MXL R144chat_bubble_outlineFrom real comments

Commenters repeatedly describe the mic's character as warm, smooth, and vintage-sounding, flattering to acoustic guitar, vocals, and horns. This tonal quality is cited as the mic's defining strength by fans of ribbon sound.

@FreakinOutOnAudio

Dark top is the whole point of ribbons for me. Tames harsh sources like piercing guitar amps and trumpets. Have to EQ out the boxyness sometimes though to compensate... some of those vintage ribbons dont have that issue so much, but hey this mic is 99 bucks.launch

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March 22, 2024

@rhinorecordsestudio3479

You will never be the same after working with ribbon mics.\nFor room mics on drums, they sound just spetacular! I've heard they sound very nice too on cymbals, but I never tested. Have been working with a MXL R144 and it's just awesome on eletric and acoustic guitars, vocals and, as as just said, room mics for drums.\n\nYour reviews are very, very good! Going direct to the point.\n\nGreetings from Brazil!launch

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October 31, 2021

@lance134679

I've had ribbon mics for about a decade and I really like them, though I also have condenser and dynamics mics. If you're looking for a vintage sound for a hundred bucks, this seems pretty good, though if I were buying my first ribbon mic now, I'd look at the SE Voodoo or something similar as they're much more balanced with more highs and controlled lows.launch

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May 21, 2021

@stupendousmusic4190

I'm a huge ribbon mic fan. Knowing what I know about MXL, I expected this mic to be worse than it was in this video, and certainly not better. It did sound decent on acoustic guitar though. You gave an excellent objective review. Thank you!launch

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March 15, 2021

Numerous commenters emphasize that for under $100-135, the R144 punches well above its price, rivaling ribbon mics costing over $1000 in certain applications. It's frequently called a steal and a must-have addition to a small studio's mic locker.

@pedrobossio5440

Great video! This mic when paired with a 57 on electric guitar, Horns and with any other small diaphram condenser, will give you a sound hard to replicate for under $1200. Try this on a vocal, a pop track with parallel verb bussed from a double track; you'll get the concept immediately. This mic is a steal at this price point.launch

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August 18, 2026

@FreakinOutOnAudio

Dark top is the whole point of ribbons for me. Tames harsh sources like piercing guitar amps and trumpets. Have to EQ out the boxyness sometimes though to compensate... some of those vintage ribbons dont have that issue so much, but hey this mic is 99 bucks.launch

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March 22, 2024

@GeekTherapyRadio

*Letterman was actually probably a bit too modern to actually use a RCA 77DX as anything more than a prop, but the fact remains that the figure 8 pattern of a ribbon was in fact used to capture sources/speakers on both sides.\n\nExcellent mic for $100-135 in the right use-cases. Bear in mind you may need a cloud lifter/signal booster to get enough gain coming into your interface.launch

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May 4, 2023

@7xchad

You actually covered exactly why I bought one myself- to have a little bit darker mic and more room noise to blend with another mic. For the money, it performs excellently for the purpose it was purchased for.launch

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December 18, 2022

Many users pair the R144 with a dynamic mic like an SM57 or e609 on guitar amps, reporting a rich, professional tone that cuts through a mix with minimal EQ needed. Several call it one of the best mics they've used for this purpose.

@pedrobossio5440

Great video! This mic when paired with a 57 on electric guitar, Horns and with any other small diaphram condenser, will give you a sound hard to replicate for under $1200. Try this on a vocal, a pop track with parallel verb bussed from a double track; you'll get the concept immediately. This mic is a steal at this price point.launch

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August 18, 2026

@DanielPestanaTranslations

After using it extensively over the past couple of months, I just came back here to say that this is one of the best mics for guitar amps that I’ve ever used. The sound is amazing and together with the SM57 it creates this incredible professional quality guitar sound that really cuts through a mix with literally no need to worry with EQ. Amazing product! Highly recommend it!launch

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March 7, 2022

@DanielPestanaTranslations

Hi. I just bought this microphone. I have two questions. Should I use a pop filter to record the guitar cab so I won’t damage the ribbon, or it’s not necessary? Also, can I use a Class A Jfet Preamplifier? Thank you. Looking forward for your reply.launch

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September 8, 2021

@iluvguildguitars

Great review and you absolutely cannot beat this microphone for the price, just a ton of value. I use it to record electric guitar with small vintage, Class a 5 watt tube amps, and its a stellar vocal mic as well. Sure, who doesn't love a Neumann U-87, got 3 grand? These are GREAT microphones.launch

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February 21, 2021

The mic's dark top end is praised for softening piercing instruments like bright guitar amps, trumpets, and soprano sax, making it useful where other mics sound too harsh.

