990 Ribbon Microphone

A modern classic, the MXL 990 Ribbon mic is the result of great engineering. With an amazingly smooth and natural frequency response, the 990 Ribbon mic excels in the most demanding recording applications. It can be used to enhance string and woodwind instruments, along with mellow, edgy vocals and overly bright horns. It is equally at home when used in conjunction with a grand piano or even in front of a guitar cabinet pushing high SPL levels. When it comes to unprecedented versatility, the MXL 990 ribbon mic is a top-notch choice.

The MXL 990 Ribbon microphone uses an aluminum ribbon transducer, which by nature is a bidirectional (figure-8) pickup pattern. A figure-8 pattern will pick up sounds from the front and back sides of the microphone with equal sensitivity while maintaining a large amount of rejection 90 degrees off access. The front of the microphone is indicated by the MXL logo where the audio signal is in-phase while the backside has an inverted phase. Ribbon mics typically have a lower output than condenser microphones and may require a preamplifier with a lot of gain. It is highly recommended to use a preamp with low noise, high gain, and an input impedance of 1500 or greater. It is strongly advised to experiment with placement and isolation requirements with the gain initially set low to avoid possible equipment (and hearing) damage.

Important Power Requirements
This microphone does not require a power supply. Use of phantom power with this microphone is not recommended as it can severally damage the ribbon element and causes the microphone to be unusable.