feelings on a 441

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sr1200

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Dec 6, 2010
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Anyone have any feelings on the sennheizer 441 mic?  I used one a long time ago on snare drum at some studio I got hired to do a session at.  I dont hear this mic getting a lot of talk anywhere.  Anyone have one that they can comment on?  What is it good for (if anything) is it worth getting (say over another 421)? 
 
possibly the last mic that I would ever sell.  I have a pair of 441's and a pair of 541's(basically the same without Music/Speech HPF switch)

One of the best sounding dynamics out there - killer on snare if you can fit it in there, but I used to use them a lot for live recording - on a guitar amp the isolation is ridiculous with the hypercardioid pattern.

I've used them on vocals (Fleetwood Mac/Zappa used to do the same) drums, guitars, bass cabs....really anything.  Respond great to EQ as well....
 
+1 for the 441, wherever you can fit it, it'll sound wonderful. I find I'm using on snare bottom, hihats, acoustic guitars even.
 
Yes, my favorite mics in my collection. I even recorded a choir in a not-so-nice sounding room once with a stereo pair. Turned out great.
 
sr1200 said:
I dont hear this mic getting a lot of talk anywhere.

really?!?  i've borrowed one, way more useful than the 421 U5 i have.  not that the 421 is a slouch... i just find that it has more of a characteristic 'sound' that isn't always appropriate, whereas the 441 cuts the crap and gets to work on whatever source.  as mentioned, they'd be great for drums or group performance because of the polar pattern.
 
I like it a lot on female vocals and bottom snare. Top snare is great too but there're very few drummers that I trust  :)
Once I got great results by having it pointing the wood of the snare (on the side rather than at the bottom).
Sounds great on gtrs cabs too but it really depends on the music.
Ah, and on trumpet of course...
Anyone use it on bass cab?
 
Holy crap.... lol i wasnt expecting much of a reply on this, but I guess this is gonna be the next mic purchase huh?  Was lookin at getting either this or a SM7B for vocals.  I have a few vocal mics, so the 7B can wait.  Thanks for the info :) :)
 
We have three at the studio. They're used 3 out of 4 sessions for bottom snare and/or toms. Last producer that came in put it in the corner about 3 foot off the floor capturing mainly snare and bass and slammed into a 1176. Sounded big and brash :)
 
A co-worker of mine likes to compare them to the 421 with the phrase  "the 441 is 20 better".  They really do sound great on a lot. I keep them to snare and guitar cab duties mainly though.
 
you cannot have enough of these (except you have a load of Beyer M201s)

What do you mean ? You put a 441 on the same level as a M201 ?
The 201 is an underestimated mic, but as far as I can remember the 441 was really better.

Of course it depends on individual experience.

 
I'd definitely put the 201 on the same playing field as the 441 - both hypercard dynamics, both sound excellent on many of the same things - last album I did those were the 2 snare mics I used, picked one or the other depending on the song(or part of the song) but both were fantastic....my favourite 2 dynamics, and I'm so glad I have a few of each as I'm always reaching for them!

a vintage Beyer M88 (non TG) would be another one I'd lump in this camp...
 
Tungstengruvsten said:
I'd definitely put the 201 on the same playing field as the 441 - both hypercard dynamics, both sound excellent on many of the same things - last album I did those were the 2 snare mics I used, picked one or the other depending on the song(or part of the song) but both were fantastic....my favourite 2 dynamics, and I'm so glad I have a few of each as I'm always reaching for them!

a vintage Beyer M88 (non TG) would be another one I'd lump in this camp...
Absolutely. M201s are my favorite snaremike for top and bottom (maybe sometimes a Gefell MV692+M70 on bottom). M201s are much smaller than 441s and often fit better into tight setups hence easier to adjust.
 
jensenmann said:
Absolutely. M201s are my favorite snaremike for top and bottom (maybe sometimes a Gefell MV692+M70 on bottom). M201s are much smaller than 441s and often fit better into tight setups hence easier to adjust.

Another 201 fan here. I have two.

Try one on stand-up bass some time ...

-a
 
Andy Peters said:
Another 201 fan here. I have two.

Try one on stand-up bass some time ...

-a
I also just used them on an acoustic guitar along with a KM184, I compressed the 201 more and treated it more like parallel processing, gave great tight sustain without sounding squashed
 
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