Mojave Audio MA-201fet Reviews

4.6/5.0 based on 16 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Mike Conyers

The solid-state version of the Mojave MA-200, the MA-201 fet is an extremely versatile piece that should be in everyone's arsenal! Drum overheads, acoustic and electric guitars, vocals, strings, woodwinds: this mic can do it all!

Robby Resnick

A fantastic addition to any mic locker. Great on vocals and accoustic guitar. Mojave Audio just keeps bringing amazing mics to the table!

Michael Grebe

Mojave Audio does it again! This mic is every bit as good and versatile as the MA-200 and would be a great addition, or first microphone for anyone looking to improve their mic locker.

Simon Picazo

I recently used this mic on a live recording of a female jazz singer. Incredibly warm lows and fresh air on the high end combined with that classic FET vibe. This mic is ridiculously fun to use.

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Customer Reviews

scott Solly
from cincinnati
January 25, 2013Music Background:
Recording Enginner/ composer

nice mic

I bought this mic after months of research. I'm telling you my vocal sounds great through this mic. Built like a tank,heavy too. If you want to buy a large diaphragm mic this is it. Worth a lot more than I payed for it. High quality all the way. The sound I was looking for ,warm , clear , open. I'm running this mic through a Mogami gold cable straight into my PRESONUS FIRESTUDIO Mobile. I'm telling you this mic through the xmax preamps sounds great.

Alejandro Sanchez-Samper
from Boca Raton, FL
June 5, 2012Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Producer, and Professor

One of the best vocal mics ever used

The MA-201 is easily one of the best vocal miss I have ever used. I used it on a world music album I recorded in Kathmandu, Nepal last year. It has a nice, rich and present sound and can handle high SPL levels without coloring the voice or distortion.

Troy Thompson
from Studio City, CA USA
February 2, 2012Music Background:
Songwriter, Producer, Vocalist

Sweet!!

I want to thank Jason at Sweetwater for bringing this mic to my attention. I was using an AKG Perception 200 before and it was good considering the price but this has taken my vocal recording quality to a new level. With ease, it sits in the mix in a very professional way. What a find!!!!

Jeff Blankenship
from Spring, TX USA
December 6, 2011Music Background:
Semi-pro Musician/Recording Engineer

The mic that changed my world

I was looking to take my recording quality up a notch and Mike at Sweetwater convinced me to try this mic out. It arrived via FedEX right in the middle of a recording session. We had already finished recording the acoustic guitars and thought we had final takes. I asked the male singer to do a scratch vocal using the Mojave and we were so completely blown away by the smooth transparent sound that we decided to re-record all the acoustic guitar tracks with this mic!

I have been fighting with sibilance issues with all the other mics in my locker, but the 201 fet completely resolved these and has completely brought my recording to a new level. Saving up to buy another! Thanks, Mike - your recommendation was spot on. This mic has changed my world!

Brian
from Santa Barbara, CA
November 8, 2011Music Background:
Local Pro Musician and recording hobbyist

Ultimate drum overhead mics!

My sales engineer pushed these as drum overhead mics so I went for it since I needed something that would beef up my drum kit sound for my recordings. Let's just say that these did not disappoint one bit...more like I was blown away. If your drum kits sound thin, lack detail or just need a push, these are the mics to get instead. I did try one on my acoustic guitar once too but thought they were a bit too much in the lows and extreme highs but considering the guitar (Taylor 910) that may also be part of the issue. Anyways, even if just good drum mics, 5 stars from me.

Guy
from Chicagoland, IL
February 16, 2011Music Background:
Live Sound Engineer, Vocalist

Mojave Home Run

The 201fet is perfect for the work I do - jazz standards in the tenor/baritone range. This mic has a robust but not boomy low end and the smoothest clearest mids I have found to date. EQ? What EQ? Bypassed the EQ I had on its predecessors for this mic it sounds phenomenal and cuts right through the mix as it is.

Most of all I love its ability to handle SPL. I go direct to an Apogee Duet with this mic and normally I don't need a gain of any more than 15% or so on large-diaphragm condensers, beyond that I'm clipping. While that gain sounds great on the 201fet I can push it well past 50% without clipping. OUTRAGEOUS. This is perfect for standards singers who want to have some dynamic range and not be lost when you're soft or clip when you're loud.

I look forward to using it on more sources but this may well be one of if not the best male vocal mic out there. Keith Schreiber x1383 suggested this one after all the different mics I threw at him and he didn't let me down.

greg
from Hawaii
July 26, 2010Music Background:
musician

MA-201 fet

For male vocals, I prefer the MA-201 fet over the MA-200 which I also own and like. They both have similar sound characteristics. Notably, the MA-200 has more air at the top end. The MA-201 has a tighter sound and cuts through in a pleasing way. I have a soft sounding voice and like contemporary/alternative rock. I recommend contacting Monty Montgomery at (800) 222-4700 Ext. 1274. He's extremely knowledgeable and helped me get the sound I was looking for.

