Purchase of good dynamic mic comin' up

S

StevenLindsey

New member
There's a Senn... 441 U3 on EBay for $299 *buy now*...$20 shipping..$12 insurance. What does the U3 signify? Is this a pretty good deal for this mic? It has some sort of high eq boost (presence) switch on it but it doesn't say anything about a low cut. I'm about to spring for either a 441, a 421 or an SM7. Which do you think would be most useful for a bedroom studio? Kinda like the idea of the 5 position bass rolloff on the 421...I almost always use low cut. If the 441 is the best, I may have to pull out my c card tomorrow. This should about round out my mic locker, at least for my dinky purposes. Give me some ideas here if you have time. Thanks!

I have: 2 SM57s, SM58, Beh....B2, MXL603, NTK, 2 ECM8000s.... with RNP, mixer pres, Sytek coming about January. Country-folk-rock style music generally.
 
which ebay? cant find the auction.

is it a black one?

i think it might be a version with a subset of all the switches on the standard model. mine has a 5 or so position roll off and a brightness switch (which is actually pretty good).

from what i read on RAP the U3 has a "bass switch but no treble switch".

decent price, but i remember a time when they were going for $250 or less during the great 441 glut of a few months ago. made me regret my $280 including shipping purchase. (from ebay.de- 200 euros plus all the fees and shipping costs. still not too bad of a deal)
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41465&item=2561125795

Don't know if that link'll work broken up like that.


Description


Sennheiser MD441 U 3 Supercardiod Dynamic Microphone Mic

Near mint condition with almost no bumps or scratches. Wonderful sound

The mic comes with
The original case
Mic clip
no manual
FREE MIC CABLE!!!
Specifications:

Supercardioid Dynamic Microphone
Frequency Response: 30-20,000 Hz
200 Ohm Impedence
Brilliance Switch provides +5dB boost above 3kHz
Excellent feedback rejection
 
ok. that doesnt have the bass roll off. on the normal version right at the base you turn a switch for the bass positions. personally i dont find them that useful. i like cutting the base on the computer or at the board (more control).

i cant see that brilliance switch. it should be right under where the clip is. didnt show up in any of the shots that i looked at. but, this is coming from the guy who for some reason couldnt find that ebay auction. (i typed in 441*- didnt hit)

it could be misidentified. the "blackfire" 541 has no tone adjustment options at all.

either way. not a bad price. i dont think you would miss the lost options. and yours is black, which is kinda cool. its the evil 441.
 
Any of you guys use PayPal? I'm still very cautious of putting a credit card number on somebody else's database somewhere. I'm sure it's fairly secure by now but.....I guess there's always a chance. It's probably more dangerous sending checks around in the mail.
 
or more dangerous throwing out your trash...

i use paypal, never had a problem... not that that means anything.
 
thanks for the info. I may have to send him a Cashier's Check. I'm still just a little too paranoid. Of course, there's much more danger sending a check in the mail, I suppose. I really don't like the Ebay thing too much. But I'd like to have that mic. Probably a very nice one.
 
StevenLindsey said:
I'm about to spring for either a 441, a 421 or an SM7. Which do you think would be most useful for a bedroom studio?
Click to expand...
The Sennheiser MD421.
 
Well I bought the 441. Richard Monroe keeps saying it's "to die for". I'll soon see. I think the 421 may be more useful but I'm hoping the 441 can double up on kick drum. Anyway, the die is cast. Thanks for the replies.
 
Well, that's $330 I wish I'd kept in my pocket. The seller didn't clean the mic and case before he sent it. The grill had a small dent - been banged around a bit I'd say. Sticky stuff on the case and mic. The free cord had paint on it and some very old looking tape wrapped 'round it in one place. The "brilliance switch" looks broke. The plastic piece under the switch that covers the screw that holds it together was broken off. Gross.

Anyway - the sound: Not bad.. just nothing to crow about. Sounds good on the bridge of my acoustic with a 603 on the neck. Pretty nice sound by itself. Is it to die for? No. Is it a huge step up from the SM57 or 58? No, especially not for the money. I think the 58 sounded better on my voice. The 441 catches a kick drum pretty good. Seems to capture lows a little better than the 57 or 58. I was hoping it would be a little quieter than the 58. No. I have to crank the gain to 66 on the RNP to get a good sound level out of both. The hiss is about the same for either. I guess you need an amp with about 20db more gain than the RNP to get a quiet level out of a dynamic mic. Is the 441 really pretty close to a condenser mic as advertised? No. Does it look really cool in the studio? Yep! Looks like a dangerous weapon.

