MXL R144 HE Heritage Edition Classic Ribbon Microphone

Excellent value for money. Makes my Seagull acoustic sound dark and moody. Nice on amplified electric guitars and capable of handing high SPL. Suits some male vocalists I record. Pairs well with a condenser for mid-side recording. A Royer it is not, but it's a useful and sweet sounding ribbon for pocket change.

The assignment was recording audio for 6 hours of Christmas programming featuring 42 choirs and various sized musical groups from area schools. In 3 weeks before Christmas then get it edited in time for December 25th. Bought 2 of these because I had owned a couple of other similar MXL mics for 2 years and they were great for sports audience NAT sound. First day recorded 4 channel audio using these mics and 2 - Tascam mics that were similar. Next day ordered 2 more. Love them. For choirs and school band performances they sounded great, natural and really captured that large group sound. They also looked sharp in any shot they got them in. And for the money. Can't be beat. Highly recommend.

I bought this mainly for the color in going to be completely honest. Aesthetic is Important when making a purchase when it'll be seen by many people. The item is silver not rose gold.

I bought this for my laptop and my laptop has enough power to run the microphone. Also, you'll need to purchase an XLR cable to laptop converter as the mic comes with no XLR cables. Just a heads up. But it is a good ribbon microphone.

The media could not be loaded. So far, so good. It’s really nice on my vocals where I’m either singing in a higher range or singing quickly. It also sounds great on my acoustic guitar with silk and steel strings. A word of caution: buy these new (probably good advice for all ribbon mics). I bought one on ebay that said it was in good condition, but was busted. They can break and people probably aren’t as familiar with ribbons as other mics, so they don’t know what to look for. You can do a “light breathing” test on each side of the mic and there should be no rattling; if there is rattling, it’s broken. I didn’t think I’d like the color of the Heritage Edition, but it looks much better in person than in the Amazon pictures. The case and shockmount make it a good bundle, so spring for the HE or you’ll have to deal with buying a separate shockmount and case that may or may not fit each other, etc. Also FYI, you can register your mic on the MXL website for 2 years of warranty protection.Update: Ordered a second one and it arrived with a rattling ribbon..lol. Returns are easy but check your ribbons!Update II: Just uploaded a video showing what to listen for in a healthy v. damaged ribbon mic. Breathe lightly on each side like you're fogging up a mirror and if you hear crunching/knocking/rattling, the ribbon is damaged, stretched, or out of alignment. Even the manual for these mics says to test the ribbon right away because they're fragile and can damage in shipping! Let me know if this video is helpful or not! These are great sounding mics if you get one that's not damaged.Update III: The replacement for the broken mic was also broken and looked like it had been a previous return, so I'm taking off a star for inconsisent build quality. Still, if you have the time to retension these, they can sound good; but if time is of the essence for your project, I would look elsewhere for something that's going to be reliable out of the box.P.S: When I mention "light breathing" like you're fogging up a mirror, it's just that: a super light and gentle breath, not a hard and forceful blow. It doesn't take much to test for a bad ribbon and a hard stream of air could cause damage. So be careful! These ribbons are crazy fragile. Light and gentle: hah...hah...hah; not: FFFFF!-FFFFF!-FFFFF!.

Nice sounding mic for the price. I also have the standard R144 in my collection. The case and shock mount are a nice upgrade. The rest is just paint. This mic is a little brighter than the standard R144 I have, but some differences in sound are to be expected with a ribbon mic. Overall, this nice sounding entry level mic if you are looking to dive into ribbons.

The screw holding the shock mount together broke in half after only a handful of uses. Can’t even use the mic now until I find a replacement shock mount.

Value can’t be beat. If you need to capture that rich bottom end, this mic is insane! You’re getting a beautiful, warm low-end response and full bodied mids. Makes guitar cabs sound nice and big, the vocals are crystalline. Great addition to any studio.