Senheiser MD421 v Cascade fathead II

  • Thread starter Thread starter billabob
  • Start date Start date

Cascade Fathead II or Senheiser MD421

  • Cascade Fathead II

    Votes: 2 33.3%

  • Senheiser MD421

    Votes: 3 50.0%

  • Niether

    Votes: 1 16.7%
  • Total voters
    6
B

billabob

New member
Ok so heres the situation. As some of you may have been reading another thread i posted about getting a new mic for my guitar cab. And we have narrowed down two possible options for me, Please post which mic you would get and why.

The options are Senheiser MD421 and Cascade Fathead II.

Please keep in mind, it will be used to mic a Orange 4x12 cab with dual terror head. It will be used with an M-Audio fast track ultra and it will be run via usb into my pc with cubase le4.
 
Cascade should be flattered that you even mention them in the same breath as "Sennheiser"

You are comparing a cardioid to a figure 8 though.
What's your preference?
 
I have both and i use the 421 much more than the fathead. My normal guitar cab setup is a 57 and a 421. I've used the fathead for guitar with decent results, but the 421 is the usual answer.

The 421 is also great for bass cabs and kick drums (especially with another mic outside the kick)
 
sennheiser, get a fathead when you get bored and have extra $
 
I've already given you my detailed opinion on these mics. ;)

I don't think this poll will really give you the "right" answer...it will just tell how many people on this forum happen to have/like one over the other. :)

I know some people might shy away from a Chinese mic, though I will point out that Cascade does its own Q&A in Wash. State when they get them from China. The stereo pair of Fat Head II mics that I got are *Top Notch* build quality....I've found nothing sub-standard with them.

I'll just add that if you don't really like a 57...I'm not sure how much more you will like the 421. It's not exactly the same, but it's in the same tonal ballpark...look at their two frequency response curves.
The Fat Head is in totally different tonal territory.
I never cared for a 57 on guitar cabs...I was always trying to remove the nasty bite and fill out the low end. With the Fat Head, I don't do that...and if anything, I may roll off the lows to taste, that's it.

IMHO:
57/421 - more mids and more upper-end bite
Fat Head - fuller-low end with a much creamier upper-end.

Now you pick 'em...it's about the sound you are after.
 
Jim Lad said:
Cascade should be flattered that you even mention them in the same breath as "Sennheiser"
Click to expand...

I don't know what relevance this has to the poll...???
I put away my Sennheiser MD441U (which costs 3 times as much as a Fat Head)...in favor of the Fat Head on guitar cabs.

You are comparing a cardioid to a figure 8 though.
Click to expand...

That's one of the things I like about the F.H. and the figure 8 ribbon. The F.H. uses a symmetrical ribbon design, so the front and back sides of the mic have a balanced signal, unlike some ribbons that sound totally different front to back. What's really cool about using a figure 8 mic with guitar cabs...is that you can turn it sideways and place it in-between two speakers of a 212 or 412 cab and about 6”-8” out. Then each side of the figure 8 picks up one speaker, which is especially great if you use two different types of speakers in your cab.
That eliminates the need for using two mics and combining signals or tracks. Not to mention, with a figure of 8 and another cardioid mic, you can set up for some super Mid/Side stereo recordings.
 
If it was me and with what I know now I would choose the Senn. for it's multi uses.
 
yer im deffinatly leaning towards the Md421 atm mate. Just seems alot more practical at time being,.
xxx
 
I've never used the 421, though I plan on buying a bunch for tom mics in the (far) future.

I have a Fat Head II, and I LOVE it. Best guitar mic I've ever worked it. Often I just put it a meter or two in front of the amp, or I put it farther back and have a Sennheiser e609 a couple of inches away and mix to taste. Boy I've got some sweet guitar sounds with that.
 
yer but then youve got all the phasing to deal with, id rather stick to single micing for now.
xxx
 
That's why I was pointing out that one is a cardioid and the other, a figure eight.
Knowing what your looking for from the microphone is very important.

Cascade has done a great marketing job but in all honesty, I seriously doubt that you would hear a difference between it and a Nady RSM 5 which sells for $80.
 
