e935 or e945 for singing drummer

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Matt Vivlamore

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Jan 11, 2011
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If you have the choice between the Sennheiser e935 and e945 mics to give to a singing drummer; which would you choose?

The drummer is a female and uses IEMs; she doesn’t hit the cymbals with brute force like a Rock/Metal drummer would. She plays more of a ‘Jazz-Pop’ style; with a wedding band.

I used to have an e935 mics; but that was several years ago and never really put it on a drummer. I do remember have great results with it.
 
Re: e935 or e945 for singing drummer

Chris Nixon said:
What's different about the sound of the 945? I use 935's as a "go to" vocal mic but haven't heard a 945 in direct comparison. The 935 is good but not perfect on a male singer I work with.

Chris
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The difference in sound is night and day. The e945 is a much warmer sounding mic. It really brings out the low-end grain of male vocal. There's no "edge/bite" to this mic,,,,so I'm not sure it would be the best choice for a hard-rock vocal. There's just this creamy smooth warmth. The intelligibility is there, but it's as if it's wrapped in an envelope of smoothness. Probably a great choice for a crooner, or baladeer. I hven't tried it on female vocals yet. The polar pattern is very tight, and the mic's fussy about proper technique. 'Plosives can be a problem if technique is not spot-on, but it's easy to tame, once you get the hang of it.

The e935 doesn't have that lo-end creamyness, and is much more forgiving of technique. They're both excellent mics in their own right,,, but there's just something special about the e945.,,,,, for me anyway.
 
Re: e935 or e945 for singing drummer

Bob Dodge said:
It really brings out the low-end grain of male vocal. There's no "edge/bite" to this mic. There's just this creamy smooth warmth. The intelligibility is there, but it's as if it's wrapped in an envelope of smoothness. Probably a great choice for a crooner, or baladeer.

The e935 doesn't have that lo-end creamyness, and is much more forgiving of technique. They're both excellent mics in their own right,,, but there's just something special about the e945.,,,,, for me anyway.
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Here's the 935. It's a board mix so there will be compression etc on it but I don't think I used a lot of EQ other than taking out maybe 3db of lower midrange.

There But For Fortune sample by Chris993 on SoundCloud - Hear the world

You reckon the 945 is a better choice for this sort of thing?

Chris
 
Re: e935 or e945 for singing drummer

Chris Nixon said:
Here's the 935. It's a board mix so there will be compression etc on it but I don't think I used a lot of EQ other than taking out maybe 3db of lower midrange.

There But For Fortune sample by Chris993 on SoundCloud - Hear the world

You reckon the 945 is a better choice for this sort of thing?

Chris
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Chris, That sample sounds so nice, I doubt I'd want to change anything. Beautiful.

Mics can be so subjective, that it's difficult to say what it sounds like on your voice, or whether you'd care for it. You'd have to try one, and see if it suits your taste, and application. I certainly would not call the e945 an "improved e935",,,, it's not. It's a very different sounding mic, that can have drawbacks if your mic-technique isn't well controlled. For someone who moves around on stage, while playing an instrument, the e945 might prove to be a bit more difficult to control 'plosives, etc.

Personally, I like both the e935 and the e945, but for very different reasons. Depends on the style of music I'm doing too.
 
Re: e935 or e945 for singing drummer

Bob Dodge said:
Chris, That sample sounds so nice, I doubt I'd want to change anything. Beautiful.

I certainly would not call the e945 an "improved e935",,,, it's not. It's a very different sounding mic, that can have drawbacks if your mic-technique isn't well controlled. For someone who moves around on stage, while playing an instrument, the e945 might prove to be a bit more difficult to control 'plosives, etc.

Personally, I like both the e935 and the e945, but for very different reasons. Depends on the style of music I'm doing too.
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Thanks. To clarify though, I mixed it but it's not me singing. Soundcloud puts the "by Chris" bit in. I think the thread is still somewhat on track too. :)~:-)~:smile:

Chris
 
Re: e935 or e945 for singing drummer

Matt Vivlamore said:
If you have the choice between the Sennheiser e935 and e945 mics to give to a singing drummer; which would you choose?

The drummer is a female and uses IEMs; she doesn’t hit the cymbals with brute force like a Rock/Metal drummer would. She plays more of a ‘Jazz-Pop’ style; with a wedding band.

I used to have an e935 mics; but that was several years ago and never really put it on a drummer. I do remember have great results with it.
Click to expand...

I always use the E945 for singing drummers. It doesn't seem to pick up all the cymbals like the E935.
 
Re: e935 or e945 for singing drummer

I borrowed a 945 and used it on a "brassy" female vocalist.
The high end tried to cut my nuts off. Wrong mic for that singer.
Might work on male vocalists, but I really did not enjoy my experience w/the 945 in the setting I tried it on.
 
Re: e935 or e945 for singing drummer

Matt Vivlamore said:
I don't have a e935 or e945. The wedding bands management picked up a deal with Sennheiser and they purchasing mics for the band.

For the past year, I have been using a Beta57a on her vocals.
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Would Sennheiser have anything similar to a Crown CM-311a?
 
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