I have a e 609 and they work great for both.
also I use it for Acoustic guitars. very good mic.. and inexpensive...It would be agood addition...

I too love my e609 on guitar cabs. I have yet to try it on acoustic, but plan on giving it a whirl to see how it'd sound on a snare ...

Jbrax, where did you place it on an acoustic and what sound did you get?

about 10 ins directly infront of the hole used lots of gain

I liked how it turned out except for the fact the Guitar had a set of 12's on it and I think it would have sounded better with a smaller gauge set of strings on it..

The sound was very warm and not real bitey.

I did a side by side comparison of the senn e609 on a guit cab right next to the sm57. The sennheiser just didn't sound as warm and was lacking in the mids.

I have both Audix i5 and Sennheiser e609.

I like both dynamic mics but the e609 is very specific to micing guitar cabinets and it's kinda low headroom that a nice preamp with high gain is needed.

Audix i5 is a very versatile mic just like the SM57. I tend to prefer it over the SM57. Good for micing guitar cabs, drums (snare, toms), percussion and even vocals.

good luck with your choice.

I own SM57, SM57 UnidyneIII, Audix i5, and used to own MD409, which is the elderly parent of the 609. I have listened to the 609 in a limited trial and wasnt impressed. It didnt exhibit the warmth of its parental lineage.

The i5, on the other hand, is a very versatile mic capable of quality reproductions of many sources, and like the 57 is virtually indestructable.

It is currently my go-to snare mic. For guitar cabinets, I am putting up the KEL HM-1 condenser. It is a slightly dark, clear, and accurate mic that can stand a good amount of db's and not break up. Theres a particular 'bloom' about this mic that seems to enhance guitar sounds.

Its around the same price as the others and has a trial with moneyback guarantee. Which you should not need to exercise.

For certain guitar sounds and snares that are a bit 'toppy' I still use the old UnidyneIII. Its a friend I've trusted for 25 years and I dont see putting it away anytime soon.

Thank you all for your good respondes!...I think im going to go with the Audix i5... :wink:

The E906 is a far superior mic to the e609 for just about any application. For the extra 100 bucks its absolutely worth it

The i5 is great on snare (like DD said), and it works great as OH on kits in a live situation, much better in many situations where you'd normally use a 57 (including amp cabs).
I too, was not impressed with the Sennheiser 609. Just too one-dimensional. I like mics that do well in more than 1 or 2 scenarios.
The only Sennheiser that I thought did this is the 421 ( and the 441).

ya i also have a 609 and its good for micing guitar cabinets. i think its all its all its really good for. i have yet to try it on and kind of drum application. :/

The Audix i5 is a great mic and stands up to even the MD421 IMHO. I was immediately impressed when I mic'd up snares and even toms with this thing ...the quality/cost ratio is far in it's favor, a fantastic value.

How funny!!

About a yr ago, I was buying a couple of SM57's and the guy said to me "man have u tried the Audix i5". Usually that means the guys hustling u for a low grade mic upsale.... yadi yadi yadi But "the guy" was right about the mic and in the past yr, the last 2 shows I played the sound guy switched the typical SM57 w/ the i5. I like to use it in tandem on my guitar cab w/ the SM57 on one speaker and the i5 on another. Lets say u tried doubling 2 SM57's, U would think that would be a wise choice. However, that only induces phase hell within the image of the track. But I find that combining the i5 w/ my beloved SM57 to create a nice low mid track to help support the sound. But if I had to choose between the SM57 and i5 then you shurely would know my answer. I like the senn e 609 too but i5 would be my choice between those...
:P

for snare...AUDIX or 57...for guitar cabinet, 57...all the way, or with a 421 or a good condenser mic... 8)