mojave audio ma-200

guitardom · 21st February 2007, 01:34 AM

looking for an acoustic guitar and vocal mic. had my eye on this one for awhile, looking for some opinions.

I am using a 414 tlII and an sm81 for acoustics now, and use the 414 tlII or an sm7b for vocals. i have an adl 600, 2 chameleons 7602's, for pre's, and a summitt tla 50 compressor as my most used gear for these applications. also recently bought a nady rsm-2 ribbon mic i have not tried on acoustic yet..

i have the 414 sold if i want to, and thinking of replacing it with the ma-200. i feel this would be a nice exchange of gear. any thoughts on this mic from people who use it would be great. i am not wanting to go over the $1000 mark for another mic. know there are nicer ones, but for the cash i am considering this the best bet. thanx everybody!!

camerondye · 21st February 2007, 10:28 PM

I have the MA-200 and it is a great warm mic, the kind of mic that vocals sound a little bit better going through it. I use it with a Great River ME-1NV and it sounds really really good. Very flattering on the vocals that I've used on it so far. I like the SM7b also on vocals, it sounds excellent too. I don't think that the MA-200 is better than a SM81 on acoustic though, different but definitely not better. I usually use the SM81 on acoustic still. It might sound better in certain situations, the SM81 just makes an acoustic sound that mixes well IMO. I have a GT Brick and it works well with the SM81 and acoustics. With the Great River it seems like you can hear everything better through it with the bit of the Neve taste, the Brick kind of warms over certain frequencies but I like it. I just got an Peluso R14 Ribbon mic and it does a great acoustic sound also, a little thinner than the SM81 but mixes quite well. Peluso makes a 251 copy that can be had for a little over the $1000 that you had to spend. I don't know if it is better than the Mojave but is an alternative to consider. I have heard good things about the Peluso also.
Good luck,
cameron

dashamu · 22nd February 2007, 05:30 AM

I've been using the Mojave mic for about a month on everything from male and female vocals to acoustic guitars, upright bass, mandolin...thru a UA6176.
It's quite versatile but works best for me on vocals and acoustic guitars.
I've done a couple of sessions with just that mic/pre combo recording vocal and guitar at the same time and it sounds great. If you take the time and find the right positioning that allows the vocals to dominate the guitar it can sound quite good. And with one track that has guitar and vocal, well, it's back to basics and I like it.
It's warm but it has a little 7K boost that helps give some definition to darker sources, like my murky voice and Gibson J200 and Martin D28. I haven't tried it on electric guitar because I have a Royer 121 that I love and I have a feeling the MA200 might be a little harsh, but I think I'll try it as a room mic next time I record thru an amp.
I didn't love it on the mandolin. I found a SDC Josephson gave me a tighter more focused sound on the mando. The MA200 sounded a liitle too big and round for the mando I was using.
However, it worked well on the upright bass and I just tried it on a female singer with a slightly thin voice and it sounded very good thru the 6176.
I'm quite happy with the mic and despite the fact that it's cardioid only, I think it's well worth the sub $1,000 price.

guitardom · 23rd February 2007, 01:24 AM

thanx, the market in that range is just flooded with mic's so hard to seperate what is the best for the given situation, and gear already owned. can anyone say the ma-200 has that "airy" kind of sound on the top end. thanx again

andychamp · 23rd February 2007, 01:47 AM

Not meaning to be a jerk, but: there have been quite a lot of MA200 threads on GS recently.
People (including myself) have a lot of nice things to say about this mic.
I'd feel weird doing a copy/paste from one thread to the next, on the other hand I really want you to find the info you need.
I guess what I'm really saying is: the search and tags functions do work

KrisNY · 28th February 2007, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitardom

can anyone say the ma-200 has that "airy" kind of sound on the top end.

Like an 87 you mean? Definitely no. The MA-200 is a much lush-er (if you will) sounding mic. It can get harsh on certain applications, piano for instance, but I've had a lot of success with it on acoustic guitar, as a room mic, and on vocals - especially female vocals, really like it there.

ChrisRich · 8th March 2007, 11:47 AM

I love it on my Bass-Baritone Vocals....makes me sound better then ever before...Use it thru VoxBox and BUZZ ARC channel...nice....
Steelstrings work great as well...my Mahogany Larrivee shines...

andychamp · 8th March 2007, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisRich

Use it thru VoxBox and BUZZ ARC channel...nice....
Steelstrings work great as well...my Mahogany Larrivee shines...

