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[James A. Griffin]

the 609s were kicking my butt. One gig, with glass wall behind the guitar amp and drums, the floor tom was peaking the guitar cab mic. I also on occasion would get low-mid feedback from the 609 on guitar cab. I switched to the i5 and haven't had that problem again. The e609 is supposed to be cardiod, and the i5 is also cardiod, so they should be the same, but mine were not. I need to put my 609s up on ebay, I'll never use them again.

I had pretty much same thoughts on 609.   It also felt like the sound generally lacked definition.  It took more EQ than expected to get a decent sound.

Some say 906 is better.   Anyone have direct experience?  How much better?

[David Parker]

I had pretty much same thoughts on 609.   It also felt like the sound generally lacked definition.  It took more EQ than expected to get a decent sound.

Some say 906 is better.   Anyone have direct experience?  How much better?

it the guitar player has his stuff together, it's not an issue. All guitar players do not have their stuff together.

[Geoff Doane]

Wondering now if the off-axis rejection is different between the 609 and 906.

Sennheiser cals the e609 a "super-cardioid" mic.  Put on some headphones, and PFL one while holding it.  Whistle while you spin the mic and it's pretty easy to hear that the nulls are not at 180º from the front.  The polar plot on the spec sheet bears this out:

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/media/productDownloads/productSheets/e609Silver_ProductSheet.pdf

The e906's polar plot is a bit different:

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/media/productDownloads/productSheets/e906_ProductSheet.pdf

Most notably, while the 609 actually becomes cardioid at 4 kHz, the 906 maintains the super-card pattern through the whole frequency range (or at least there is always a rear lobe).

I use them both.  906s are in the "A" kit, and 609s in the "B", although I can't say there's huge difference between them.  There is far more variation in the guitars/amps/players than there is between the two models of microphone.

They also do a decent job on sax and trumpet.  Some day I should try them on toms, although I'm pretty happy with the e604s.

GTD

[Jay Barracato]

I like the 906 a lot better tonally, but I am usually looking for a smoother jazz/ blues tone. The low profile has the advantage of not getting bumped around as much as a longer mic. All that careful placing goes out the window the first time the stand gets bumped. I have never had a significant problem with bleed.

[Rick Earl]

Are there mics specific for guitar amps? And if so, what?

My two go to out of the box are the Heil PR-30 and the Cascade Fathead Ribbon.   Ribbon can be problematic on small stages with high stage volume from other instruments as it may be hard to keep sound off the backside, BUT sounds great if you can keep it clean.   Heil is just big, warm and natural, it replaces my old favorite of an RE-20 which was a bit unwieldy on some rigs. 

I have not pulled my Sennheiser 906 out of the box in a couple of years now.

[Bob Leonard]

+1.   No matter what the instrument (or voice) it all begins with the musician.    We can only do so much.   A Heil PR30 or Royer 121 is not gonna save a crappy player who doesn't know how to set up his amp.     An SM57 is not gonna slow down a great one.

After almost 50 years of searching for tone I'll guarantee you that will always be the case. 

[David Parker]

Sennheiser cals the e609 a "super-cardioid" mic.  Put on some headphones, and PFL one while holding it.  Whistle while you spin the mic and it's pretty easy to hear that the nulls are not at 180º from the front.  The polar plot on the spec sheet bears this out:

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/media/productDownloads/productSheets/e609Silver_ProductSheet.pdf

The e906's polar plot is a bit different:

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/media/productDownloads/productSheets/e906_ProductSheet.pdf

Most notably, while the 609 actually becomes cardioid at 4 kHz, the 906 maintains the super-card pattern through the whole frequency range (or at least there is always a rear lobe).

I use them both.  906s are in the "A" kit, and 609s in the "B", although I can't say there's huge difference between them.  There is far more variation in the guitars/amps/players than there is between the two models of microphone.

They also do a decent job on sax and trumpet.  Some day I should try them on toms, although I'm pretty happy with the e604s.

GTD

when I first got my 609 years ago, I tried it on a variety of things, since it was advertised as versatile. I found rather quickly that it was much more prone to feedback on a live stage than a 57. It did not work well at all micing an acoustic guitar live.

[John Chiara]

I would check the EV offerings. I am now again using 2 EV ND38's and my new studio partner is blown away by the completely neutral and accurate reproduction. I used to use these and recently found them after a move.  They have a 16 position EQ switch that lets the mic sound completely different when needed. It was designed as a broadcast mic to be adjustable for different voices.

[Nick Enright]

They also do a decent job on sax and trumpet.  Some day I should try them on toms, although I'm pretty happy with the e604s.

GTD

I did, at a rehersal the other day... very nice tone, not too hard to eq. though I think they have less of a "percussive" sound than the 604's. I wouldn't put them on rock drums, but I would on jazz.

[Tomm Williams]

I would check the EV offerings. I am now again using 2 EV ND38's and my new studio partner is blown away by the completely neutral and accurate reproduction. I used to use these and recently found them after a move.  They have a 16 position EQ switch that lets the mic sound completely different when needed. It was designed as a broadcast mic to be adjustable for different voices.

Is this an older mic? I cannot find any info about it. Not listed in their catalog.