Sennheiser MD series / SP B1's or another option for crisp cymbals

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teainthesahara

teainthesahara

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I received a gift certificate worth $350 (CND) at the big music chain up here in Canada, (Long and Mcquades), and I need some help deciding how to best spend it.

My first objective is to get a dark or neutral mic. The tonal characteristics of my cymbals (vintage Zildjian’s) do not match very well with the MXL 603’s (the recorded sound is too sharp and bright) I’ve been using for overheads. To this end, I was considering something from the sennheiser MD series (a used 441 if I could find one - but this may still be out of my budget), or the more affordable 421. The new 421’s are supposed to be brighter – would this be bright like a 603, or just bright in comparison to the older models? That is, would a new 421 be a good choice where an mxl603 fails? Or how about the e609 silver series that is being discussed a few threads down? One reason I am considering these dynamic mics would be that they can apparently be used with good results on other parts of the kit and guitar cabs.

Secondly, I might consider buying one of the preamp/microphone ‘kits’ that the dealer currently has. For example, they have a B1, VTB1, mic cable, shockmount, and a storage bag for all that stuff going for $295 (CND). The B1 is supposed to be a neutral mic (so that may address my cymbal problem), and I think I would get some mileage off the VTB1 (currently, I mostly use coloured mic pre’s that suit the type of music I do, but I think my recordings would benefit from the option of a relatively uncoloured pre as well).

So how does this balance out? Should I aim for the more expensive sennheiser series, or will the less expensive kit option solve my cymbal problem?

Thanks,
T
 
If you are going for bang for the buck overheads - Id look into the Oktava MK012s as they are a bit darker than the 603s. I wouldnt use a 421 on cymbals but they are nice on cabs and toms.
 
If you can get Oktava, I'd recommend the MK319's even over the MC012's.

If you can't get Oktava, the B1 is a great budget OH choice.

The best SDC's - and I've heard them all - for OH's under $500/pair are the Oktava MC012's. Second to that - and more colored - are the Studio Projects C4's. The C4's are very good at taming harsh transients.

Most SDC's under about $800/pair are either going to sound harsh on OH's or just cheap. A cheap SDC that might work on acoustic guitar, can still sound like crap when used on OH's. Unless you get into some of the more expensive SDC's - we've found that large condensers - even budget ones - sound much better on OH's than budget small condensers.

Some more large condensers that work well on OH's are listed here.

Dan Richards
The Listening Sessions
The Project Studio Handbook
 
Thanks guys,
Im going to go A/B those mics next week; if the B1 sounds decent in comparison i will probably go for the kit deal. Thanks for the link on that thread Dot, it was informative. I agree with your comments on the inexpensive SD mics; i can get them to sound great on acoustic guitar, hand percussion and even snare drums, but even my "worst" mic (an apex 430 - a bright sounding $99 LDC) sound better on cymbals than that mxl603!

T
 
I didn't like the 603s as overheads either. The MC012s were much less harsh, IMHO. The MC012s are my favorite overhead mics right now, but I haven't used any high-end SDC mics.
 
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