MICROPHONE OF THE MONTH DECEMBER 2024

'Will you still love me, will you still need me, when I'm 64?'
The lyrics of this Beatles song are appropriate for Sennheiser's MD 421, which was presented in 1960, as a directional dynamic studio microphone.
It was a very modern microphone, with a grey plastic housing, made of Delrin (polyoxymethylene), and a slender design.

It was the next pro model, after the omni directional MD 21. The directionality for low frequencies was achieved, among other things, by four ports, around the connector, which probably led to the 4 in the type number 421.

Production was particularly uniform; every 421 sounded almost exactly the same, and every 421 came with a printed frequency measurement, so its owner could see exactly how his microphone registered the sound.

It was not only appreciated in the studio, it soon became popular with reporters too, who took them out for their reports and could blindly trust that these practically indestructible microphones delivered fantastic sound quality and would not let them down.

Musicians also appreciated the 421 and so it also became a familiar sight on stages, in the hands of vocalists, or used to amplify instruments, from kick drums, to guitar and horns. Whatever sound source needed to be amplified, the 421 delivered, it could handle the loudest sound sources, without overloading. Its appearance earned it the nickname 'the shaver'

Within four years, 30,000 units had been sold, a pace that Sennheiser's production could not keep up with at first. The company invested in more production capacity and several variants of the 421 came out. The standard 421 (later renamed 421N), with 200 Ohm output impedance, a small-tuchel (DIN) socket and, via a rotatable plastic ring, between M (Music) and S (Speech) in five positions adjustable low-off filter, the 421 HN, with high and low impedance output and the 421/2, with large Tuchel socket, without filter, for professional use.

More variants followed in later years, such as the 421 De Luxe, with a gold-plated basket and black-brown housing, especially for artists on stage who wanted to exude quality, and the 421/U4, with XLR3 connection.

The original Sennheiser logo, with scripted logo on the basket, was replaced in the 1970s by a more modern logo with block letters. The housing was modernized, black glass composite, and the basket too became black.

Actually, for many, the microphone had only one downside: the MZA stad mount, to which the 421 had to be slid. When the microphone was pointed downwards, such as for toms at a drum kit, the 421 could slide out of the clamp and fall. The mount was later fitted with a latch, which unfortunately also proved not very reliable. Many 421s were therefore fixed to the clamp with gaffer tape, not elegant, but more reliable.

By 1995, some 350,000 copies had already been sold and today the number exceeds 500,000!
In 2010, it was inducted into The Technology Hall of Fame.

The present-day 421 is the 421 II, made with more modern production technology, and a sound that many consider sharper. Generally, the vintage versions are rated higher, due to their full round sound.

Recently, a compact version was presented by Sennheiser, which should sound similar, but is shorter and has a sturdier stand mount. Long or short, the 421 still has a future. When Sennheiser, circa 1980, launched the MD 422, its successor with better specifications, customers demanded the 421 back, and Sennheiser obliged.

These and many more types feature in my book Witnesses of Words. More information about that can be found at www.witnessesofwords.com