Would a Sennheiser MKH 805 be any good for recording?

spantini

spantini

COO of me, inc.
I've watched all of Johnny Carson's Tonight Shows and got curious about the mics used for his stage monologues, as well as his seated guests. They have great sound as far as what comes across on TVs at home, rejecting side and rear sound. I believe the MKH 805 was used in his early years, I didn't hunt down what was used later on.


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Johnny Carson Boom Microphone. This Sennheiser MKH805 shotgun | Lot #20024 | Heritage Auctions

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A shotgun mic is Ok for voiceover in the little bit I had one and did some test recordings, but I didn't find any good use for it with music recordings, honestly. At least not enough to justify having it sit around unused for years :)
 
The only concern with them is that they are more and more directional as frequency increases, so aiming impacts more on the HF end, leaving the low end just like a cardioid. Might be great for those guitars with screetchyness up the top, so you could angle the mic to reduce that leaving the mid to low area more 'normal'.
 
If you can try one, why not, but unless you need the features of a shotgun mic, and you're shopping, there are (IMO) better options to add to a "mic locker." I mean, it's basically an SDC with a design to isolate and filter "some stuff" from the sides, resulting in a narrow(er) cardioid pattern (at some frequencies, as @rob aylestone responded). To me, you need a use case that benefits from that.
 
This is just a mental exercise. I do not have or plan to acquire one of these. Just wondering how or if it could be used for recording. I like the sound I hear in TV shows and wondered how it would lend itself to acoustic guitars.
 
Well, I have quite a few shotguns, and the only one I'd probably consider for a guitar is one I've not yet put in a video - the AKG451 with the CK8 capsule - these are more like a 'reachy' hyper but are quite bright and might work, but I expect I'd just fall back on the usual candidates. That's the trouble, whatever you have in the mic box, you have go to ones for all sorts of sound sources, and as they work - you probably save time and stay with them!
 
On Reverb, one of these has a note : You need a 12 Volt T-power amp or a power adapter cable for using this mic with 48V Phantom power.

Looking at different sites' pics and info, I see additional gear used with this mic. One is mounted in the boom, under the mic, a small cylinder - what's that for?

cylinder (1).jpg

Then there's what I assume is the 12V power supply with XLR connections.

12V front.png

12V rear.png

So.. using the 12V supply, can that signal be fed into my interface? Is that cylinder thing some type of converter to 48V phantom? I guess you're supposed to use one or the other depending on your situation. There's also an adapter cable DIN-XLR.. looks like it's used to connect mic to the cylinder..? I dunno.. where does the DIN connection come in?

all no cyl.jpg
 
Transformer. Lots of the very old shotguns were the old 'low' impedance - around 10-25Ohms - 250-600, or current norm, was considered medium impedance back then. I smiled at the picture with the mic mount clipped to the wrong end! It clamps to the bit where there are no slots!
 
:LOL: I totally missed that the mic was mounted backwards!

So could I plug the mic into the transformer, then that into my interface? I mean.. will the transformer power it so I won't have to use the interfaces 48V phantom power?

OR... using the adapter cable mentioned, will that let me plug the mic into the interface AND use it's 48V phantom power in lieu of the 12V transformer?
 
No - the mic cannot use 48V phantom at all. You need the converter that supplies T-Power, which is totally different to phantom. The transformer just gets the output post the power supply, up to what we expect for out kit nowadays. It looks like you get the cables you need, and a dual channel power supply. If it was for sale here - I think that as it's in fairly used condition - I'd not consider more than £150 for it assuming it's in working order, so that's around $180-190 or so. Your money of course, not mine - but I'd pay that kind of price to add it to the collection, but watch out for crackles and a roughness in the sound. Some elderly mics have had hard, damp lives.
 
The prices I see on Reverb and such are all around $330-$350 (£250-265).

OK, so no 48V Phantom through the interface - that's a no-no :spank:

It appears as if it would go into an interface via it's XLR connector without using Phantom power, or using an XLR to balanced line-in adapter. The power requirements shown in the above link state this would normally connect to studios and other installations with master power supplies - the power ratings for those supplies are not given.

Also mentioned is the mic's built-in 20dB boost and 10 ohm impedence and that it should be connected to an amplifier or recorder exceeding 150 ohms (no interfaces in the 60's ..?). My interface's 2.2kΩ input impedence seems like it could handle that ok - just have to make sure it's a balanced connection (the MKH-804 requires unbalanced).
 
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Does anyone know why there's a DIN to XLR connection.. as in why the DIN..? This appears to be the only DIN connection, I think it goes to that cylinder I pointed out in the first image above. But why have a DIN in the middle of all the XLR connections?

din.jpg

Welllll... maybe I found the answer. There seems to be an alternate power supply which has additional OUTs labeled Tuchel Out which are cables exiting the box above the XLR connections. These have similar XLR connector housings on their external ends but the picture I found doesn't reveal the pins - though I think they may be DIN connectors. Have a look...

tuchel.jpg

supply tuchel.jpg
 
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