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frequency chart, unlike most of today’s super-hyped, bright and strident microphones, the Revelation is almost “the AntiHype”. My list of descriptives for this mic would be: large, present, and natural, with a subdued top end and solid tight lows. Sources One of the Revelation’s best uses in my opinion is on percussion, but then again I am a percussionist... On doumbek, congas and djembe it literally packs a wallop by lessening the typical mid-ringing build up, and by punching the lower mids. When was the last time you used a largediaphragm tube mic on a snare? Go on, try the Revelation. Sure, it’s tricky to position, but it does a pretty nice job for big fat snare sounds, sans ring. Seriously. Acoustic guitar is another specialty. It captures the even woodiness of the body, but ignores the midrange honk. Now, if you want bright jangly highs, you will need to reach for some eq. Better yet, I

found this mic to balance well in conjunction with most small-diaphragm condensers like the Shure SM81 or Neumann KM84. I also found it to fill out the tone nicely a few feet back on a guitar cab in tandem with a Shure SM57 or Sennheiser 421. It was not my first choice on drum overheads, where I prefer something a tad airier, but that was more “personal taste” than “bad”. Your mileage may vary, especially if taming shrill cymbals and lessening tom ringing is a goal. For sung vocals it was a case-by-case scenario and usually just a hair too imposing and dark for my taste; however that makes it a fantastic voiceover mic! [MXL suggests trying the mic in omni mode in a quiet room for vocals.—Ed.] Conclusions Other than source-specific taste issues, the only sonic negative I can point out is that the Revelation has a bit of a noticeable

noise floor on quiet sources, especially when compressed. Also, I never understand why manufacturers package midlevel and entry-level mics with handy extras (like, say, a custom pop screen, like that of, say, the Genesis) but don’t include one with the flagship model, when it clearly needs one for vocal tasks. Not a showstopper, just a question. [And MXL answers! The firm has not yet made a specific pop filter for the Revelation’s body shape, and a traditional pop filter is too large to fit in the package.—Ed.] Other than that, this is a very unique and bold addition to MXL’s microphone family, with its own unique sonic imprint. Qualitywise it more than holds its own with similarly priced competition. Add the Revelation to your collection; you may well find that this is the mic that will add a significant and impressive weight to your sound. Price: $1499 ($1300 street) More from: MXL Microphones, www.mxlmics.com. Paul Vnuk Jr. (vnuk@recordingmag.com) is a recording engineer and producer working in Milwaukee. Learn more about his recent exploits at www.majale.com. Frequency and polar pattern graphs courtesy MXL Microphones.

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Recording - February 2011

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