sennheiser 421 applications (or "How do you use you

[jdier]

..again, posted elsewhere, but curious about opinions from this site...

I have a Sennheiser 421 that I have used with great results on Snare (alone and mixed together with a 57 <top/bottom> )

Next weekend I am doing some electric guitar... Any suggestions for getting good results? (twin reverb type amp.)

I tried using it for vocals and had some very poor results. I did not mess with it much, just experiementing, I may have been too far away (5")

Is this mic appropriate for lead vocals? How do you get good results?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jim

[Doublehelix]

Sounds great on my electric guitar, and obviously on drum toms...not a fan for using it on vox, but there are those that do. It is also commonly used as kick drum mic, but that it is not my first choice there.

I usually mic the guitar on-axis, and position it somewhere about half-way between the cone and the outer edge to start, then move it around to taste. A few years ago, I was always mic'ing off-axis, but my tastes have changed. Try lots of different positions, closer to the cone for more highs, and closer to the edge for more low end...play with the 5-way bass roll-off switch a bit too...I usually keep mine all the way to the "M" side. (It is a MD421 U5, not the MKII)

[Opus2000]

Here's a great application for the 421!!

Make a square box about 4 feet long...Put it in front of a kick drum, place an AKG D112 or an RE20 in the hole of the kick drum, now place the 421 at the end of the box....

It's a nice touch I tell you!

Also nice for trombones or horns of that nature.

I like using the EV mic for the toms on drums since you can clip them to the rims.

Sure makes some nice drum mics, forget the model number...used extensively on live shows more so than studio but do the job nicely as well.

Opus :D

[vinniesrs]

Quote:
I like using the EV mic for the toms on drums since you can clip them to the rims.

Opus, I too have use clip ons, usually senn 604. But that is only when doing something super fast and cheap, and with a tight drum setup at that!

The reason I avoid this, and opt for boom stands whenever possible, is to prevent vibrations from the kit from getting on tape. Most of these are inaudible, but some are not. Even still I just don't like the thought.
Does this concern you?
?
Also, as i understand it, subharmonics can trick the analysis of dc offset, and if you are correcting for this after mix, a cleaner sound may reduce innacurate corrections, and increase the headroom of your recording.(however small the increase may be.)