I thought that MA200 > VoxBox might be too tubey so I never tried it, but I'd be interrested in what settings of the gain switch worked best for you on each (voc. and gtr.).

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21st February 2007, 01:34 AM	#1
guitardom Gear maniac Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: new mexico Posts: 299	mojave audio ma-200 looking for an acoustic guitar and vocal mic. had my eye on this one for awhile, looking for some opinions. I am using a 414 tlII and an sm81 for acoustics now, and use the 414 tlII or an sm7b for vocals. i have an adl 600, 2 chameleons 7602's, for pre's, and a summitt tla 50 compressor as my most used gear for these applications. also recently bought a nady rsm-2 ribbon mic i have not tried on acoustic yet.. i have the 414 sold if i want to, and thinking of replacing it with the ma-200. i feel this would be a nice exchange of gear. any thoughts on this mic from people who use it would be great. i am not wanting to go over the $1000 mark for another mic. know there are nicer ones, but for the cash i am considering this the best bet. thanx everybody!!

23rd February 2007, 01:47 AM	#5
andychamp Lives for gear Join Date: May 2005 Location: Basel, Switzerland Posts: 1,232	Not meaning to be a jerk, but: there have been quite a lot of MA200 threads on GS recently. People (including myself) have a lot of nice things to say about this mic. I'd feel weird doing a copy/paste from one thread to the next, on the other hand I really want you to find the info you need. I guess what I'm really saying is: the search and tags functions do work __________________ André ________________________________________ "keep it simple. get it right in tracking. record good drummers in good rooms. cake." mixman499 "no room, no boom!" Michael Wagener "every song is different." Dave Pensado "God dammit man! Just try! The best way to micing is the way that u will like!!!"mat1306

8th March 2007, 11:47 AM	#7
ChrisRich Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Germany Posts: 3	MA 200 I love it on my Bass-Baritone Vocals....makes me sound better then ever before...Use it thru VoxBox and BUZZ ARC channel...nice.... Steelstrings work great as well...my Mahogany Larrivee shines...

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21st February 2007, 10:28 PM	#2
camerondye Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 722	I have the MA-200 and it is a great warm mic, the kind of mic that vocals sound a little bit better going through it. I use it with a Great River ME-1NV and it sounds really really good. Very flattering on the vocals that I've used on it so far. I like the SM7b also on vocals, it sounds excellent too. I don't think that the MA-200 is better than a SM81 on acoustic though, different but definitely not better. I usually use the SM81 on acoustic still. It might sound better in certain situations, the SM81 just makes an acoustic sound that mixes well IMO. I have a GT Brick and it works well with the SM81 and acoustics. With the Great River it seems like you can hear everything better through it with the bit of the Neve taste, the Brick kind of warms over certain frequencies but I like it. I just got an Peluso R14 Ribbon mic and it does a great acoustic sound also, a little thinner than the SM81 but mixes quite well. Peluso makes a 251 copy that can be had for a little over the $1000 that you had to spend. I don't know if it is better than the Mojave but is an alternative to consider. I have heard good things about the Peluso also. Good luck, cameron

22nd February 2007, 05:30 AM	#3
dashamu Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 154	I've been using the Mojave mic for about a month on everything from male and female vocals to acoustic guitars, upright bass, mandolin...thru a UA6176. It's quite versatile but works best for me on vocals and acoustic guitars. I've done a couple of sessions with just that mic/pre combo recording vocal and guitar at the same time and it sounds great. If you take the time and find the right positioning that allows the vocals to dominate the guitar it can sound quite good. And with one track that has guitar and vocal, well, it's back to basics and I like it. It's warm but it has a little 7K boost that helps give some definition to darker sources, like my murky voice and Gibson J200 and Martin D28. I haven't tried it on electric guitar because I have a Royer 121 that I love and I have a feeling the MA200 might be a little harsh, but I think I'll try it as a room mic next time I record thru an amp. I didn't love it on the mandolin. I found a SDC Josephson gave me a tighter more focused sound on the mando. The MA200 sounded a liitle too big and round for the mando I was using. However, it worked well on the upright bass and I just tried it on a female singer with a slightly thin voice and it sounded very good thru the 6176. I'm quite happy with the mic and despite the fact that it's cardioid only, I think it's well worth the sub $1,000 price.

23rd February 2007, 01:24 AM	#4
guitardom Gear maniac Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: new mexico Posts: 299	thanx, the market in that range is just flooded with mic's so hard to seperate what is the best for the given situation, and gear already owned. can anyone say the ma-200 has that "airy" kind of sound on the top end. thanx again