Customer Reviews

Sennheiser MD421II Dynamic Microphone

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the microphone that sometimes plays
second fiddle in radio stations to the reknown
reigning king of Radio Dynamic mics - the
ElectroVoice ..

I own a dozen very expensive condenser
microphones ranging in the 500 - 3000 dollar range
from AKG, Neumann, Studio Projects, Shure,
Electrovoice and many more ..

but the one microphone, I find myself constantly
reaching for ... especially when using it with web
audio projects which I have to compress and still
retain clarity ... as well as presence ..

It's this time proven German tradition that hasn't
changed much in it's 50 years of production...

And .. unlike the problems with a condenser
microphone where your recording area has to be sound
deadened .. my office is located in an active construction
zone (Ground Zero NYC) ..

The Sennheiser mic beautifully cancels out
the police and fire engine sirens, hydraulic drills
and constant construction pile driving here which
rule out using my other microphones.

My particular mic is over 20 years old and
still used on a daily basis ..

These mics are truly versatile performers and
have earned their reputation as reliable workhorses
that produce a phenomenal and unique sound.

I think I first saw/heard this mic in the original Concert for Bangladesh, and could not get over how cool it looked. Typically, I wouldn't consider buying such a thing based on appearance consideration, but the fact that George Harrison and Leon Russell felt them worthy, I considered it a safe purchase. To say the least, I was amazed by this mic. As a producer, I've used it for everything from vocals to horns to acoustic guitar - even capturing cymbal nuances that were lost on other more expensive mics. Live or in the studio, this mic is a serious performer that no performer or studio should be without - several, if budget allows. You won't run out of uses for it. The one down-side is that, over time, the frequency response goes dead (like any mic), but this can be factory-refurbished back to original specs. The mic comes with a graph read-out of your mic's unique response characteristics.

I love the sound of this when paired with my SM57 - they go great together. The SmM57 gets the highs and the mids and the 421 gets the darker mids and great lows.

Not perhaps the first mic to buy but a great option to go to