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Is the Sennheiser MD 421-II Dynamic Better Than SM 57 For Recording Electric Guitar?


Player99

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Except for mics that are just junk, there isn't really a "good, better, best" hierarchy of mics. Sometimes a 57 works best, sometimes a 421 does. Sometimes neither one does, and sometimes they work best together. Any serious recording setup should have half a dozen different, quality dynamic mics. I've seen some odd choices wind up beating out the old standbys.

 

 

421 can be dark. I prefer a 441

 

 

I always thought the 441 was bright- good, but bright. All depends on your perspective, I suppose.

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Of course there's nicer stuff at the high end of the ribbon spectrum, like Royers or Coles ribbon mics, but in the dynamic end of the spectrum, my favorite mic for amp cabs is probably the ElectroVoice RE20. It is also a great vocal mic, bass cab, kick drum or low-brass mic. I feel like it is a lot more flexible than the 57.

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Hey Zooey: many of us have tried in the past, but some trains of logic will always escape the good Playuh.

I've gone down the economics road, the poor designchoices road, the openthemutha{censored}aupbeforeyoubuyitifyoucaresomuch road.
But I guess I can't educate a scalded ape.

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Hey Zooey: many of us have tried in the past, but some trains of logic will always escape the good Playuh.


I've gone down the economics road, the poor designchoices road, the openthemutha{censored}aupbeforeyoubuyitifyoucaresomuch road.

But I guess I can't educate a scalded ape.

 

 

See. Now who's the scalded ape? You have been trained to accept what the corporations give you, Dr. L. On the other hand I do not, and I am telling other players about this defect that many pedal makers have not joined in on. If you would have warned me before I bought my piece of junk TC pedal I would not have purchased it. Because I am warning other players about the non replaceable switches I face your ridicule and disdain... poor me.

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Except for mics that are just junk, there isn't really a "good, better, best" hierarchy of mics. Sometimes a 57 works best, sometimes a 421 does. Sometimes neither one does, and sometimes they work best together. Any serious recording setup should have half a dozen different, quality dynamic mics. I've seen some odd choices wind up beating out the old standbys.

 

 

Excellent advice! :phil:

 

I have a few mics that are my "go to" models for guitar amps... starting with the Beyer M160 ribbon, which I absolutely love on guitar. Royer 121 is also excellent, and if you're on a budget, the Fathead II with the stock transformer has ample frequency response range to handle guitar amps just fine. I also like dynamics, including the Audix i5 and D2, Shure SM57, E/V RE20 and RE320, Sennheiser MD409 and MD421... and don't forget condensers. I will often reach for a 414 if I'm looking for a condenser sound. The Mojave MA200 / MA300 is also terrific on guitar amps. Ditto that for a vintage Neumann U67.

 

I also like using multiple mics on a single amp. I've been known to have three or even four mics on one speaker cabinet... a dynamic and ribbon up close, a condenser back several feet, and a large diaphragm dynamic in back (or also up close if it's a closed back cab) with the polarity inverted. More often than not I use only one or two mics though.

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Yes we do repair switches at the board level.

 

 

Obviously I stand corrected. The few times I've taken advantage of flat fee out of warranty repair at DOD (which was very reasonably priced, I thought), I received back what looked like new innards.

 

To prevent more off topicness: I mostly use a SM57. My next favorite dynamic is the e906, which looks like a 609 with a three way switch on it, which you can use to dial out the presence boost. IMO, Sennheiser should have made the e609 sound more like the "flat" position of the e906. It would have made it a more versatile mic. I have a few interesting ribbons, like an older Shinybox with cinemag upgrade, but my room at home is not all that great, and the mic is a figure 8 pattern.

 

An interesting inexpensive condenser for guitar is the Blue Baby Bottle. It has a slight presence peak around 5-8K

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Wow... you hate it on everything?

 

 

I don't hate it per se I just ALWAYS prefer something else. I prefer i5 on amps. CAD M179 on toms (much cheaper, tighter pattern, way more body and less of that cardboard box thing). Beta 52 on kick (though I'm dying to try a U47 FET in front of the kick... one day!).

 

It works for plenty of people in plenty of places, it just never gives me what I want to hear.

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