Maybe...but when I see all the Cascade/Fat Head endorsements and reviews by well known industry people and the awards...I think that would have come out at some point if it was true that it was the same as an $80 Nady.
You are only speculating because of the "China" thing...as though everything made in Chine comes from only one source using exactly the same components. :rolleyes:

Besides that...I wouldn't buy Nady on principal...they've had some questionable business practices.
 
Besides that...I wouldn't buy Nady on principal...they've had some questionable business practices.
Click to expand...
I don't know anything about that.
I own 2 X Nady RSM 2. Superb Microphones. Need a lot of gain.
1 X Nady RSM 8A. Not so keen on that one. A bit harsh but phantom powered.
1 X Nady RSM 5. Love it. Surprisingly good quality for the price. Not as good as the RSM 2 but requires less gain. "From my cold, dead hands". :)
Had the Nady RSM 4 which I had no real use for and passed it on to a bass player.
Also have the Golden Age R1 MK II. Phantom Powered and my best mic by far. Same Chinese microphone but has been tweaked and you can tell.
So I do know the difference and can appreciate the changes made to the Golden Age.
But what I'm really interested in is "What is Billabob looking for?".

One more thing about Cascade though. I tried to buy one of their microphones but they didn't accept Paypal International.
Told me over the phone that there was too much chance of getting ripped off!!
Questionable business practices?
Cascade.
Not my kinda people!
 
Jim Lad said:
But what I'm really interested in is "What is Billabob looking for?".
Click to expand...


Yeah...that's what I asked in his other thread.
There's more to it than just "Which mic should I get?"... :)

One more thing about Cascade though. I tried to buy one of their microphones but they didn't accept Paypal International.
Told me over the phone that there was too much chance of getting ripped off!!
Questionable business practices?
Cascade.
Not my kinda people!
Click to expand...

That's not "questionable business practice"...that's just their sales policy. There are a LOT of good music Co’s that will not ship international.

And...I've had totally the opposite experience (and again, check the other reviews/comments on their website). Very friendly helpful and willing to talk on the phone for more than 30 seconds.

AFA Nady...they've sued and screwed some their competition and industry colleagues. Do some Googling...you may reconsider your view.
Just like Behringer has been ripping off designs from others by reverse engineering them...and then putting out similar stuff with their name on it.
Just like Monster has done everything it could to monopolize the cable business by suing competition over everything and anything to push them out of the way….then charging idiotic prices for their cable with all kinds of superior quality claims.

But hey…I’m sure we all have pros/cons we can share about most any company...and I don't want to imply that they are all "the scum of the earth" or anything like that...just that there's been negative buzz that I've come across on other forums and the Internet, though who knows anymore what is fact and what is fiction...?
If you like the Nady products...then enjoy.
 
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I will beleive me. Ie made my choice and will be buying the mic with my next pay check. The MD421 will be mine very soon :)
xxxx
 
I have the impression your mic collection is rather limited. That being the case, I would think the MD421 would be much more versatile for you. I love my fathead, but it only gets used on guitar cabs for me. You just can't go wrong with the 421 for a number of things.
 
motorfin said:
I have the impression your mic collection is rather limited. That being the case, I would think the MD421 would be much more versatile for you. I love my fathead, but it only gets used on guitar cabs for me. You just can't go wrong with the 421 for a number of things.
Click to expand...



Next time you get a chance use your fat heads as drum over heads. You might like that!



:cool:
 
I've thought of that. I only have one at the moment, but have entertained the idea of a second one to try as overheads. I bought the one specifically for guitar cabs but I see a number of folks are getting good results with them as overheads.
 
I bought the Fat Head pair w/stereo bar which makes it easy to do a Blumlein configuration with them (the stereo bar works with other mics too).

I've not used them as drum overheads yet because I have a real nice pair of GT 52 FET mics that work very well, but I
m sure the Fat Heads would do a great job of smoothing out any cymbal harshness while really beefing up the low end of the drums.
I'll have to give them a try next time I track drums.
 
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