper, and some masking tape cut into little tiny strips. at around 4:30 into the video you'll see me time lapsing through writing out all of the parts and quantities onto a piece of paper then taping the components on next to their name. Check that you have everything and that it is correct! This is time consuming but makes the actual soldering and building a no brainer and way more enjoyable!
If you can give it a try I highly recommend it! Try a simple soldering project first if you do not have a lot of experience, but overall it was not too challenging.
Hello, No I do not have the original MXL 990 circuit plans. I believe Microphone Parts will provide the circuit diagram for their updated circuit for the microphone.
Maybe? It is all very subjective to the listener. I don't a neumann or anything to comapir it to. But it is for sure the best sounding mic in all of my collection. and it has by far the best noise performance, there is basically zero self noise.
my akg 100 just broke. I think capsule is dead as I was shouting at it few days ago and now just pops....so thinking of ordering chinese rk87....but not sure I have technical hands to pull the mod off
This mod is a medium/difficult (really it's just expensive if you mess up at certain points) so it may not be a good idea if you have no experience. I got into this kind of electronics kits via diy guitar pedal kits. if you are a guitar player you can find some cheap kits on amazon by searching "diy guitar pedal kit" or if you are not you can just search for diy soldering project and find a bunch of $25 or so soldering projects for radios or games or bluetooth speakers that will give you a toe in the pool to build your confidence. The price of doing these mods vs the quality of mics it can beat out is really great so worth the investment.
That sound on your mod is defo a problem. Sounds like you have maybe not installed a component correctly. If you want the mic to sound so different why don't you just buy another mic.
Do you think the upgraded mic sounds bad? I've confirmed that the low frequency oscillation heard in the sample is in fact the sound of various air conditioning units in the town house block I lived in, I had just never had a microphone sensitive to pick that up. I believe I installed everything correctly and tested all connections and voltages, and the issue does not happen anymore I live elsewhere. I didn't just buy a new mic for a few reasons. Primarily, I just like these kinds of projects. I like to build things myself, come up with my own designs, primarily cameras, and audio is a side hobby, and I got started in it by getting and modifying DIY guitar pedal kits. I just find it fun, is the main reason. Secondly though, I found Mic Parts and again liked the DIY, and I happened to have a MXL 990 that I was not using. It is a totally fine mic and sounds good for the price, but I was not using it, instead using the Shure PGA 181s for those kinds of condenser mic situations, so I was open to the idea of repurposing the mic. Thirdly, it has the Omni polar pattern function which was really the only kind of Mic I was missing from my collection. I spent around $350 on the parts, and in theory, the parts and circuit are high quality, and do not take shortcuts on design to use fewer parts, and cheaper parts, or save money on manufacturing like the original 990 certainty does. I could of course buy a really excellent microphone with an Omni setting for $350. But I do believe in the idea that by building yourself, and seeing the time investment as just that, an investment in the hobby and fun, and not as an expense, then you can get to a much higher quality end product than you could by spending on a finished product. MicParts is able to give you higher quality parts for the same money because there is no assembly and production cost to them. whether that is true or not, whether my mic for $350 sounds as good as a TLM 103 or U87 costing 5-15x more as the circuit and parts would suggest? I have no way of testing, but I would be very interested to if I have the opportunity! But ultimately at that point it's about if I am happy with the mic and how it sounds for the time and money invested, and I very much am.
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It is normal for a large membrane microphone in omni mode to be a bit directional for the high frequencies. The reason is that form the side, the high frequencies roll over the membrane and make it wobble rather than go in and out. The wobble averages the movement of the membrane out a bit.
Many houses have a resonance to them, which is exited by traffic (including boats) and pipe lines.
Cool video, thanks.
Thanks for watching! Yes it does make sense that a microphone with a capsule like this will not be totally perfect as an omni directional, but I am still really happy to have that functionality in my mic collection now, even if it is potentially better used in a bi-directional style. Yes i figured out that it was the resonant frequency of the townhouse block we lived in, with furnaces and air conditioning running. I had just never had a mic sensitive enough in those low frequencies, or low enough in self noise to ever pick it up clearly in recordings.
