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What Mic do you own and use on stage?


stunningbabe

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Sennheiser MD 421

  • It's in the technology hall of fame
  • it's considered the second best sounding dynamic mic ever made by at least a dozen magazines (the best is the MD 441 - and it goes for almost $900US)
  • has absolutely no proximity effect
  • rugged enough to use to mic drums and take the occasional hit with a drumstick
  • can handle SPLs of 110db
  • low handling noise
  • 5 position bass roll-off filter

I got mine back in the 1980s. I lost another SM58 and went to my local music store/recording studio. The owner went into the studio, and handed me a MD 421 and said he always uses this mic for horns, drums, and often on vocals. He said try it for the weekend and if you like it, I'll order one, if not I've got something else you can try. Being that I did all my business there he didn't even charge a deposit.

I was playing an upstairs, open-air gig at a marina every Sunday back then. A musician friend (guitar/vocals) came to hear us and when she came in the door, she said, "What did you do to your saxophone? It sounds great! I could hear the difference in the parking lot!"

The difference is, it sounds like my saxophone, the mic is transparent.

Meanwhile my partner, Leilani was using her Sure, it broke she got an AT that sounded better than the sure, that broke, another AT, and my Sennheiser is still sounding like new. Then when she wore out that AT, she got an MD 421 of her own.

The MD 421 can be purchased for about $300 US. It will last longer than 4 Shure SM58s, it will have no proximity effect like the Shure does, will sound better than the sure, and won't fall off the mic clip.

I don't leave home without it.

Insights and incites by Notes

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Notes\_Norton wrote:

Sennheiser MD 421

The MD 421 can be purchased for about $300 US. It will last longer than 4 Shure SM58s, it will have no proximity effect like the Shure does, will sound better than the sure, and won't fall off the mic clip.

 

 

I assumed we were talking about vocals but maybe I'm wrong.

Last longer than four 58's? Empirical proof please. I've had the same 58 for 10+ years and it cost me $100.  I'd assume that it's seen AT LEAST 1200 gigs.  As far as proximity effect you make it sound like that's a bad thing. That's one of the reasons me and many users love the 58! It adds warmth, tone and clarity to vocals. I'm not arguing your choice in microphones but you make it sound like the 58 is a chump mic. The 58 is one of THE MOST used mic in the entire world and has been for 60 years.

 

OTOH the MD421 is easily one of my favorite mics for the studio. It handles drums wonderfully as both overheads or individual placement including the kick. i've used them on amps, acoustics and everything else. I've used them in combination with other mics while recording vocals but you won't catch me using one live.

 

 

(2) 421'S XY PATTERN ON MY ACOUSTIC...

 

 

 

12242\_10200217979317926\_890155190\_n.jpg

 

 

 

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Tomm Williams wrote:

UPDATE


Since first posting in this thread, I've had a bit more experience with the Heil PR35 that has changed my mind
slightly
. I still like this mic for my voice but found it to not work for everyone. (what does?) It is also a poor choice for flimsy stages, lots of rumble comes through, more so than any other mic I use. In those situations, I believe my choice would be an EV967.

 

 

Although I really like my EVND967, there are some things that still trouble me, like bass roll off...I seem to notice some unexpected 'cut' on the bottom, as I sing in a fairly wide range. I need to run some experiments, as this may be part of the 'personality' switch thing...

 

Just a thought, the Heil 35 is very vibration sensitive, and an additional shockmount may be the solution (sorry, that 'sorbothane' in the body simply does not kill enough vibrations in this mic). Most applications I have seen for it have involved shockmounts...mainly because I see this in small studios very often as a great recording mic.

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Notes_Norton wrote:

 

 

Sennheiser MD 421
  •  take the occasional hit with a drumstick

 

It will last longer than 4 Shure SM58s,   

 

 

 

 

Just saying...On a side note there is no doubt about it that using a 421 for vocals is non-tradional. Whatever works for you though.

 

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I kiss a beta 58. That's the metal in me. With the band I normally use the house SM58 the same way. At our last show that was a poor choice. It tasted like beer, which is cool, but not when it's someone else's and it's stale.

I've found though with house PA's and regular sound guys, they have their sound dialed in for the SM58.

I know 57's and 58's are supposed to be the same Mic essentially. But I swear I get more clarity from the 57. Has anyone ever added a windscreen to a 57 with any success? Besides the plosives, I prefer that sounds even to the beta.

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Where we play every Tuesday, there are groups of bicycilists who pedal from Cocoa Beach to Key West Florida and back - 550 miles round trip. (That's bicycles, not motorcycles)

They go in groups and plan their schedule so that they pass Fort Pierce on a Tuesday so they can have lunch and spend the afternoon with us. So we get them two or three weeks in a row going to, and two or three weeks in a row coming back. (depending on how many people are riding)

We have a lot of fun together. Among other things, I often tease them about being "Bikers" and turning Little Jim's into a "Biker Bar", and they enjoy it. So we learned Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" for them. 

Here is a video:

 

Note the only vocal mics on stage are MD421s - I've seen plenty of other videos with the same mic being used, but this one comes to mind because we learned that song for them a few months ago.

So obviously, I'm not the only one who realizes just what a great mic the 421 is.

Pro Audio Review magazine did a review on dynamic microphones a year or so ago. If I remember correctly they were for mics under $500. They tested them in a half-dozen or more conditions, including vocals, horns, drums, guitar cabs, and a couple of others. The mic came in a close second to the guitar cab, and came in first in every other category, including vocals. 

But then again, as I often say, there is more than one right way to make music, and if a different mic works best for you, by all means use that one. But don't negate the 421 as being unconventional. I think it's just not 'in style' these days because it's a little large and doesn't look fashionable.

Notes

 

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SLScott86 wrote:

 

I kiss a beta 58. That's the metal in me. With the band I normally use the house SM58 the same way. At our last show that was a poor choice. It tasted like beer, which is cool, but not when it's someone else's and it's stale.

 

 

 

I've found though with house PA's and regular sound guys, they have their sound dialed in for the SM58.

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Love my 58-  Even by way of a lousy video you can hear that  I have a crisp clean vocal. You can see I eat it as well. Muddy and dark sounding? Naw...

 

 

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I switched from the 58 to the Sennheiser E835 about 6 months ago.
I just got tired of hearing the same thing (for 25 years) and the E835 does the trick (for now).
I'm singing softer on more and more songs and it seems to have more sheen.


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I switched from the sm58 to the sennheiser e935 about six months ago. I don't have a rich baritone voice but more of a lower tenor. This thread got me thinking about my own voice and so I decided to break out the old 58 again at my gig this past Saturday. I felt like I was just having an off night, like my voice just wasn't there..  wondering if i'd forgotten to warm up.  Later in the night I remembered my mic experiment and decided to switch back to the sennheiser. Problem fixed! I could hear myself much better and didn't have to push to hear the quiter parts of the vocals.

I know folks can get a great sound with a 58 but this sennheiser works great for me. I can't really describe what it's doing to the sound, it just sounds better to my ears. Maybe "sheen" does apply.

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I have switched from using the SM58 all my life (bought my first one in 1975) to the Sennheiser e835 and like it a lot. It's funny, though, in some places I play where there's lots of glass and hard surfaces, I've found the 58 to sound better; in rooms where there is more sound deadening the Sennheiser cuts through better.

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