Sennheiser e840s

Been making music for over 20 years. I currently record my own music in a little home studio with some synths and software and a cheap electric guitar. Recording in Audacity and Steinberg Wavelab on a Terratec Phase 22, with the sound coming from a Yamaha MG12/4 mixer, monitored on a Luxman SQ-700x/JBL Control 1/Subcontrol 1G combo. I use the mic for recording vocals exclusively.

It's a dynamic cardioid microphone, actually intended for stage use. Unlike the model name suggests, it seems to be based on the 9xx Evolution series and is actually closer related to the e935 than to the e835 or e845. I also considered various cheap condensers, but due to my notorious clumsiness, I thought a more 'rugged' mic to be safer. I've got to say I'm very pleased with the sound; it picks up a rather broad frequency range for a dynamic mic (40-18,000 Hz) and sounds very warm and open, more 'condenser-like' than other dynamic mics in the same price range, and better for vocals than the cheapest Chinese made condensers you can get. The treble can be a bit overwhelming, but with some EQing at the mixer it's fine. The only downside is that it's more sensitive than I expected; it picks up more ambience noise than a dynamic mic normally would. That may have to do with the polar pattern and not be a problem in the supercardioid e845 and e945, but I imagine it could cause problems with sound leakage and feedback onstage. Overall, I would recommend it over a cheap condenser for home recording on a budget, but I can't judge how well it fares in a live situation.