My 421 doesn't sound like a 421

[Dubmaniac]

I just got my first ever Sennheiser 421-U-5 yesterday for next to nothing. Good thing it was so cheap, because it sounds awful. It has zero bass or proximity effect, and what I did hear was harsh and midrangey. I know what you're going to say- "try the EQ switch!". I did. It makes no difference. Just to be sure it wasn't my signal path, I also plugged in an SM58 into the same channel, and it sounded just like it should, with the typical 58 sound. Has anyone else had a 421 that sounded like this? I've never owned one before, but I have used them before and they sounded much fuller. Any thoughts as to what might be wrong?

[kslight]

I know what you're going to say- "try the EQ switch!". I did. It makes no difference.

If using the EQ switch makes no difference then my first line of thinking is that the EQ switch is broken, and bypassing it or repairing it would likely resolve the problem.

[Scodiddly]

It's probably busted. You might get lucky and find something easy, though.

[vxboogie]

Maybe a little OT, but I have 3 421s that I was planning on selling soon since I rarely track drums anymore and have plenty of other mic options. I hate to have stuff sit unused. 2 are near perfect shape, but have my old churches name scribed on the bottom & one is beat up a bit, but still works great. $225ea & $200 respectively. Less if someone buys all 3.

[Dubmaniac]

Scodiddly- after doing some more online reading, I'm starting to think you're right. It probably is broken. Over and over again, I'm seeing stories of 421s that were dropped or otherwise damaged and the voice coil is dragging. The resulting sound has zero bass, althought the mic still works for mids and highs. The good news is that, like I said, I paid almost nothing for it and also got a vintage Atlas mic stand, some vintage vinyl, three ancient 7" reels of tape, and, paraphrasing Beck, two turntables and another microphone- an EV model 605! It doesn't sound great either, but it's definitely older than I am, and from what I've read about it, people usually use it as a harmonica mic. Sure looks cool, though. Anyway, has anyone ever dealt with Sennheiser for microphone repair? I've read stories online ranging from "they fixed it for almost nothing" to "I would have been better off just buying a new one". If I can get this 421 fixed cheaply, I'll do it. Since this fell into my lap, and I have lots of other good microphones, I don't want to invest too much into it.

[Neal]

The one time I dealt with Sennheiser for mic repair, I told them I wanted to know what the cost would be before they fixed it. I didn't hear anything from them for 2 weeks. I emailed them to see what was up and they sent me back a bill for $200 and said it was done. When the mic came back, it was still fucked up. I'd try to find someone else to do the repair. Maybe vintage king?

[digitaldrummer]

make sure that EV mic is wired correctly for Lo-Z. if its set for Hi-Z it will sound like crap. I have an EV664 that I got really cheap and it had no low end at all. wired it correctly and it is actually pretty good now.

Mike

[Dubmaniac]

Neal- thanks for letting me know. I think I'll check out Vintage King to get it repaired, as well as a few local places.

Digitaldrummer- now that you mention it, the mic itself says "hi-z" right on its body. Duh! And it only has a two conductor screw-on connector, so I'm guessing that it willl never be capable of running low-z. Ever. The cable it came with terminates in XLR, but obviously only two conductors on it are live. That cable is also at least 20ft. long, maybe more like 30ft. and that can't be good for a hi-z signal. I may just cut the cable in half and put a 1/4" end on it, since it's no good to me as it is.

[vvv]

I'm no expert, but it might be that someone modded that connector on there?

I'm thinking 421's are all low Z?

See here.

"MD421-U
The MD 421-U is provided with a 3-pin Cannon plug (XLR). It is, as the other two models, a low-impedance microphone which is symmetrically wired. A roll-off filter is provided. Two versions of the MD 421-U are available: MD 421-U-4 with adapter for 3/8-inch threads and MD 421-U-5 with adapter for 5/8-inch x 27G threads. The MD 421 N and the MD 421-2 are available in light grey heavy-duty finish. The models MD 421-U-4 and MD 421-U-5 feature a mat-black housing."

[floid]

think he's referring to the 605, prolly the same lil funky connector what came on the 627 i just got.

[Dubmaniac]

Floid- you're right. Sorry. I forgot to say that I was talking about the EV being hi-z, not the 421. And the name for that funky screw-on connector is amphenol.

[vvv]

My bad - speed reading on the web, anticipating the sun o'er the yardarm - I missed that.

[honkyjonk]

You know, I have a 421 that responds really differently to different preamps. More so than any other dynamic, I've noticed, and yeah, in the manner you're describing. Like, I used have a 7th circle (Neve 1272 style preamp) that for some reason at the highest two gain settings it made the 421 sound midrangy/telephony. Switching preamps, it sounded like a different mic. Weird phenomenon.

[floid]

don't know much about 421 guts, but that almost sounds like a filter circuit interacting with an inappropriate load.
wasn't amphenol a name brand, like switchcraft or neutrik?

[Scodiddly]

If you don't have obvious proximity effect then something is busted. Given that it is a pure dynamic, having one signal pin broken means no sound at all. Willing to bet quatloos that there's capsule damage.

Sennheiser repair is actually pretty not terrible these days. You go to the website, create an account, then create a repair request. There should be a flat fee repair, which might be kind of pricey but still cheaper than replacing with new. Last time I used it the process took 4-6 weeks.