Bill Stairs
from Yosemite, CA
August 6, 2009Music Background:
32 years professional broadcaster

Great mic, great service

This mic is every bit as good as a mic costing $3000. Not only that, but we had an emergency at 4:55 on a Friday afternoon. Lost cause right? Wrong! One call to Mojave Audio and Dusty sent a mic overnight. Between the sound of the mic and the service, I personally will never look further than Mojave.

Ronald McCain
from Jackson, MS USA
April 9, 2009Music Background:
Producer, Songwriter

The MA-201 fet

I used this mic after talking with Dan at sweetwater for a male vocal session and was seriously blown away at the results. The next mic I purchase will probably be the Mojave Audio MA-200. Thanks again Dan!

Peter Y.
from Boxford,MA USA
February 14, 2009Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Musician

MA201 fet

You can spend $3000 on a great mic, but it won't be any better than this one, except for maybe the MA200 tube. Truly a modern classic. That's all you really need to say.

c.locke
from oklahoma city,ok
December 2, 2008Music Background:
Recording Engineer,composer

one great mic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i cant understand why no one has left a review on this mic as of yet,we just got this mic in the studio and my first thought was that it sound almost like the ma200 and how i know because, we had that mic as well.this is a great sounding mic on any level.my man tim ext.1395 hooked me up with it. people is really sleeping on this mic.you will not be sorry you spent the money for it

Dominic Dot Okune
from
November 15, 2012Music Background:
Audio Engineer/ Producer

Great Sounding Mic

It's a great mic, I used it on vocal only, but it sounds great. Mojave did a great job with this one. Even tho its "made in china" it's a solidly built mic. It comes with nice shock mount as well. It sounds smooth, not harsh at all, i'd say really round mic, but in a good way. combined with great pre it won't disappoint you. I'd recommend it to anybody who wants to get mic below $1000

Johnny Dean
from Alma,Ar
July 14, 2011Music Background:
Voice-overs

Just what I was looking for!

I have been working with Emmett from Sweetwater for sometime and he is the one who put me onto this mic. I let him know what I felt I was missing with my other mics. This is the one he recommened for my voice. He was right on! This mic has a great low end and the high end is clean and clear. At the time I ordered, this mic was on backorder and Emmett could have sold me other more expensive mics, but he really felt this was the one for me. Great mic and great service from Emmett and Sweetwater!!!!!!

Tyler Burns
from Portland, OR USA
January 24, 2011Music Background:
Songwriter

Nice Vocal Mic

I just compared the MA-201 with the AT4047sv (an FET mic in the same price range) and the MA-210 blew it out of the water. No, you're not going to get the same sound as a $5,000 vocal mic, but this is great for the money. I'm sure this would sound great on a variety of instruments. Very crisp and clear.

Ettienne D. Lane
from Pretoria, South Africa
October 15, 2010Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Producer

Good Mic

I bought this mic after doing a lot of research and wanted a versatile mic that won't cost me an arm or a leg. I decided to buy the MA-201 instead of the MA-200 since I've got an LA-610 pre and did not want to ad any more valves to the signal chain. (that valve fuzz can sometimes get a bit much)

The mic has a nice open sound to it. I ran some A/B tests with a Rode K2 and a Neumann TLM103. The K2 sounded a bit more open to my ears but a touch of EQ on the MA-201 brought the tones of the 2 mics closer to each other. I liked the MA-201 more than the TLM103. The MA-201 had a smoother mid range. I still think the TLM103 is also a great mic and I think that the midrange would probably help to make a vocal sit nicely in a mix. Recorded some acoustic guitar tracks with the TLM103 the other day and I really liked it.

I love the MA-201 on violin. Not so much on acoustic guitar. On Female vocals it's great. Maybe a bit dark on some male vocals. Would've wanted it to handle 's' sounds better though.

I think that you need a couple of different mics to be able to sculp your mix. Guess if you get the Miktek CV4 and C5, AKG 414 or 214 and a Royer R121 you'll have a mic for most occasions.

Brian
from Scottsburg, Indiana
July 24, 2009Music Background:
Recording Hobbyest, former recodring student, musician

Very Dark

I bought this mic from Sweetwater and when compared to my RODE NT1000 the MA-201 is more smooth and rounded not as edgy. A very good quality mic. The only problem I have with it is that it's "Very" Dark and I was looking for something not as colored as this mic is. There is no question on the quality; however, like all mics it will be great for somethings and to dark for other things.
I was pretty pumped upon getting this mic but it either needs a real clear hot micpre like grace 101 or True P-solo. One things for sure, my little Presouns Tube Pre and/or the built in pres on my Tascam 2488 MKII don't cut it, (I think anything in the tube pre family would just darken it more). That's only my humble opion, I do admit that in the hands of someone haveing more skill then I have could probably bring out it's full potential. I personaly prefer something a lot more on the clear side. And although its nice to have a pro mic in my home studio now above the $300 range I will probably be getting the Shure KSM44 for a more transparent vocal option.