The Sennheiser MD 421 is one in every of a handful of microphones that has rightfully earned iconic standing, having maintained a steady presence within the audio trade because it was launched in 1960. Whereas it was initially developed to be used on vocals in tv, radio and public handle functions, studio engineers had different plans, placing the microphone in place for capturing drums (kick and toms particularly), bass amp, horns and guitar amplifiers.

The MD 421 Collection II debuted in 1998 and located its place in quite a lot of functions, however engineers have lengthy expressed two main gripes in regards to the design. First, the physique is somewhat massive, making it tough to position in tight quarters (corresponding to staying out of the way in which of cymbals when miking toms); and second, there’s that pesky slide-on clip that, irrespective of the way you deal with the microphone, inevitably unlatches from the mic whenever you try to pivot the physique, typically sending it crashing down on an unsuspecting tom or, worse, to the ground.

Then, in late 2024, Sennheiser launched the MD 421 Kompakt, which cures each of those points in a single superb revision, swapping out the slide-in clip for a captive mount whereas lowering the dimensions of the physique by nearly 40 %. The MD 421-II measures 8.4 inches (215 mm) lengthy, whereas the MD 421 Kompakt measures 4.8 inches (122 mm) in size.

The MD 421 Kompakt ships with a padded drawstring bag; the “+ Drum Clamp” model additionally consists of the MZH drum clamp for mounting the mic onto the rim of a drum.

A LOOK INSIDE/OUTSIDE

The MD 421 Kompakt options the identical moving-coil cardioid capsule used within the MD 421-II, with sensitivity of 2mV/Pa and frequency response said as 30 Hz to 17 kHz. Skilled engineers will discover that the MD 421 Kompakt lacks the high-pass filter change that surrounds the XLR connector of the MD 421-II, however one may argue that the HPF is superfluous lately when most mic preamps and DAWs present their very own. The frequency response plot for the 421 Kompakt seems an identical to that of the MD 421-II when the latter’s high-pass filter is ready to the “M” place. The polar response patterns additionally look like an identical.

At first look, the 421 Kompakt appears to easily be a cut-off MD 421-II, however the head grille of the Kompakt is barely smaller than that of the 421-II. This discount in dimension, mixed with the captive stand mount, makes the Kompakt a lot simpler to position whereas offering an efficient answer for mounting the mic onto a drum. Whereas the MZH doesn’t present a myriad of placement choices, it will get the mic within the spot the place you’d in all probability need it anyway: poking over the rim of the drum, an inch or two off the pinnacle. You may again it off from there if desired.

The MZH securely held place with out undesirable motion and simply match a lot of the drum rims I attempted—although there have been one or two cases the place an unusually thick rim made it tough to snap the MZH into place. The MZH can even clamp to a microphone stand, however the effectiveness of this method would require the diameter of the stand to be simply the proper dimension for the clip.

STARTING WITH DRUMS

I used the MD 421 Kompakt on all kinds of sources, together with kick, snare, toms, acoustic guitar, electrical guitar, vocal and voiceover, at instances A/B’ing the Kompakt with an MD 421-II. As I anticipated, the 421 Kompakt excelled on toms, producing thunderous sound from flooring toms, and rack toms that virtually exploded.

The highest finish has sufficient assault to assist poke by a mixture, however doesn’t get pointy or too snappy-sounding, and the underside finish was full and spherical. I didn’t really feel the necessity to add a lot, if any, EQ to attain a “completed” tom sound. In comparison with the MD 421-II on toms, the Kompakt has extra mojo within the decrease midrange and produces a extra rounded sound, whereas the unique is barely extra ahead within the higher mids. I felt that the 421 Kompakt had the sting within the backside finish and produced a fuller sound, particularly obvious on flooring tom.

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Leakage from cymbals was very well-controlled. Experience cymbal leaking into the ground tom mic was down higher than 20 dB, and I couldn’t hear a lot leakage within the rack tom mic from a close-by crash cymbal. Sennheiser actually nailed the voicing for the 421 Kompakt on toms: in case your toms don’t sound good below the MD 421 Kompakt don’t blame the microphone.

