A hand-built mic designed by MicParts, the Northern California boutique audio shop, the 990XF/RK–67C is a Neumann KM84–inspired transformer-coupled K67 large-diaphragm condenser microphone.
This mic features all-new high-end audio components house in a satin-black donor body, capped with a striking two-layer black chrome grille, which combines two different-gauge meshes to reduce resonance, achieving a balance between plosive and EMI-RFI protection and acoustic transparency, for a significant sonic and visual improvement over the stock grille. Comes with a standard mic clip as pictured.
The proprietary MicParts RK–67C capsule (K67–style with dual 34-mm brass backplates) requires no high-frequency de-emphasis or correction. With a nominally flat frequency response, it serves especially well for large-body acoustic instruments, strings, bass guitar, and drum overheads.
Paired with the Neumann-inspired transformer-coupled 990XF circuit, it is slightly scooped (~1.5dB) in the upper mids (4–7kHz) due to the 990 body's acoustic properties, and has a mild presence boost (+1dB) at 10kHz.
The 990XF/RK–67C produces moderately high output and low noise, for a saturated vintage tone with some harmonic content that complements any audio source. It looks and sounds like a $1,000 cardioid condenser microphone. For a fraction of that cost, this custom Neumann K67–style creation excels as a solid all-round studio workhorse.