@FreakinOutOnAudio

Dark top is the whole point of ribbons for me. Tames harsh sources like piercing guitar amps and trumpets. Have to EQ out the boxyness sometimes though to compensate... some of those vintage ribbons dont have that issue so much, but hey this mic is 99 bucks.launch

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March 22, 2024

@7xchad

You actually covered exactly why I bought one myself- to have a little bit darker mic and more room noise to blend with another mic. For the money, it performs excellently for the purpose it was purchased for.launch

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December 18, 2022

@artysanmobile

Ribbon mics are inherently bidirectional, which makes them harder to make good use of, and that’s before you run into the other drawbacks they are famous for. They are absolutely golden when recording intolerably bright instruments. Yes, soprano sax players, I’m talking to you.launch

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December 24, 2019

@GeekTherapyRadio

Ribbon mics are exquisite in a fraction of situations, horrific in most, and work best with quality preamps that have monstrous gain. If you have a cheap USB interface, it's usually not a good choice.\n\n\nIf you have a great recording space, a preamp with enough clean gain, and a source that benefits from ribbon (horns, woodwinds, vocals with naturally harsh, nasally mid-high-end ~2k and above-ish, etc...) then a ribbon is a marvelous paintbrush in your collection.\n\n\nFor podcasters, only if you are in an immaculately treated dedicated recording space and it compliments your specific voice. Even then, you may be more liberal with the EQ than you're used to. It's ok, ribbons love gobs of EQ.\n\n\nIn other words, as a unique tool to use in unique situations, ribbons are marvelous.\n\n\nFor 99% of streamers and podcasters, it'll make you want to throw your computer out the window. Stick with a decent condenser or dynamic.launch

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December 24, 2019

Some commenters found the R144 to be a genuinely strong vocal mic, describing it as open, smooth, and free of artifacts, sounding better than many pricier podcast mics when paired with the right voice.

@makwolven

Just saw this... the R144 has a very neutral sound and requires some thought about mic technique. It's not crispy and needs a cloud lifter but overall serves vocals and acoustics very well. It is tweakable with a good eq setting contoured to the singer and is affordable. I concur on your review.launch

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February 16, 2022

@respondandresearch

I'm kinda blown away. I love this ribbon sound and your video! I thought your review was pretty honest and authentic but I will say I've watched hundreds of mic reviews for various reasons, as I need them for various situations, like sound healing, this is a phenomenal microphone. I mean compared to the average mic I mean even the average podcaster mic this sounds amazing and I'm watching everything with a Marantz with some nice speakers. Maybe that's why. But everything I compare thought this. Now, I'm a fan of dark punk music like AFI, Ghost, and even pop punk with slightly darker and heavier tones. If you're comparing this to the average podcast mic for example, not that it's fitting for that, but if someone were to have a softer voice this would make them sound phenomenal for the price. It doesn't have a \"cut off\" a sound like almost everything nowadays. Especially zoom equipment. In a lot of other mics they just have this annoying sound, it sounds like mids are getting cut off and I know some of them have a built in limiter but this just sounded open and smooth for the price it sounds better than many $300 microphones...but it's a ribbon you could break it....but if you want a better sound and you're careful this sounds like some four or $500 podcast mics or even better because they have that chopped off sound...launch

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July 10, 2021

@MichaelColemanGrondin

this mic rules ... perfect for vocals or acoustic\nstop at 17000 khz  top roll off ...\n you guys are funny .. vox amps on clean or brown sound do sound brittle...\n that just the tubes and the way they sound ...launch

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January 22, 2014

@archivestereo

This is a great mic for vocals. This video shows it is pure voice with no artifacts and the voice is amazing. If this video does not sell people on the r144 as a vocal mic I don't know what will. An incredible mic and happy to own one. Brian, you have one if the best voices out there!launch

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May 18, 2013

Several users specifically praise the R144 as a room mic for drums, guitars, and bass, making recordings sound fuller and adding a spectacular vintage flavor to the mix.

@7xchad

You actually covered exactly why I bought one myself- to have a little bit darker mic and more room noise to blend with another mic. For the money, it performs excellently for the purpose it was purchased for.launch

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December 18, 2022

@rhinorecordsestudio3479

You will never be the same after working with ribbon mics.\nFor room mics on drums, they sound just spetacular! I've heard they sound very nice too on cymbals, but I never tested. Have been working with a MXL R144 and it's just awesome on eletric and acoustic guitars, vocals and, as as just said, room mics for drums.\n\nYour reviews are very, very good! Going direct to the point.\n\nGreetings from Brazil!launch

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October 31, 2021

@renemies78

I purchased this mic to use as a room mic when recording drums and my drums finally sound a lot more full. And I've also used it on guitars and bass as a room mic. I didn't like it on vocals or acoustic guitars unfortunately. I would recommend this mic to people who need a room mic for live drums.launch

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November 16, 2020

Owners note the mic includes protection (a diode or similar) so accidentally applying phantom power does not damage it, easing a common concern with ribbon microphones.

@EdKeenan

I own this mic and can confirm that there is a diode or something - phantom power causes no injurylaunch

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April 27, 2020

@JonathanGalle

Great review as always, however I get the feeling that your not terribly familiar with a lot of ribbon microphones and I can say that this microphone is MUCH more mid-range heavy then a quality ribbon would be, if you listen to reviews of RCA 77DX or even some royer microphones you'll find that it's actually quite normal for most ribbon microphones to have a very flattering top end and a more flat frequency response, Also you really don't need to worry that much about putting phantom power into new ribbon mics, most of them are built for it however if you patch a cable in and out with phantom you are likely to blow the mic, so just don't unplug it when phantom power is still on. I would not consider this microphone a good representation of a quality ribbon microphone.launch

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January 15, 2020