MD 421 Kompakt

I’ve tried a bunch of other things and have mostly settled on a SM57 as a “primary” mic and a MD421 as a “supporting” one, which is kind of funny since the 421 is several times the cost of a 57. But, they pick up almost everything you want, am very little you don’t, on a cab. Perfect mic for the job.

I’d reach for an RE20 or the MD421 over an SM7b any day of the week. 421 has a built in strip that acts as a pop filter too!

I have a black one. NEVER connected with its sound, and I’ve had one for 25 years. BUT the original beige ones are very nice.

421 with a good sounding drum and preamp I think sounds great on a tom, but those sound best an amp paired with a ribbon. Re20 sounds good on a kick, great on a floor tom, particular vocal, or bass cab. Sm7b through a dbx160 makes all the difference. SM58 as a talkback drum mic squashed can sound great. I’ve made a lot of records and those mics are work horses for a reason.

* TLM1xx would be on my list too - I think they sound "cheap in an expensive way", if that makes sense. * The SM57/58, largely because it *cannot* be as versatile as people ascribe. I still have people regularly tell me "you can track a whole album with it!" when you could do that with any mic. And there are other dynamics I like more, just as durable and sometimes even cheaper (though usually not, I'd always take an m201 over a 57 for instance). * On that same sacrilegious note, I don't like the U87 much, either (Ai or original flavor). I'm not going to say it is a *bad* mic, and I've owned three over time, but there's a reason I don't own one anymore. Like the 103 (which I actively despise rather then merely dislike), there is something about them that sounds like a stripper driving a Bentley to me (weird analogy, but I think it gets the point across). * RE-20 is too big and can be hard to get to sound right. Don't love or hate it, and I do have one, but people are way too attached to it. * Same goes for SM7, with the caveat that it *only applies for VO*. For music the SM7 can be great, I'd usually grab one over a 58 or RE20, but it is a tricky bugger for VO. * Neumann pencil mics (KM8x/18x) are just not that great compared to a lot of modern versions. It isn't a tech with "vintage prestige", the manufacturing has improved, so the KM184 in particular just comes off as overpriced, even compared to the *actual* industry standard SDC's these days in Schoeps, DPA, and Earthworks (and so on). I prefer either pure or colored SDC's, and the Neumann doesn't do either. * I have never understood the appeal of the MD421. One of the few mics I refuse to own/stock because of its idiotic mounting clip, and I just think other similar mics are better at doing what it says it does. * Pretty much every "unobtainium" mic is overrated, to me - yes, a great U47 or 251 is a really cool thing and piece of history, but you can get similar results with other mics. But I'm something of a "vintage-is-better" iconoclast... I'm sure there are more, and I know it sounds like I'm picking on Sennheiser/Neumann, but really every "hyped" mic has been a disappointment to me and those happen to be the ones people strive for so are more prone to being overrated.

Is it, though? It is fine. I've used one a few times. I personally don't think it is more "amazing" than the similar PR-30 or Beyer m88, which both are far more convenient to work with and robust. 65 years ago when it was introduced there weren't too many large-diaphragm dynamics available, and it has stuck around as a "classic", but that doesn't mean that the weird design decisions made in 1960 shouldn't have been improved. That mic clip is just a bad piece of design, and it is hardly a unique sounding mic! I feel much the same way about the Coles ribbons, specifically about the 4038. Great sounding - and in that case, more unique - but the weird hoops you have to jump through just make it not worth the effort. But I'd use a 4038 before a MD421, since I don't even really like the way the 421 sounds! FWIW, on guitar cabs, my go-to mics are PR-30, m201, m160, KSM313, and OC818, sometimes a Schoeps for clean tones.

Personally, I can't stand using 421's on toms - that's how I was taught, too! Once I started using other options - specifically LDC's, though my go-to setup right now is Earthworks SDC's on goosenecks, though I really want to try the newer Lautens - I never looked back. Don't get me started on how awful that 421 bleed sounds on toms... But also, to be honest, I generally avoid dynamic mics (other than ribbons) these days, on most things. Aesthetic choice, I suppose. I have a good-sounding room, and I find better results on most things with less colored mics (ie, condensers) - especially when bleed comes into play, which it often does for me doing live-in-room stuff.