Sennheiser 421...great DB mic!

mchildree · #1 02-28-2006, 07:28 AM

Found a Sennheiser 421 at a rummage sale on Saturday...got it for 75 cents. That's right. 75 cents...and it works fine. For those who aren't familiar, it's a fairly pricey dynamic large-diaghram mic that used to be all the rage in the '70s and '80s. You can get 'em used now for under 200 bucks.

Anyhow, in the midst of testing the thing out and comparing it to other mics I have, I found it sounds WONDERFUL on DB. Seems to be voiced just right somehow, and I couldn't make it sound bad, no matter where I placed it. Wow.

Anybody else ever tried one?

Uncletoad · #2 02-28-2006, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchildree

Found a Sennheiser 421 at a rummage sale on Saturday...got it for 75 cents. That's right. 75 cents...and it works fine.

Sweet. Hey I'll double your money for it.

larry · #3 02-28-2006, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchildree

Found a Sennheiser 421 at a rummage sale on Saturday...got it for 75 cents. That's right. 75 cents...and it works fine.

You must have been quite a nice guy in a past life. Jeez, you got lucky. Nice mic.

robgrow · #4 02-28-2006, 10:20 AM

That's an incredible find. Used 421's routinely go for $200 and more. Along with the EV RE-20 and Shure SM-7, the Sennheiser 421 is a standard in US broadcast studios as an announcer mic and is just a great mic in general.

mje · #5 02-28-2006, 01:57 PM

I found mine for $120 in a music store. But I also found a Shure SM-7 for $20 at a flea market. Gotta keep your eyes open.

ToneRanger · #6 02-28-2006, 03:44 PM

The 421 is an incredibly versatile mic. It's my preferred mic for anything loud - drums, horns, amps - as it can handle virtually any volume. It's quite accurate in the low end, has an adjustable low-end roll-off (handy for DB) and has a very tight directional pattern.
Best price I've ever got one for was $40, and that one had been used by a movie-maker in Papua-New Guinea jungles! It's bent, scratched and rusty but still works fine as our band's sax mic.

Marcus Johnson · #7 02-28-2006, 03:51 PM

Jeez, what a deal. I'm pretty sure I used one of those once, just can't recall where it was.

Chrix · #8 02-28-2006, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchildree

Found a Sennheiser 421 at a rummage sale on Saturday...got it for 75 cents. That's right. 75 cents...

I know it's not a microphone, but that reminds me of a rummage sale I attended a few years ago.

I found a pair of Yamaha NS-10 speakers for $6. Compared to about $800 new. Plus they aren't made anymore.

I still need a good mic, though. Good buy!

greitzer · #9 03-01-2006, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchildree

Found a Sennheiser 421 at a rummage sale on Saturday...it sounds WONDERFUL on DB. Seems to be voiced just right somehow, and I couldn't make it sound bad, no matter where I placed it. Wow.

A couple of follow-up questions for you -- what amp did you run it into, and did you mount it on a stand or somehow mount it on your bass?

mchildree · #10 03-01-2006, 06:34 PM

Didn't try an amp, just ran it into my Mackie mixer and recorded it on my ADAT. Stand-mounted.

seamonkey · #11 03-01-2006, 07:14 PM

A piano buddy recorded on my baby grand with one. It sounded perfect. It sounded just like the piano.

And he had the same experience of not spending a lot of time trying to find the right placement, he could put it just about anywhere and it still sounded great. I guess I'll have to borrow his and try it myself.

.75! What a deal. Now you need to make some recordings for us to hear!