What kind of microphone is this?

[oldskooldave]

Its featured in the music video for party all the time, the original eddie murphy version, and I also saw george harrison singing into it live

I assume its a dynamic mic, its an unusual looking thing and the sound quality from it is immense from what ive heard, id like to get one of these for live performances

heres the video of eddie murphy singing into it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuODQrjzMGw

and george harrison

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7qpfGVUd8c

 

[mjbphotos]

Looks like a Sennheiser.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Sennheiser MD421.

It's a very nice dynamic with a full warm sound. I use a couple different versions for all sorts of sources, drums, guitar amps, vocals.

 

[oldskooldave]

.

Apparently its a Sennheiser MD 421HL and its like £200.00 but can be used in the studio and on stage, sounds good

 

[moresound]

Oh yeah! It's a great microphone for the stage and studio ...micing toms and guitar amps, just about any place that you would want to use a dynamic microphone but with a 5 position roll off switch!

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Apparently its a Sennheiser MD 421HL and its like £200.00 but can be used in the studio and on stage, sounds good

I think the HL and HN were the older beige models, probably with Tuchel connectors instead of XLR. The ones in the videos look more like MkII versions to me. If so they'd have the 5 position switch.

One studio I work in has a vintage beige one and the other studio has a pair of MkIIs. I like them both, but since I haven't done a direct comparison I couldn't tell you precisely what the sonic difference is.

 

[Guitarshot]

I dont like 421's you can get such better sounding mics for vocals for around the same price. i do occasionally use on toms though.

 

[dintymoore]

Just like the SM57 is the classic snare mic, the 421 is the classic tom mic. It's a great mic, and you see them on sax a lot too... and vocals and kick and just about anywhere really.

To me it's got a sort of hard edge to it. I use a Sennheiser 441 for gigs and I prefer it for a stage vocal mic. It has the 5 position switch too plus the high end is a little more extended because there's also a treble boost switch.

The 421 is probably the most intelligible mic I know of, meaning that you can really hear what people are saying through it. It's very, very clear and they used to run ads in the 70's with a picture of starter pistol and they said that you could fire a gun by a 421 and it wouldn't distort.

We always called the 421 the black whale because it looks like a sperm whale and the 441 the shaver; it looks like an electric shaver.

 

[dintymoore]

Just like the SM57 is the classic snare mic, the 421 is the classic tom mic. It's a great mic, and you see them on sax a lot too... and vocals and kick and just about anywhere really.

To me it's got a sort of hard edge to it. I use a Sennheiser 441 for gigs and I prefer it for a stage vocal mic. It has the 5 position switch too plus the high end is a little more extended because there's also a treble boost switch.

The 421 is probably the most intelligible mic I know of, meaning that you can really hear what people saying through it. It's very, very clear (maybe too clear) and they used to run ads in the 70's with a picture of starter pistol and they said that you could fire a gun by a 421 and it wouldn't distort.

We always called the 421 the black whale because it looks like a sperm whale and the 441 the shaver; it looks like an electric shaver.

 

[dintymoore]

A mic in a video may be what they used for the recording or it may be just a prop. Unless it's a video of the actual recording, the video shoot is most often another day and may be in another studio and they'll just choose a mic that looks cool for the filming.

 

[John Willett]

It's a Sennheiser MD 421U Mk.I version in black. If it's the USA it's probably the MD 421U-5.

 

[JIMBOdrummer]

i like this mic on toms. but i don't like it on vox. i dont really like dynamic mics on vox (at least in studio, cuz i do love a 58 live)

i've also heard that the 421 is to bass cabs what the 57 is to guitar cabs cuz of its ability to pick up full bodied, deep sounds

 

[moresound]

It has the 5 position switch too plus the high end is a little more extended because there's also a treble boost switch.

dinty where is the treble boost switch located?

 

[moresound]

Never mind you where talking about the 441 and I was thinking 421.
I thought for a moment there was a hidden switch.

 

[dintymoore]

The switch is almost hidden on the 441.

421 at 0.47:


441's:

I like the drum sound they got on that one.

 

[John Willett]

It has the 5 position switch too plus the high end is a little more extended because there's also a treble boost switch.

dinty where is the treble boost switch located?

Sorry - he's wrong - the MD 421 does *not* have a treble boost switch.

The treble boost switch is only on the MD 441.

 

[moresound]

Hello john ...Yes dinty was talking about the treble boost on the 441.
It was my mistake that thought he was talking about the 421 when he made the treble boost remark.

Now in England the same microphones are under different model numbers?

 

[Richard Monroe]

OK MD421-First, it's not a handheld mic, and as we all (just about) know, the mounting system/clip sucks, and why they have refused to change it over the years beats me. Sonically, it shares this with mics like SM57- it will rarely suck totally on anything. It may not be a great mic, or the right mic, but if you don't know what to put up, it'll probably work. I've never used it on kick or bass cabs. It was a go-to vocal mic for a lot of West Coast bands in the 70's- The Dead, etc. IMHO, it rocks on guitar cabs. It's good on most mid-frequency percussion-Djembe, Doumbek, Zarb, toms. It likes middle sized drums, some vocalists, and brass/sax. I use it on cabs a lot, often with a condenser. It's a go-to mic on live sax, trumpet, Cornet, French Horn, trombone. First, everybody jury-rigs the mic mount, and then they still use it, because it is a tough piece of rock and roll gear that has withstood the test of time. One of the foundations of a basic live/studio cabinet-everybody should own one or two.-Richie

 

[dintymoore]

OK MD421-First, it's not a handheld mic, and as we all (just about) know, the mounting system/clip sucks, and why they have refused to change it over the years beats me...

I believe Sennheiser makes a black plastic mic "slide in"clip for the 421, like what an SM58 or 57 uses, but it fits the 421. They make a nice black plastic one for the 441 too and I found that out after buying several of the clear plastic clips that everyone kept breaking because they didn't realize it had a lock position.

I worked for years with a singer who used a 421 and he always held it in his hand, lots of singers have done that... feels like an anchor a bit but it works fine that way.

 

[John Willett]

I believe Sennheiser makes a black plastic mic "slide in"clip for the 421, like what an SM58 or 57 uses, but it fits the 421. They make a nice black plastic one for the 441 too and I found that out after buying several of the clear plastic clips that everyone kept breaking because they didn't realize it had a lock position.

I worked for years with a singer who used a 421 and he always held it in his hand, lots of singers have done that... feels like an anchor a bit but it works fine that way.

The original slide-in clip for the 421 was metal and worked perfectly - I have never had any complaints about by clip. It holds it securely at any angle safely.

But I have had the mic. for about 40 years, though.