User reviews: Sennheiser E 604

09/25/12

chrislieck's review "Great Sounding Tom Microphones "

There are great things about these microphones if used and placed properly. They are proximity microphones and I ran a comparison at my studio, www.chrilieckstudios.com, and Remember I grew up as a professional engineer using 420 mics on toms only. The Sennheiser 420s are the best tom mic ever produced, however I must say that this microphone is the closest I have tested and at the price there is not a microphone for toms that is better.

They don't have the attack at 3.5K to 4.5K that I need, but that is a quick fix with a simple one band EQ boost. However if the drummer hits the toms hard (like you should have them do at all times) the mic will provide enough attack to cut through the mix. We test mics and gear all the time as my engineers work at The Guitar Center so we have gear at the studio all the time. They provide a good bump at about 200hz so if you like that bump (I don't I remove all the low mids on my toms) these mics will provide you a deep low mid tone.

Overall Opinion

I would not use this mic for snare except for in a live environment. They don't have the attack at 3.5K to 4.5K that I need, but that is a quick fix with a simple one band EQ boost. We test mics and gear all the time as my engineers work at The Guitar Center so we have gear at the studio all the time. I have been doing this for 30 years so I am aware of what microphones sound good. I say if you have a studio and you are looking for a Tom Tom Microphone, this is the only professional line of tom tom mics I would buy. I have a set of them on the toms now and have done 40 records with these mics. You will have limited uses of these microphones. They are not good for much else besides the tom toms. They do not do well in other application modes but if you want exclusive microphones for your tom toms, and you are on a limited budget.

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09/24/12

JimboSpins's review "Best on Snare and Floor Toms"

Characteristics

Back in December we ordered the e604 3 Pack for drum recording. The e604 is a smaller microphone that is very portable and reliable. Its small and flexible enough that you can move it around pretty quickly and easily from drum to drum. The e604 sound its best when used on a snare and the larger toms. It comes with a clip so you can get it pretty close to the source (drum head). The e604 is better than most of the Shure SM line of drum microphones because of the sound quality and the price. I was able to get the 3 pack of the e604’s for 350 dollars last year. We have been using them a lot since then and never had any issues with them. There is no feedback and the amount of noise is very low. I have never used the e604 in a live setting, mainly just in a recording studio or home setting.

Overall Opinion

The sound quality of the e604 is very good when used in certain situations. I don’t think it’s a very good microphone for some of the smaller toms, but for the larger floor toms it is great, and the snare. I am happy that I spent the money to get three of these. We can move them around very quick, and it’s a huge plus that it comes with the clip. I have tried many other similar microphones and some of them where pretty good, but they cost a lot more than the Sennheiser e604. If you are looking for a great drum microphone then look no further. The e604 is a must have if you are a drummer looking to record simultaneously. I don’t recommend getting just one of these, you mine was well get the 3 pack and save money rather than just buying one separate. You will be able to mic your whole set up quickly.

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01/01/12

yoTrakkz's review "good for drums and keys"

Characteristics

The Sennheiser E 604 is a dynamic microphone that you can place on the inside of a piano or even on the floor. Its design is unique and allows it to pick up a great deal of specific sound. I have only used this microphone in the studio, as I believe that is the intended use for the microphone, but one could definitely use it in a live setting if they wanted to.

Overall Opinion

I've been using the Sennheiser E 604 for about two years and I have found them to be quite useful in a number of different situations. The main use I have for the PZM 30D is to place it inside or on the top of a grand or upright piano. This picks up a lot of detail from the piano and will also isolate it really well if you have other instruments in the room that you do not want to bleed into it. I have also found this useful when recording noise or talking in a room if you place it on the floor as it will pick up everything in the room. The price of these is really reasonable for such a useful microphone. Having a pair of these is great and I use them all the time when recording piano and even sometimes for recording a Leslie speaker cabinet with a Hammond B3 organ. While these aren't the most versatile mics out there, as they can only be used for a few different applications, having them around is more than useful and they can really come in handy for the things it is good at. I can't think of any other type of PZM microphone that I could compare this to, as this mic is pretty unique. Overall I highly recommend these microphones for professional and home studios alike as they are great sounding and incredibly useful.

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07/19/11

Anonymous 's review

Characteristics

The Sennheiser E 604 is a microphone from Sennheiser that is specifically designed to mic up a drum set. The microphone itself comes with a clip specifically designed to mount it to the drum kit, and as far as I am concerned, the less microphone stands, the happier the stage looks, although I do admit that having less stands does make the stage seem far less intimidating, hah. In a nutshell, these microphones sound great on both snares and toms, but are not quite as complete sounding on toms as the Sennheiser's own legendary tom microphone: the MD 421 II. However, another reviewer for this microphone described these microphones as "thunderous" on drums, giving an unbelievable sense of punch and explosiveness.

The Sennheirser E 604 is a dynamic microphone specifically designed for snares and toms. It features a very standard cardioid pickup pattern. It has a very nice frequency response that goes all the way from 40 Hz to 18,000 Hz. This is very nice, because compared to many of its competitors, its frequency response is extended enough to make the microphone sound very big and clean without getting too caught up in the muddiness of many of the its competitor's microphones.

As it is a drum microphone, it is necessarily and expectedly engineered to handle extremely high SPL's. Sennheiser mentions that it is capable of handling SPL's in excess of 160 db! This is remarkable, considering there is not much in the world louder than that, let alone a drum set.

