Original Sennheiser e602 Mics (and kick drums in general)

Like Steen said, the D12's never caught your ear because they are essentially half a good kick sound. That is why they are paired with other mics to capture the attack. All of the original ones are going on 50 years old and will be in various states of repair. It will not be a good workhorse kick mic for you.

The D112 is more midrangey than most newer kick mics. It does capture the sub low end, but you have to shape the midrange to bring it out. The cool thing about it is that you can put the attack of the kick anywhere you want it. 1k, for that late 1970's sound, 3-4k for that late 80's sound, or high shelf at 8k for that more modern heavy metal kick sound. With some other mics, they have already sucked out some midrange and added the highs and lows, so you will need to EQ around that in order to make the kick sound different.

You're overthinking this. You can get the kick sound you want from just about any kick mic. There is no need to get too fancy.

Also, don't fall for the idea that the only legitimate 421's are the vintage ones. No, the new ones don't sound exactly the same. But the old ones don't sound like they did anymore either. And it isn't 1972 anymore, time, tech and audience expectations have changed. A lot of people love old led zeppelin albums, but if you came out with an album that had the exact same sonics as their first album, people would think it sounded like crap and was too quiet.

Hell, the drums on Master of Puppets were miced with nothing but SM57's. It didn't affect sales or popularity. Don't overthink this, or get stuck in the mentality that you need a specific version of anything.

Also, don't rule out the Audix kick mic, it is pretty good too.

I agree. I'm definitely overthinking this whole thing. I just made an offer on an original e602. It's the first one I've seen for sale in the three weeks I've been looking for one. Hopefully I'll dig it.
 
Not 100% related to the topic, but it will say something about the original MD-421 mics.

I the early 1970's we recorded an LP ( yes one of those round, black plastic things !!!!!) for a local singer/songwriter (the LP went on to become a collectors item) for the vocals we used the MD-421 mic.

By the way, the mic because of its shape was commonly called either the "ice-cream cone" or more often "the electric shaver" !!!!!

I have not used the mic for possibly 30+ years, but left it in its case stored away with a lot of other no longer used stuff !!!!!

About three years ago (and without going into a long story) I undertook another recording of the same artist, so got out all of my more recent ( and supposedly better) mics (eg AKG 414, Neumans, Rode(s), etc) and started to audition each mic to see which gave the vocalist the best sound.

After trying possibly about 10+ different mics (both dynamic and condenser), we really could not get the sound that we wanted (ie the one that gave the vocalist that really "rich" sound).

Then the vocalist just happened to say "do you still have that 'shaver' mic"? I had completely forgotten that I even still had it, let alone if it would still work.

Went on a search through a few boxes of old studio stuff (studio has moved twice since the 1970's) and finally found the mic.

Set it up and had the vocalist sing ---- by the end of the first line, both the producer and I said "that's the sound we want".

The new recording when finally released went on the sell MANY copies --- and I think could still be selling !!!!!

So all I can say is the old MD421 is still a great mic. By the way, back in its day, we used it many times on both Kick and Snare, plus a lot of other instruments !!!!!!

David
 
Not 100% related to the topic, but it will say something about the original MD-421 mics.

I the early 1970's we recorded an LP ( yes one of those round, black plastic things !!!!!) for a local singer/songwriter (the LP went on to become a collectors item) for the vocals we used the MD-421 mic.

By the way, the mic because of its shape was commonly called either the "ice-cream cone" or more often "the electric shaver" !!!!!

I have not used the mic for possibly 30+ years, but left it in its case stored away with a lot of other no longer used stuff !!!!!

About three years ago (and without going into a long story) I undertook another recording of the same artist, so got out all of my more recent ( and supposedly better) mics (eg AKG 414, Neumans, Rode(s), etc) and started to audition each mic to see which gave the vocalist the best sound.

After trying possibly about 10+ different mics (both dynamic and condenser), we really could not get the sound that we wanted (ie the one that gave the vocalist that really "rich" sound).

Then the vocalist just happened to say "do you still have that 'shaver' mic"? I had completely forgotten that I even still had it, let alone if it would still work.

Went on a search through a few boxes of old studio stuff (studio has moved twice since the 1970's) and finally found the mic.

Set it up and had the vocalist sing ---- by the end of the first line, both the producer and I said "that's the sound we want".

The new recording when finally released went on the sell MANY copies --- and I think could still be selling !!!!!

So all I can say is the old MD421 is still a great mic. By the way, back in its day, we used it many times on both Kick and Snare, plus a lot of other instruments !!!!!!

David

Cool. I still really want an original MD-421, but would only grab one if a local store had one that I could hear. Do you remember what variant of the 421 you have? I've heard that the U4/U5 are good. Along with the tan colored one with the logo in script.

You said the AKG 414 is the newer model? I've read awesome things about the original one with the brass C12 capsule, especially for guitar amps.. They sell for like $2500 on eBay.
 
That's a real nice story.

I used two md421-n for vocals with a folk band (two lead singers) a good while ago and they sounded superb, IMO.
Big fan of those old microphones.

I got the pair of them for damn near nothing 'broken'.
Turned out both of them needed the XLR barrels re-soldered. Probably worth about £600 and I'm pretty sure I paid around £80.
 
Thanks for the comments.

I do stand corrected on the following, but as a matter of interest, I believe that I was the first person to use Sennheiser mics in Australia --- early/mid 1960's.

I actually have a number of the 421 mics and they come in two varieties ---- this will show their age !!!!!

The first are identified as 421/2 and they are fitted with Touchel sockets. Their colour is a light off white/greyish colour with a silver pop-shield and they come with the variable adjustable frequency response pattern.

The second lot do not have any identifying model on the microphones, but they are fitted with a DIN socket and are the same colour and features as the Touchel variety.

I also have a number of original MD-21 mics and these were really good on loud instruments as they were virtually non-overloadable. These were also DIN socket fitted.

Along with those detailed above, I also have a couple of MKH-405 mics. These are an exceptional mic and when I purchased them in the late 1960's/early 1970's they cost about $AUS3000 each. Please do not ask me to explain this but they were/are a condenser FM mic and are powered not by what we know as phantom power but rather T-power (similar to Phantom but sending the voltage down one leg only and at a different voltage), I had to design a power supply for these mics as they initially only came with a screw-on battery unit and the batteries were expensive to buy and did not last very long --- you can no longer buy the batteries, as I think that they were a mercury battery.

"You said the AKG 414 is the newer model" --- sorry for any confusion but what I was meaning was that they were a later microphone to my sennheiosers. The units that I have (4 units) were I am guessing the original model, as I purchased them around the mid to late 1970's.

Another interesting mic I have is the M&B 41 (I think that is the model) --- M&B being short for the German words "microphone" and "broadcasting". The mic is a dynamic/ribbon mic and looks a bit like an extended Shure 58, and weighs a ton (!!!!!), but it is a beautifully mellow sounding mic and is excellent on instruments such as the French Horn (placed about 1ft out from the front of the horn. Unfortunately I only purchased one of these and did not purchase any of their other mics --- damn stupid of me at the time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND, I wont even start discussing my RCA 44BX mics and I also love my Sennheiser MD-441 dynamic mics (have both DIN and XLR units) as they are almost condenser sounding --- especially on vocals.

Trust that answers (and more !!!) your questions.

David
 
I actually have a number of the 421 mics and they come in two varieties ---- this will show their age !!!!!

How have they held up? I continually hear that every 421 sounds different, even ones with of the same variant, and that their sounds get mellower over time. I've also read that 1 out of every 5 sounds good. Being an owner of multiple 421's, do you agree with this?
 
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