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[JeffreyHague]

Hey all!
Back in thee 80s when I got in to this I bought 3 Sennheiser MD421s for toms and I loved them except for placement.
After getting easier mics for toms (I don't remember what at first but today I use e609s) I started using the 421s on kick, Leslie Lo, Trombone, etc and the 421 is still my favorite Kick mic.
Recently I bought a new small rig and went ahead and bought 1 of the new MD421 MK ii mics.
I do have access to 1 of the 421s I bought in the 80s - sold it to a friend a few years ago - and plan on doing a comparison myself when I get a chance but if you have used both the original and the new I would love to hear your thoughts on the differences.

Thanks all!

Jeff

[Chris Grimshaw]

I have both. The old MD421 is cream-coloured, with cursive writing on the front of the grille.
I picked up a couple of new ones when they were heavily discounted.

The old one is better in terms of sound - the new one has something weird going on in the 3-6kHz area - see the response curves attached.

Given the variable storage & use conditions of vintage mics, it's likely yours will measure different to mine. I've worked on (and measured) somewhere in the region of 30+ AKG D12s, and I don't think I ever saw two the same.

Chris

[Art Welter]

I do have access to 1 of the 421s I bought in the 80s - sold it to a friend a few years ago - and plan on doing a comparison myself when I get a chance but if you have used both the original and the new I would love to hear your thoughts on the differences.

Jeff,

I purchased a pair of new MD421 MKII in 1998. At the time, the sales brochures touted the new version as having less moving mass, better transient response due to thinner voice coil wire.

The first MD421 MKII failed within a week of the one year warranty period, and the second failed shortly after that, neither had been used on more than six gigs (only on brass and reeds, no loud drums) and were in completely immaculate condition.

Sennheiser wanted near the retail price to repair the MD421 MKII microphones at the time, so I scrapped them and never got a chance to compare them with early versions.

Art

[Tim McCulloch]

Jeff,

I purchased a pair of new MD421 MKII in 1998. At the time, the sales brochures touted the new version as having less moving mass, better transient response due to thinner voice coil wire.

The first MD421 MKII failed within a week of the one year warranty period, and the second failed shortly after that, neither had been used on brass and reeds on more than around six gigs, and  were in completely immaculate condition.

Sennheiser wanted near the retail price to repair the MD421 MKII microphones at the time, so I scrapped them and never got a chance to compare them with early versions.

Art

Our experience with the 421 MKII as well.  I think there is an old office desk out in the shop with a drawer full of them, unrepaired for the same reason.

[JeffreyHague]

I have both. The old MD421 is cream-coloured, with cursive writing on the front of the grille.
I picked up a couple of new ones when they were heavily discounted.

The old one is better in terms of sound - the new one has something weird going on in the 3-6kHz area - see the response curves attached.

Given the variable storage & use conditions of vintage mics, it's likely yours will measure different to mine. I've worked on (and measured) somewhere in the region of 30+ AKG D12s, and I don't think I ever saw two the same.

Chris

I don't know yet whether its better but definitely a bump above 1k and yeah, that spike at 3k5ish is scary!
Thanks!

[JeffreyHague]

Jeff,

I purchased a pair of new MD421 MKII in 1998. At the time, the sales brochures touted the new version as having less moving mass, better transient response due to thinner voice coil wire.

The first MD421 MKII failed within a week of the one year warranty period, and the second failed shortly after that, neither had been used on more than six gigs (only on brass and reeds, no loud drums) and were in completely immaculate condition.

Sennheiser wanted near the retail price to repair the MD421 MKII microphones at the time, so I scrapped them and never got a chance to compare them with early versions.

Art

Glad I only bought one!
Thanks!

[JeffreyHague]

Our experience with the 421 MKII as well.  I think there is an old office desk out in the shop with a drawer full of them, unrepaired for the same reason.

Thanks!

[Chris Grimshaw]

I don't know yet whether its better but definitely a bump above 1k and yeah, that spike at 3k5ish is scary!
Thanks!

I'd be more worried about the 4.2kHz peak and 5.8kHz dip on the modern mic. "Colourful" just about covers it. I generally prefer my mics to be reasonably transparent, but I'll find use for them somewhere.

... Or find a way of fixing them.

Chris

[Mike Monte]

Hey all!
Back in thee 80s when I got in to this I bought 3 Sennheiser MD421s for toms and I loved them except for placement.
After getting easier mics for toms (I don't remember what at first but today I use e609s) I started using the 421s on kick, Leslie Lo, Trombone, etc and the 421 is still my favorite Kick mic.
Recently I bought a new small rig and went ahead and bought 1 of the new MD421 MK ii mics.
I do have access to 1 of the 421s I bought in the 80s - sold it to a friend a few years ago - and plan on doing a comparison myself when I get a chance but if you have used both the original and the new I would love to hear your thoughts on the differences.

Thanks all!

Jeff

Back when I was dating my wife (circa 1990) she bought me a 421 as a birthday present...(a muso buddy of mine recommended it)....
I used it for years as a flute mic while gigging jazz.
It was excellent on flute as it seemed to draw-out the bottom eight notes/pitches of my range better than all of the mics I had used.

   

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