@@richpenceif I send you the components and everything, could you build one exactly like this for me? This modification made the Mxl 990 sound like a u87 for a major fraction of the price. I’m so serious, please respond back to this and thank you 😊🙏🏾
@@xavierreid9995 Hello, unfortunately no. I'm not comfortable building projects like this for others, and I would charge for my time and work. So if it takes me 6 hours, even at a modest charge of $50 an hour + the initial price of $400 for the kit and the 990 mic, you're looking at over $600. Which for that price Micparts already offers pre built microphones with the exact same components and designs for between $500-800, so you could just buy one now. Or any number of other good u87 clones like the w87 from warm audio. You will only get significant cost savings by doing it yourself, which I do highly suggest, it is a worthwhile hobby beyond just cost savings.
@@richpence oh I certainly understand, and I would pay you. Do they have any with that same capsule and same circuitry already built? I love the tonal characteristics from it
@@xavierreid9995 yes their S-87 pre built microphone is essentially the same circuit and capsule, likely improved since mine is a few years old now.
you seem happy with it , low rumble could be from not having it in a mic basket ( or whatever they are called ) have fun !
I am very happy with it still! It got a fresh coat of green paint. The low rumble after walking around the house with it was actually my neighbors AC unit! Until this mic I had never had anything with even close to that level of sub bass frequency response.
@@richpence Some bass-trapd and other acoustic treatmetnt might help cut that down. Though, if it's THAT low of a frequency, you could probablu just EQ it out...
@@BrianJurkowski Yes, of course proper space treatment is really key. I have pulled this mic back out and am using it as my main desk mic now. I do not notice any weird frequencies at any reasonable gain settings for close VO use. For this video I was using a fairly cranked gain setting to hear the noise floor, and with the mic having basically no self noise, I was then hearing the rumble of ac units. Of course for VO stuff a 80hz high pass works well. I even found and occasionally use the Shure A15HP, an analog inline high pass filter, that has a very smooth 100hz rolloff before the mic hits any preamps.
I have the 990XF circuit mod and a k47 capsule and holy shit soooo much better then stock
Awesome! Yes my 990mod is now my best sounding mic by far! I wish no parts would do come dynamic mic mods too!
Damn. 130 for the mod kit, then it says it should use their large diagram kit for like 300 or 400. Then the thing itself for like 75 dollars.
Is it worth all that when another mic in that higher price range will also work along with analog or digital tools to help?
The price is for sure a question for each to answer on their own. For me, I already had the mxl990, which a lot of people do; and then that the whole DIY modding and diy music equipment (like guitar pedals) building, soldering, and in some cases designing and tinkering, is it’s own hobby and passion, so in many ways my feelings on the money and time is that I ultimately enjoy the hobby and the get something that is a high quality piece of equipment at the end. One that I’m more proud to use and have and to understand how it works.
Of course audio quality is subjective. The idea is that for my $300 or so dollars and a couple afternoons of work I am getting a microphone that can “rival” something like a Neumann u87 which runs upwards of $3000. Now is the Neumann worth $3000? Is my modded mic really that close in quality? Who knows! It’s all subjective. I can say that I hear a distinct difference and it is the highest quality, at least objectively the lowest self noise and smoothest response, to any of the microphones I have. And above anything else. Being proud of and believing that the mic is really high quality makes what you make with it higher quality.
Thanks for the video. What capsule comes in the 990 originally?
I'm honestly not sure what make the original capsule is. I know it is a nicely tuned Small Diaphragm Capsule, around 17mm
Why did u choose the rk87 and not the k47 which a lot people has done videos on
It's been a few years so I'm not sure I can totally remember. I believe I was more interested in the u87 sound vs the u47/67. But also at the time I was most interested in the Omni-directional functions, which the rk87 capsule seems to list more function and testing based on that. Also at the time the 990 circuit upgrade was just recently updated and improved just a couple months before. Also note I am doing the Circuit upgrade kit, not the 990XF kit, which I don't remember if that was out at the time. The 990XF kit is built around the rk47c and rk67c capsules with finer and more stylized frequency tuning. but no note of the omni possibility.
