SENNHEISER MD 441 U on female vox?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Somnium7
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Somnium7

Somnium7

Noise Criminal
I already learned Stevie Nicks supposedly used one but that's about all the info I could find on this mic. There's almost nothing as far as reviews go. None of the local gear stores carry it - no suprise there really :rolleyes:

So does anybody know first hand how well this works with female vocals?
 
Works excellent. Other prominent users include Elton John and Frank Zappa. It is a very hi-fi dynamic mic. Gives you pretty close to condenser performance without the peakiness and (sometimes) over sensitivity of a condenser - particularly the cheap condensers. Has multi-position roll off switch which can be helpful. The clip sucks, and the mic is a bit large, but other than that, it is an excellent mic. If you are thinking about performing with it, you might also check out the 431 which I understand has essentially the same element in a hand held format and is much cheaper -- a Prince favorite. There is also a black "Blackfire" stage model sometimes denoted as a model 541. I have a couple of those as well as a 431.
 
Excellent info pohaku! :)
She really is a honkin' big mic!
This sounds like it will be worth looking into for my uses. I'll also run some searches on the other models you mentioned.
I am about to pick up the MD421 (next week) which sounded really nice on my vocalist but maybe I'll wait now till I have done some more research on these.

I appreciate the extra info about the artists too - very interesting.
 
If all female vocals would sound alike, the MD441 would possibly be the best female vocal mic, but unfortunately................................................:eek:

It is a very nice mic though, I own two of them but to be honest, I almost never use them. Lately I had to record a soulband with four female vocalists, all at once, very loud drummer and I've used two Beyer M88's and the two MD441's. Not because they sound so very good, but because they are so rejective.

The tube LDC's stayed in the closet this time, including the Neumann M149.

Bottom line: the MD441 is a great mic, but not for everything.
 
Thank you Han. I'm curious what vocal range do you think these works best for? My vocalist is alto & second soprano but she can also be a little husky and breathy when she wants.

Also, how did the recordings come out? Were you happy with the result?
 
Han said:
If all female vocals would sound alike, the MD441 would possibly be the best female vocal mic, but unfortunately................................................:eek:

It is a very nice mic though, I own two of them but to be honest, I almost never use them. Lately I had to record a soulband with four female vocalists, all at once, very loud drummer and I've used two Beyer M88's and the two MD441's. Not because they sound so very good, but because they are so rejective.

The tube LDC's stayed in the closet this time, including the Neumann M149.

Bottom line: the MD441 is a great mic, but not for everything.
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True, like all mics, they sound good on some and not on others. I'd personally be more inclined to use them on altos and second sopranos than on sopranos. At bottom, it is a very high quality mic with more apparent and smoother top end than many dynamic mics, but without the peakiness and oversensitivity of some condensers. For example, personally, I'd choose it over an AT-4033 for vocals. It is a good option to have in your mic cabinet.
 
pohaku said:
True, like all mics, they sound good on some and not on others. I'd personally be more inclined to use them on altos and second sopranos than on sopranos. At bottom, it is a very high quality mic with more apparent and smoother top end than many dynamic mics, but without the peakiness and oversensitivity of some condensers. For example, personally, I'd choose it over an AT-4033 for vocals. It is a good option to have in your mic cabinet.
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More apparent and smoother top end? Now that does sound intriguing. I read that the Heil PR40 was supposed to be smooth too but the one I tested out sounded a little edgy to me. Although the sales dude at the store insisted on me testing it on some budget Yamaha mixer instead of a decent preamp. I may have to give it another listen sometime.

The MD421 was nice sounding but I felt it could have had some more on top. So what I'm hoping is to find something with the warm body of the 421 but a little crisper. I'm really curious to hear the 441/431 now. The 431 is a big difference in price to the 441 from what I've seen so far it's right around the price of the 421. Now that's attractive.

Kinda interesting that the Neumann BCM705 is based on this mic...
 
Somnium7 said:
Thank you Han. I'm curious what vocal range do you think these works best for? My vocalist is alto & second soprano but she can also be a little husky and breathy when she wants.

Also, how did the recordings come out? Were you happy with the result?
Click to expand...

[arrogant mode] I'm specialized is recording bands and orchestra's all at once in one room. [/arrogant mode] In order to do this with good/great results you have to know much about the mic's behavioure under these circumstances. This is where the off axis response become very important for example.

The MD441 is a nice mic, it is said that it sounds close to a condenser, but I would say it sounds closer to a bright ribbon. It has not so much output and it sounds very smooth.

So in case you have a soprano with a very bright voice, the MD441 will do a perfect job, better than many condensers. In case you have a dark sounding voice, the Beyer M88 is much brighter and so are most condenser mics. But dynamic mics have a kind of 'compression' that condensers don't have.

The recordings came out very good, all Motown classiscs and we went for the old Motown sound. We are very happy with it.
 
This is a little late in coming but.... THANK YOU! The 441 is just blowing me away so far!

I greatly appreciate all the useful knowledge passed on to me by the posters of this thread. It helped me very much in making an informed decision and a purchase I'll never regret. :)

Now lets see about giving y'all some well deserved rep... ;)
 
Well, thanks for the rep! I take it you went for the 441 instead of the 431. I'm glad you are enjoying the mic!
 
pohaku said:
Well, thanks for the rep! I take it you went for the 441 instead of the 431. I'm glad you are enjoying the mic!
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You're very welcome pohaku. I very nearly went for the 431 when I found one for sale locally. Then out of nowhere one of my cars decided to break down and there went the mic money :D

So when I could afford to buy another mic again I couldn't find any 431s anywhere but found a reasonable deal on a used 441 in mint condition so I nabbed it. I figured I better just do it before I take my car for inspection :D

I can't believe how happy I am with this :)
It's a lovely sounding thing. It is so much easier to use too because of it's response. Less hassle getting a good sound then with my other substandard mics.

Thanks again! And also to Han and Harvey Gerst who had been describing this mic in another thread.
 
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