Just wonder what the major differences are with these mic's

My mrs wants a new mic and from doing an A/B/C with 3 mics of simular price (sennheisers, shure and AKG) she liked the sennheiser best

cheers

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I eat kebabs when i'm sober!

Don't buy anything until you've tried the Audix OM range...

James.

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JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

The 838 and the 840 are the same mic - just that the former is silver and the latter, the more familiar Senneheiser dark grey/black colour scheme. From what I've seen recently, the 838 goes for a bit less as silvery mics aren't flavour of the month at present. Both have a cardiod pattern.

The 845 is much the same price as the 840 - as you've discovered - and is a hypercardiod.

I don't own either mic, but have used them both several times. I like the sound of both very much, but would be hard-pressed to choose between them. Bob Bickerton of this parish is a fan of 845s for the right material/voice - but then that's a qualification we'd all use for every mic - and John Willett, who knows his Sennheiser onions more than any of us, reckons that the 840 is a little treasure that relatively few have yet discovered.

For female vocs I'd rate both above the SM58, but with the caveats I've mentioned above.

HTH for starters.

Mike

I've got some e835s which were my alternative choice where SM58s didn't work, particularly on female vocals or high male vocals. Now moved to guitar amp duties, since I've got some stage condensers, but still nice mics. The e840 is a tighter cardioid which is useful - the e835 can be a bit prone to feedback. Not much between them sound-wise that I could tell, although I should note that the only e840s I've used have been hire stock and hence may not have had the cleanest foam in their ball grilles!

I never got on with the e845s that I've tried though - they didn't seem to sound quite the same. YMMV though.

Edit: Thought you'd typo'd on e835 - didn't realise there was an e838 for a different colour of mic!

Quote James Perrett:

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Don't buy anything until you've tried the Audix OM range...

James.

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Ah! If we're throwing other hats in the ring - - I quite like some of the Audio Technica mics at that price point (ish) for female vocs. Not so good if you're looking for a 'cut-through' mic though.

Thanks James
She's not a fan of round grilles, one of the reasons she like the sennheisers. Also as we are out in the sticks its a day out just to find a retailer with a decent stock. not worth that kind of aggro for a sub £100 mic.

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I eat kebabs when i'm sober!

Quote Mike Stranks:

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..... John Willett, who knows his Sennheiser onions more than any of us, reckons that the 840 is a little treasure that relatively few have yet discovered.

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Yes - the 840 is a bit like the poor man's 935 - a cardioid vocal mic. with the ability to cut through the band.

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John - Sound-Link ProAudio
President - Federation Internationale des Chasseurs de Sons

Thanks for all the input, looks like an 840. would of been interesting to try other mics but like i say we are a bit out of the way and my hearing is nothing to go by.

If she's happy im happy

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I eat kebabs when i'm sober!

What sort of music are we talking about Dave? I like the e840 or e935 for general duty where you might want a bit of cut. But the mic I use for my wife is the e845, it somehow sounds a little more open and less cut (to my ears) than the e840, so sounds particularly good for acoustic work. However, it can be prone to popping more than the others, which I've solved by inserting a piece of foam from the Rycote pop sock into the back of the basket.

Audix mics are great if you're working a loud stage as their feedback/bleed rejection is incredible, but if you're working at lower levels I'd prefer the Sennheiser, well actually, my preferred mic for female vocals in acoustic settings is the Neumann kms105, but I don't think you're looking in that price range.

Bob

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www.bickerton.co.nz