Overall Opinion

I was a big fan of the Sennheiser E 604, just because of the thunder it lent to the drum set. The E 604 on snares is pretty much Zeus flinging lightning bolts straight into the XLR cable, and it fares well on toms as well, although knowing that the MD 421 II exists is a little painful.

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10/15/10

mooseherman's review "Reliable Drum Mic"

Characteristics

This is a Sennheiser E 604, which is generally used as a tom mic for drums. I have used it mostly in this capacity. It's a dynamic microphone and it's better suited to capture deep frequencies like drums. It could work on guitar amps theoretically, but the fact that it comes on a drum-mounting clip makes this a difficult mic to use in that way. I have used it on snare drums as well, which provides it with a different kind of sound that I enjoyed but is actually far less versatile than an SM57. This microphone works well in the studio as well as live, in fact, it might be a great choice for live as it has the clips that can attach to the drums themselves and don't rely on stands.

Overall Opinion

I think that these mics are great for the price, however, I don't think I'd use them if I had other options. Considering they are best used as tom mics, they don't really hold up to the Sennheiser 421s, which are a very respected tom mic. In addition to sounding better on toms, the 421 is more versatile and can be used to great effect on guitar amps, vocals, horns and others in a live capacity. It also sounds better on snares. Basically, get this until you can afford the 421, and then sell this. Unless you really need a microphone that clips to your drums.

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03/15/10

MGR/AlexV's review "Sennheiser e604 3-Pack"

Characteristics

Overall Opinion

The Sennheiser e604 is a small diaphragm dynamic mic made for clipping onto drums and other percussive instruments. I am a student, musician, writer, and pretty good line dancer residing in beautiful Nashville, TN. I've been a drummer and guitar player on and off for the past 10 years of my life and have began engineering and producing in the past 4. I currently play drums for the band Brookline and you can see me rockin' an Orange County Drum and Percussion or Mapex kit decked out with Zildjian K Hybrids.

Our studio bought this three pack for right around $350.00 about 3 years ago from Sweetwater. We were looking to build our mic catalog in a new studio at a Recording Arts College in Nashville, TN.

<a href="http://www.sweetwater.com">http://www.sweetwater.com</a>

These mics are very convenient and clip right onto toms, snare, congas, ect. They have a pretty good response and ton on toms smaller than right around 14\'. These are great in live situations, especially for venues that will change drum kits 4 times a night - easy to take down and set up - no mic stands, just small clips compatible with all types of rims.

These mics lack low end definition making them not so good for studio application. They also tend to pick up a long of vibration from the rims and have a rather high self-noise. Great live, though!

These little mics are tough and the clips included are thick plastic and can stand the test of time. They are definitely made to take hits from drums sticks and only suffer a few minor bruises. We all know how crazy drummers can get!

Bottom Line? Great for live applications and very convenient for quick set ups and a reliable sound. Not so hot in the studio because of its inability to really grab that thick low-end sound you look for in your toms, especially the floors. Great deal for the price and perfect for the start-up studio on a budget.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

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10/09/08

joshsound's review

Characteristics

These dedicated snare and tom mics are pretty much just cheaper priced and cheaper sounding Sennheiser 421's. They do have some of their own virtues however. They are dynamic mics, and they will connect with an XLR cable. You don't need to have phantom power running for these ones. There is a medium sized diaphragm, which is going to help you get a larger low-frequency response for some added weight on your toms and snare. There isn't a low end roll-off switch, so you will have to hit the EQ if you want a tighter sound. The best part about these mics is the great convenience of the way they are mounted. They come set on clips that specifically designed to latch on to drum rims and not budge. They are raised from that a couple inches and are then on a pretty much 360 degree pivot, so you should be able to manage to get this mic pointing at the drum heads in any way you want. Usually with other mics there is a lot of hassle and taping to deal with, but these you can get set up in under a minute. As for the sound, it does seem to lack a little bit of clarity and richess. You get a lot of point on the drum hits, and a lot of power from the lows and low mids, but the high end detail is just not really there or it's kind of wishy-washy. You'll definitely want to make good use of overhead blending to get a balanced drum sound if you're using this for drum mics.

Overall Opinion

I have used these on a couple of sessions at other studios. They really don't sound as good as 421's do on snare and toms, but they are much cheaper and have convenient clips. I would probably recommend these to someone new to recording who doesn't have the budget yet to go for some of the nicer mics. These are not bad drum mics, it's just that they're not that good either. Very cheap though, so it's a good value.

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03/24/08

moosers's review

Characteristics

I've only used my Sennheiser e604 on tom drums in the studio, but I could certainly see them being used live because of the convenient clip. Since it is a dynamic mic they would probably work on guitar amps and snare drums as well.

Overall Opinion

I've had my Sennheiser e604 for about a year now. My favorite part about it is that it has a clip that you can easily mount on to a drum. Although if I had the money I would prefer to have another Sennesier 421, this really does the trick on tom drums, making for a very full sound at a pretty reasonable price. I would use this on a tom drum over a Shure SM57 just because it is easier to set up, but if I had extra 421s I would definitely use those, however, until I can afford to upgrade, the e604 definitely does the job I need it to.

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Sennheiser E 604

Sennheiser E 604 user reviews ( 7/10) - 19 user reviews

chrislieck's review "Great Sounding Tom Microphones "

JimboSpins's review "Best on Snare and Floor Toms"

yoTrakkz's review "good for drums and keys"

Anonymous 's review

mooseherman's review "Reliable Drum Mic"

MGR/AlexV's review "Sennheiser e604 3-Pack"

joshsound's review

moosers's review

Deserteurs's review ( translated ) Improve this translation

yoyo92's review ( translated ) Improve this translation