Ultimately I wanted a more flat and modern sounding mic at the end, and the 990 circuit specifically lists the rk87 capsule for that purpose.
@@richpence thanks for the response man. Very informative video
Bought a used mxl 990 for $70 shipped. $10 for capacitor upgrade and $25 for 34mm diaphragm from China. It sounds sooooo much better. The diaphragm makes the biggest difference. First I did the capacitor and used it until the diaphragm came in. Both make a difference but man, the diaphragm is such a big difference. Im wondering if the PCB board is worth the upgrade. Im new to recorsing and am really interested in how it stacks up to others
Ive done both the cheap capacitor way and the Micparts version of the mxl 770... got to say micparts is just on a whole other level. worth the money.. the cheaper way wasn't bad but the micparts one still is top dog in my opinion
I can say that the modded 990 is by far my best microphone, but I really don't have a lot of other nice mics to compare it to. The noise floor alone is exponentially better, it is basically silent at any gain level. Also the frequency response is lower than any other microhpone that I own; it is able to pick up sub bass that were never audible with any other microphone I own.
I agree, the Micparts mod was totally worth the money. I have zero desire to upgrade to any other condenser mic, neumann or whatever. I'm really interested in their small diaphragm condensers, but really would love for them to come out with a dynamic voice mic. My only dream mic still is an RE20, but I'm sure micparts could come up with something even better for the same price.
Which model capsule did you buy from china man?
Do you have a schematic of it? Can you can show me then I think I can make it from scratch
No I don’t have any kind of schematic. Since it’s a circuit design by MicParts it’s their work to sell and keep the schematic to themselves if they want to. I’m sure there are lots of free general mic designs out there though like the U87 this mod is based on.
Did you add the crickets?
Haha no the crickets were outside during that noise test
I have like 3 of these type of cheap mics and was looking at getting these mods from so could repurpose and recycle what i have instead of buying super expensive mics.
what tools would you recommend or helped you in the process that someone wanting to do this might not be thinking of?
Really worth it to get one of these mods! it's a whole new mic hitting way outside it's price point. some helpful tools and tricks all can be bought on amazon:
a decent adjustable temp soldering iron and a stand with brass coil tip cleaner. on amazon ANBES is selling a adjustable 60w soldering iron kit $24 with a little screwdriver set and a digital multimeter, both are also needed in this mod. and Noah premium makes the stand I use $12
GET TIP TINNER AND SILVER SOLDER! This will save your iron tips from oxidizing and being eaten UP! Thermaltronics tip tinner, use as follows: after soldering clean the tip in the brass coil cleaner, then melt the tip into some of the tinner and then give a couple more dunks into the brass coil cleaner. Get 0.020" silver solder, nice and thin and quick to melt and position. Kester PB36 / AG02 is what I use.
Some spring loaded needle nose pliers, the $8 ones from outeels are perfectly good
a couple sets of little helping hands to clip onto and move/ hold the pcb while soldering. NEIKO make them for $11 with a little magnifying glass and two clips.
Some good wire stripper pliers that can also trim leads so as not to use your nice flush cutters. DOWELL have some for $7
Which leads to flush cutters! Whizzotech are great. Their 5" Micro Flush cutters are awesome and perfectly flat on the bottom for beautiful pcbs. Baby them a little to keep them sharp.
Get a small cutting pad to work on. Olfa make a little 6x8 one that is perfect for just bringing onto the desk for these little projects.
and TOP TIP! Pen, Paper, and some masking tape cut into little tiny strips. at around 4:30 into the video you'll see me time lapsing through writing out all of the parts and quantities onto a piece of paper then taping the components on next to their name. Check that you have everything and that it is correct! This is time consuming but makes the actual soldering and building a no brainer and way more enjoyable!
