Let's Talk Hypercardioid Dynamics

[percussion boy]

How does the 441 compare to a 421? As strange as it sounds, I have never been able to make love to an MD421. To me, it's just not a musical sound. There is something about the upper mids and top-end that just feels too aggressive in frequencies that are not attractive, maybe around maybe 8-9k and again around 12-14k. I don't know.

The 441 doesn't sound like the 421. The similarity in numbering is weird and meaningless.

In my universe the 441 just goes under snare drums, and it sounds very good in that application--not bright like a condenser's bright, but with more/nicer upper-mid than 57s or 421s have, This is a pretty typical application for a 441; they were once also used as stage vocal mics for some big-budget alto-ish singers, like Elton John and Stevie Nicks.

Hope this helps.

[Brett Siler]

also, the hyper cardioid audix OM2 makes a surprisingly nice amp mic.

I'm glad you mentioned this mic. It is a really great mic and the off axis rejection is pretty amazing. I have used it for a jazz fusion record on guitar and it sounded really good. That ended up being the mic I used for guitar on the record it was that good. It does the dynamic smashed on the grill waaaay better than a 57. I almost start a thread dedicated to the Audix OM series because I think they are real sleeper mics, but I wanted to buy a few more off eBay first before they caught on . They sound great on really aggressive vocals too, like death metal, punk, hardcore. I used the OM2 for some live sessions with everyone playing really lound in the same room and it did great at isolating the vocals.

An alternative the the Beyer 201 is the Revox 3500. It sounds excellent on snare and has great off axis rejection. I just got it but so I really like it! There is some good info on the mic on this site.

[drumsound]

Another vote for the M88 for all the reasons stated above, also because it's a great sounding mic on lots of voices. I will also sometimes substitute a 421.

The M88 is also great on guitar and bass amps. toms, snare, kick, and lots of other things you might want to point it at.

I've yet to hear something that I thought sounded bad with an M88. It truly is my favorite mic made.

I love to use a hyper scratch vocal mic in the room with the drums in the null. I can actually listen to the vocal while we track and not have it full of drum hash, and sometimes even use the scratch. Usually it's an M88 in this position, but I've had decent luck with a 421 as well.

Any other mics that work well in this application??
I'm using a Beyer M500, and it's working OK.
But I want to do a shootout with a bunch of candidates, and would love some other suggestions....

Honestly, those 2 are the ones I've tried and had success with during tracking sessions. I sol my 414, and my MC012s are usually on OH, so I don't have the option most of the time.