I used my little cash stash that I was saving for my Sytek for this thing. RATS. Oh well, I'm sure it'll get used some if it lasts over a week. I doubt I'll be buying any more used mics on ebay. I know, it's stupid to buy stuff without listening to it first. But I was kinda relying on reputation for this one. I may have gotten a dog, but I think this mic, or at least my version of it, is highly overrated. Should have gotten the new 421 instead, like I had almost decided to do.

Of course, this is just my unlearned and useless opinion. I'm sure many here have a different story. :D
 
that is the way the brilliance switch looks, it is a recessed jobbie, one you need some fingernails to get at.

sounds like you got a slightly abused one, perhaps not up to spec.

play around with it for a while, try it on a bunch of stuff all the way to mixdown and see if you still dont like it... then consider sending it to sennheiser to get fixed up. they are somewhat delicate mics.

the good news is that if you end up not liking the mic and it really is up to spec you can sell it for the same price you purchased it for, perhaps only losing $25 or so for shipping.

consider it money in the bank saving up for your sytek. this is the benefit of buying used. ... the disadvantage is the risk you assume by perhaps getting something that is gonna take $100 or so worth of work, just to get it to the point where it really is worth the $300. well then you got screwed. but only screwed out of $120. which isnt so bad.... meaning your return on buying the mic would be about 2/3rds what you paid. totally normal experience if you buy something new! so, worst case scenario you are about the same as buying new.

meaning: overall financial risk of buying used--- lower than buying new....
 
Don't get too comfortable there Terry. You know it's coming back soon. It's chronic.

Yeah, you're right Eel. I can always resell it. I don't think it's damaged in any way other than cosmetically. I may not have found its niche yet. Gonna keep on trying it on everything and experimenting for a while. I may come to love it yet. Maybe after I listen to some actual mixes something'll come to light. I'm just giving my first impressions and sometimes those are wrong. I just expected to be blown away by this mic.. and I wasn't. I just get the feeling that you need a very very good preamp to get the real sound out of the dynamic mics. And I'm not coughing 8000 bucks up for a pre with 150db of gain and an EIN of -375.

I think that's pretty wise, Middleman. And I would add "and listened to it." But sometimes you just feel like taking a chance, you know.
 
your ears may need some adjusting too.

it is going to be a totally different sounding mic from the ones that you already have. you are probably used to the nice lo-fi punch of the 57, or the brightness of the ntk or 603. your 441 will fall between there. i think when you start using it you will find a lot of uses. try it on guitar and bass cabs... snare... vocals... bass drum...

the reason that i fell in love with it when i first heard it is that it had a lot on top, but without the top end being brittle. it has detail without harshness. also the pattern is really tight on it, which is handy for those of us who record in marginal rooms. however, it does have a dose of that signature boxy dynamic mic quality. but just a nice little hint....
 
Steve,

I recently purchased a 441 from a Ebay seller in the US which while not visually perfect and definitely well used, certainly sounds nice. I put it up beside a 58 through our PA and it honestly made the 58 sound like a cheap mic, the 441 is much smoother and silky sounding. I then used it in front of a Marshall quad for some tracking............again a much better result than any of my 58's or 57's.

I have ordered a new clip assembly (the one that came with the mic has been repaired before and really isn't secure), which out here costs $130 Aust and also the rectangular plastic bezel that covers the screw which is only $10.

Give yourself a chance to get used to it, I doubt that you will want to resell it.

:cool:
 
Thanks. Didn't think about just getting the plastic screw cover. I did a very short test yesterday on my drum kit. Got a pretty nice sound with just one ECM8000 and the 441 on the kick through the RNP. Not bad at all. It also picks up the lows on my acoustic really well also. Sounds very good with the 603 as a pair. I'm sure it will be fine. I was just a bit anxious that the mic was not quite as described by the seller. I just think you need a killer preamp to really get the goody out of it. Is there really such a thing as a pre with enough gain to get one of these really burning without the hiss ( on the quieter sources like acoustic? ) I hate accumulated hiss.

Now I'm not really liking that 603 too much. Guess I'm going to have to get a good pair of SDCs now. Bummer. :D
 
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