Kick drum was up subsequent, and also you’re both going to like the sound of those microphones on kick or hate it. I by no means a lot cared for the sound of the unique MD 421 (or -II) on kick, and the Kompakt isn’t altering my thoughts. They each sound too Nineteen Seventies for my style—an excessive amount of within the midrange round 400 to 500 Hz (the Kompakt considerably much less so), not as a lot snap as I’d like within the prime finish, and a bit of little bit of that “speaker cone breakup” sound. The MD 421-II had a bit extra within the backside finish, however the two microphones sounded very shut on this utility.

Snare drum was one of many sources the place it was simple to listen to a distinction between the 2 mics, with the Kompakt sounding darker, nearly rolled off within the highs in comparison with the MD 421- II. This was a little bit of a head-game. Does the 421 Kompakt produce extra low-mids or does the unique 421-II produce extra prime finish? Robust to say, however the audible variations had been clear on this occasion.

VOCALS AND GUITAR

When used on vocals and voiceover, the 421 Kompakt produced a delicate proximity impact inside 4 to 5 inches from the supply. Transferring the mic past that distance delivered a really clear and pure sound, proving why Sennheiser engineers designed this mic for voice replica within the first place. The MD 421 Kompakt has a number of the presence and air that you just’d count on from a condenser mic with out being overly vivid, and appears a bit smoother within the upper-midrange when in comparison with the MD 421-II.

On a lead vocal for a rock observe, the Kompakt did a pleasant job of capturing the growl from the singer and simply dealt with the SPL when the singer screamed, which was fairly a bit. Popping P’s and B’s could be a problem when a singer will get inside just a few inches of the mic, so I’d counsel utilizing an exterior pop filter.

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Recording an acoustic guitar utilizing the MD 421 Kompakt was a nice shock. I usually attain for small-or large-diaphragm condenser mics for this utility, however the Kompakt captured a very good steadiness between the resonance of the guitar physique and the strumming of the decide on the strings. I positioned it in my go-to location: aimed on the space the place the neck of the guitar meets the physique, about 10 inches away and pointing barely towards the sound gap. Compared, the 421-II produced extra “honk” within the midrange, however a few of that may very well be as a result of positioning, as it may be robust to concurrently place two massive microphones within the optimum place.

I additionally tried the 421 Kompakt on electrical guitar, the place it captured quite a lot of element (there’s that phrase once more) however didn’t sound harsh. In comparison with the MD 421-II, the Kompakt is a bit more open within the upper-mids round 3 kHz; and including just a few dB of EQ on this space to the 421-II made the microphones sound nearly an identical.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

When evaluating the mics head-to-head, recorded ranges had been nearly an identical for a similar preamp achieve settings (Focusrite ISA 828 Mk II, Nice River MP-2NV, and Grace 201), and off-axis rejection was about the identical for each mics. Using the identical capsule within the MD 421 Kompakt because the one used within the MD 421-II was a sensible transfer on the a part of Sennheiser—no must reinvent the wheel right here.

There are two views from which to guage the MD 421 Kompakt: by itself advantage as an efficient dynamic instrument microphone, and within the inevitable comparability to the unique MD 421-II. Sennheiser succeeds on each fronts.

The MD 421 Kompakt is simpler to position than the MD 421-II, it eliminates the problematic microphone clip discovered on the unique, and gives a safe answer for mounting the mic on the rim of a tom. The MD 421 Kompakt sounds nearly an identical to the MD 421-II on most sources, and the sonic variations I heard may very well be as a result of the truth that we’re evaluating new MD 421 Kompakts to MD 421-IIs which have appreciable mileage on them and will have modified over time.

As is the case with the MD 421-II, I count on that the MD 421 Kompakt will turn out to be a go-to microphone for toms. In a uncommon occasion of newer being higher, Sennheiser has produced a revision that improves upon the unique with out compromising its sonic signature. Purchase a three-pack; you received’t remorse it.