Grateful Dead Music Forum

I was wondering if anyone knew what brand thoes big black mics the Dead used beginning 76-77 were? They are used in the Closing of Winterland movie and can be seen in many concert photos from that era. They look like studio vocal mics.

I'm pretty sure your seeing the Sennheiser MD421

The vocal mic is a Sennheiser 421 ...

The Sennheiser 421 is THE drum (toms) mic for sure. Also it's THE mic for Jerry's JBL cabinet. Although Healy messed with some other mic's at times, the 421 is THE Jerry speaker mic for me. I like it as a kick drum mic too as it was for them for a long stretch of time. It's a good clear vocal mic, but not great about feedback rejection. You can see them singing into them for quite a stretch of time.

The 421 is one of those essential mic's for anyone with a mic collection. Clear and big and up front sounding mic.


Brad

There are a bunch of these mics for sale on ebay. Does it make sense to go after a vintage one? are there any years that are better than others?

Avoid the MKII models as they are reported to be harsh and nasty sounding. It's hard to know how much cost cutting and changes Sennheiser has made in recent years, even to the more standard version. Personally, I'd buy clean used older ones on eBay. Save money and also get from the era where we know they're good.


Brad

Hey Brad, quick check here. On ebay I am seeing some good deals ($200 less than retail) on new Sennheiser MD421 II dynamic microphones. You said avoid MKII. Just checking because I may pull the trigger and get a few of these for the band.

Peace,

Gil

Laytonco wrote:Hey Brad, quick check here. On ebay I am seeing some good deals ($200 less than retail) on new Sennheiser MD421 II dynamic microphones. You said avoid MKII. Just checking because I may pull the trigger and get a few of these for the band.

Peace,

Gil

Just to chime in here I would buy these new with no problem I have used newer ones in the studio and they rock! But I do agree with Brad that the quality may be compromised since the Boys used them, still using them today would be awsome!

Thanks for your help!