The e609 came out as a cheap "look-alike" to the legendary 409. They discontinued the 409 back in '94 or so because they were so expensive to hand build. Later when the e609 came out, they got the sound about 75% of the way there, similar treble, similar pattern, but a different low mid and bass, which really is a big part of the 409's warmth.
Then later they came out with the e906 and added a couple of trim switches. So while the e906 isn't identical to the MD409, it's much closer, almost the same sound. The e609 is a distant second compared to the e906. I don't know why they don't market the e906 that way, but regardless, the e906 is the one to have if you're after the 409 sound.
Back when I was building my studio in '95, Paul Languedoc told me to go buy up all the 409's I could find since they were recently discontinued by Sennheiser. I found what could have been the very last 4 Sennheiser 409's in the US. I still have those 4 awesome mic's and they really are incredible. Languedoc was way into them. He used them on Trey's amp, on the leslie tops, on all the toms, on any horns that would play with Phish, etc. There's also a classic live Stevie Ray Vaughan concert video where you can see every amp mic'd with a 409 and he's even singing into one. I think Healy also liked to mic the Leslie tops with the 409. Daniel Lanois apparently has used 409's as a stereo drum overhead pair. A lot of engineers swear that for smaller horns the 409 wins. For larger horns, sax, 'bone, etc. the 421 wins. I find that the 409 is just very smooth and real creamy sounding on the ears. Almost impossible to make them sound harsh, yet they retain plenty of that Sennheiser top end detail and clarity.
The 421 is different. It's got a much more dramatic treble rise (2k to 10k with a peak near 4k). I think it was originally designed for speech, and since it was German, it really helped to enhance the mid-treble consonant presence found in that language. But it's proven to be an incredible drum mic and guitar mic and horn mic and more. The Grateful Dead tom-tom sound is very much a 421 sound. Jerry's guitar speaker was miked with the 421 for the longest time. Even in the late '70s early 80's the Dead were singing into them too. I still choose it often for a grateful dead sounding kick drum. A very proven, classic method of miking a guitar amp was the blend of a Sm57 and a 421. They each bring out different aspects and together are quite legendary for that job.
But overall, for miking a JBL and getting that sparkly and warm-bodied Jerry tone, the 421 is the mic. The classic '90s Trey tone shows off the MC409 as good as anything. Big, clear, rich fat mids, and extremely un-harsh. Personally, I take a 409 to all my gigs and will hang it over the amp right in front of the speaker. It's nice that way too because it doesn't need a mic stand. The 409 makes any soundman's job easy. Turn it up and go. 421's are so bright that they can be more picky about positioning.
Brad
... and it's just like any other day that's ever been...