Great video . Thanks
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Pretty cool.
Thanks!
This guy make exactly I want to make too
If you can give it a try I highly recommend it! Try a simple soldering project first if you do not have a lot of experience, but overall it was not too challenging.
Do you have the plans or circuits of the mxl 990 microphone?
Hello, No I do not have the original MXL 990 circuit plans. I believe Microphone Parts will provide the circuit diagram for their updated circuit for the microphone.
Dude - did you work with the priest in The Fifth Element?
HAHA no I did not XD
Can you provide the PCB schematic picture?
Hello. No, I do not have the schematic for the circuit. I believe Micparts may provide one, but maybe only if you purchase an upgrade kit.
So basically this is essentially a $1,000+ sounding mic?
Maybe? It is all very subjective to the listener. I don't a neumann or anything to comapir it to. But it is for sure the best sounding mic in all of my collection. and it has by far the best noise performance, there is basically zero self noise.
my akg 100 just broke. I think capsule is dead as I was shouting at it few days ago and now just pops....so thinking of ordering chinese rk87....but not sure I have technical hands to pull the mod off
This mod is a medium/difficult (really it's just expensive if you mess up at certain points) so it may not be a good idea if you have no experience.
I got into this kind of electronics kits via diy guitar pedal kits. if you are a guitar player you can find some cheap kits on amazon by searching "diy guitar pedal kit" or if you are not you can just search for diy soldering project and find a bunch of $25 or so soldering projects for radios or games or bluetooth speakers that will give you a toe in the pool to build your confidence. The price of doing these mods vs the quality of mics it can beat out is really great so worth the investment.
Practicamente es otro microfono solo le robaste al original algunos soportes
casi si! ¡pero por $ 300 puede competir con micrófonos al doble de su precio y ganar!
That sound on your mod is defo a problem. Sounds like you have maybe not installed a component correctly. If you want the mic to sound so different why don't you just buy another mic.
Do you think the upgraded mic sounds bad? I've confirmed that the low frequency oscillation heard in the sample is in fact the sound of various air conditioning units in the town house block I lived in, I had just never had a microphone sensitive to pick that up. I believe I installed everything correctly and tested all connections and voltages, and the issue does not happen anymore I live elsewhere.
I didn't just buy a new mic for a few reasons. Primarily, I just like these kinds of projects. I like to build things myself, come up with my own designs, primarily cameras, and audio is a side hobby, and I got started in it by getting and modifying DIY guitar pedal kits. I just find it fun, is the main reason. Secondly though, I found Mic Parts and again liked the DIY, and I happened to have a MXL 990 that I was not using. It is a totally fine mic and sounds good for the price, but I was not using it, instead using the Shure PGA 181s for those kinds of condenser mic situations, so I was open to the idea of repurposing the mic. Thirdly, it has the Omni polar pattern function which was really the only kind of Mic I was missing from my collection.
I spent around $350 on the parts, and in theory, the parts and circuit are high quality, and do not take shortcuts on design to use fewer parts, and cheaper parts, or save money on manufacturing like the original 990 certainty does. I could of course buy a really excellent microphone with an Omni setting for $350. But I do believe in the idea that by building yourself, and seeing the time investment as just that, an investment in the hobby and fun, and not as an expense, then you can get to a much higher quality end product than you could by spending on a finished product. MicParts is able to give you higher quality parts for the same money because there is no assembly and production cost to them.
whether that is true or not, whether my mic for $350 sounds as good as a TLM 103 or U87 costing 5-15x more as the circuit and parts would suggest? I have no way of testing, but I would be very interested to if I have the opportunity! But ultimately at that point it's about if I am happy with the mic and how it sounds for the time and money invested, and I very much am.
Original 990 sound is better
to each their own! I find the new mic to have a much smoother and full low end, and it has a ton less self noise.
That’s like saying 990 sounds better than a U87