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This month the microphone of choice is a modest dynamic type, from the late Sixties and the Seventies, produced by the (West) German Sennheiser company. It was meant for use with tape recorders, and later for casette recorders as well. It was the successor of the type MD 403, which had been in production since the mid Fifties, that supported an art-deco look. The new model had a 'no thrills' design, could easily be placed on a surface, because of its flat base, and could also be attached to a microphone stand, since a threaded hole was supplied on the bottom.
The sound quality of this mic is simply excellent, which comes as no surprise, since it was fitted with the same capsule as the MD 403. This same capsule could also be found in the legendary model MD 409, and the stereo MDS 1 (and almost the same in the MD 408).
Today these microphones are regarded as possibly the best ever to record the sound of electric guitars, and since Sennheiser no longer produces these models, because of their high production cost, they are sought after by many. This is reflected in the price, and thus they are offered for amounts up to $ 200 (or even $ 600 for the original MD 409, which was also used as a vocal mic by Pink Floyd, amongst other performers).
The MD 407s were often supplied with an extra (internal) transformer, to match the high impedance of tape recorders (these types are marked as MD 407 HN), often these are by-passed, connecting the element directly to a recording source.
Sennheiser also made these for other companies, who badged them with their own name: Dual, Fischer or Luxor. Sometimes the prices of these are significantly lower than those with the Sennheiser logo, so it might be worthwhile to keep an eye out for them.
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