[mcp6453[_2_]]

I have the opportunity to pick up an MD421U made in the 70s. It's in good shape
and is used daily. What's it worth?

[Scott Dorsey]

In article ,
mcp6453 wrote:
I have the opportunity to pick up an MD421U made in the 70s. It's in good shape
and is used daily. What's it worth?

Looking on youtube I see buy it now prices around $300.

Interestingly they don't seem to be selling for any more than the Mk II
microphone does.

Even more interestingly, there are a couple of the original white ones
for sale for about the same price. I remember a lot of people in the
seventies saying that the white ones were better than the black ones but
I could never tell any difference myself.

If you buy one, get the "broadcast shockmount" for it. It doesn't break
the way the regular mount does.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[geoff]

Scott Dorsey wrote:
In article ,
mcp6453 wrote:
I have the opportunity to pick up an MD421U made in the 70s. It's in
good shape and is used daily. What's it worth?

Looking on youtube I see buy it now prices around $300.

Interestingly they don't seem to be selling for any more than the Mk
II microphone does.

Even more interestingly, there are a couple of the original white ones
for sale for about the same price. I remember a lot of people in the
seventies saying that the white ones were better than the black ones
but I could never tell any difference myself.

If you buy one, get the "broadcast shockmount" for it. It doesn't
break the way the regular mount does.
--scott

On one of mine it's not the mount that broke, but the casing around the slot
;-/

geoff

[Peter Larsen[_3_]]

Scott Dorsey wrote:

Even more interestingly, there are a couple of the original white ones
for sale for about the same price. I remember a lot of people in the
seventies saying that the white ones were better than the black ones
but I could never tell any difference myself.

note: subjective viewpoint and recollection, not fact

I've had old white ones and less old white ones and still have a pair of the
black ones. My _impression_ is that they have reduced the 900 Hz dip and the
13.5 kHz peakyness more the newer the mic, there is in my subjective
experience at least "old old" "old" and "black" capsule versions.

That said I still kinda regret having sold my firstful of white ones because
they had a NE Eletronik custom rear end fitting a XLR to the "great tuchel"
screw-on and my _impression_ was that totally removing the tone control
module leads to cleaner sound. Great for a drumkit!

/note: subjective viewpoint and recollection, not fact

If you buy one, get the "broadcast shockmount" for it. It doesn't
break the way the regular mount does.

Hmmm .... anyways, an anecdote: Werner Scherrer here in Copenhagen tried
some Neumann and a MD421 alongside on the studio Bösendorfer. The obvious
difference was 20 dB sensitivity.

--scott

Kind regards

Peter Larsen

[Scott Dorsey]

Peter Larsen wrote:

That said I still kinda regret having sold my firstful of white ones because
they had a NE Eletronik custom rear end fitting a XLR to the "great tuchel"
screw-on and my _impression_ was that totally removing the tone control
module leads to cleaner sound. Great for a drumkit!

If you feel this way, there's no reason you can't order the direct output
module without the tone control from Sennheiser parts and install it. I
forget what the option code for the XLR without the tone control is, but
it was sold and they should have replacements.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Peter Larsen[_3_]]

Scott Dorsey wrote:

Peter Larsen wrote:

That said I still kinda regret having sold my firstful of white ones
because they had a NE Eletronik custom rear end fitting a XLR to the
"great tuchel" screw-on and my _impression_ was that totally
removing the tone control module leads to cleaner sound. Great for a
drumkit!

If you feel this way, there's no reason you can't order the direct
output module without the tone control from Sennheiser parts and
install it. I forget what the option code for the XLR without the
tone control is, but it was sold and they should have replacements.

At a guess it should be the U2 version, U for XLR and 2 for being "large
tüchel alike". I'd go that route if I were to get a drumkit-set of 421's
again, but I don't want to alter my U4 pair, it is gp useful as it is.
Thanks for reminding me of it ...

--scott

Kind regards

Peter Larsen