Sennheiser e906

I have been playing guitar for around 20 years, semiprofessionally. And I work as a sound engineer for the last 2 years in several live clubs, while trying to build a decent home studio.

I have tried several microphones when trying to record my electric guitar amp, but in every case I needed so much tweeking afterwards, that I finally got back to recording DI, using my cabinet simulators (I have quite a few of them). The first decent results in recording my guitar cab came when using an Audix i5 dynamic microphone. This was like a Sure SM57 with a more "fresh" sound and without the "boxiness" of the SM57. Then I got the e-906 and completely blew away everything else in this sector. If you have a good sound in your amp, then it is really hard to get a bad sound in your recording!!! With every other microphone, I was experimenting with placement and distance from the amp, just to get a usable sound. With the Sennheiser e-906 I just stick it front of the amp and experimenting with its placing just to get different tones. But from usable to damn good tones in every case! The presence switch is a bonus, but the microphone would be just fine even without it.
If you need a more "all around" microphone that can also mic guitar cabs effectively, get Audix i5. If you need a microphone ONLY for micing guitar cabs, then get the Sennheiser e-906. It's the best you can get for this job (especially if your room has less than perfect acoustics) and you will never regret the money you spent!

I have been a professional musician, guitarist and singer, since 1974. My recording experience includes time in larger studios and quite a bit of time in home studios. But I am primarily a performing musician.

I've been using an e906 in a live situation for four years to mic a Fender Hot Rod Deluze guitar amp. There is apparently not a live-microphone catagory here yet, but this review is for the e906 in a live situation. I can say with certainty that this mic is the flattest, clearest mic I've used to mic an amp with. I also like sm57s,but there is a noticable difference in clarity. The sound techs I work with tell me almost to a man that they just set the guitar channel flat and leave it. My home studio has been dismantled for awhile now, but one of these days I'll find the time to get it up and running again and I'll be able to test this mic in that regard.

I have been recording guitar for a few years now. For electric guitar, I have used both condenser and dynamic microphones. For the high SPL situation, I typically use a Shure SM57 positioned in front of the speaker cabinet. I was seeking a decent dynamic instrument mic as an alternative to Shure SM57. I had read good reviews on this microphone.

Using this microphone to record electric guitar works very well in deed. The sound using this microphone is more balance, articulate, well defined and even sounding in contrast to SM57. Good for jazz, and clean sound tones. For loud distorted tones, the SM57 will still suffice. The SM57 is definitely more boomy in the lower register. It is also less clear or well defined. I considered an AT650, but already have an AT mic and wanted to try a mic from another company. I got a good deal on this mic that included a cable and one of those Audix cab grabbers.

I've been recording for over 30yrs. I've used a number of microphones to know all of the types and there specifications. I've recorded in many pro studios (Record Plant etc.)recorded albums so on. I'm recording in my home studio with Protools, and I monitor with Yamaha near fields.

The E906 is a Dynamic Mic with great rear rejection so it helps when recording in the same room. I was blown away at how easy it was to get a great sound, which sounded just like the cabinet (Bogner 2x12 OS) that I was hearing "In-the room!". I've been using SM57's for years for guitar cabinets, in pro studio's and they have always sounded good, with a little adjusting & EQing. The E906 needed almost "NO" adjusting with the smallest amount of EQ and the tone was superior over the SM57? for the cost this is one beautiful sounding microphone, weather Distortion or Clean Guitar! I can't say enough wonderful things about the E906, if your serious about your guitar tones, with a great Tube Pre-amp before the DAW (Protools etc.) You'll be rewarded with The sound from your cab! and that's what every guitarist wants from there equipment.

In my mid-40's and have been home recording since the 80's... currently using ADAT's in my home studio.

Just wanted to post my observations comparing this to the cheaper e609 model... the 609 didn't work for me as it seemed to have a huge proximity effect that muddied up the bottom end when placed right on a guitar amp grille... I was worried this mic might be the same capsule except with the 3-way tone switch added... doesn't seem to be though... response is much flatter and works/sounds way better... almost as good as my Senn 421 which is my "go to" guitar amp mic in the studio. The 421 seemed to have just a little bit more lower end girth, but the 906 has just a bit more top end presence that makes it nice to help the guitar tracks sit a bit higher and more well-defined in the mix. A really great mic for recording electric guitar amps... about 10 or 15 times better than a SM57.

I started writing and recording almost 20 years ago, but I went on a 10 year hiatus which ended in summer 2007. In my old life I was primarily MIDI-based with vocals being the only recorded sound. In my new life I've got a full fledged home studio going, with more emphasis on guitars and other "real" instruments. I use Sonar to record, and I monitor through KRK RP-5's. My interface is an Emu 1212m, fed from a pair of Focusrite Trakmaster Pro channel strips and a Presonus Digimax FS 8 channel preamp. My mic collection includes a Blue Baby Bottle, Blue Bluebird, Sennheiser e906, Shure SM57, Blue Ball, Blue Kickball, and a pair of MXL 603s's.

The Sennheiser e906 is a cardiod dynamic mic. I have only used it to close mic my Valve Jr combo amp. When I purchased this mic I was also considering an SM57 and a Blue Ball, and over time I've wound up buying both of those as well. But I bought this first based on the recommendation of my sales guy at Sweetwater.

The e906 has become the mic I use when I'm recording clean/cleanish guitar and I want a bright but not shrill sound. It has a mid boost/cut switch, which affects the frequencies around 2K (I know the other reviewers have stated that it affects different frequencies, but I'm pretty sure it's 2K). With the switch in the boost position, the sound is very bright but not harsh at all. I tend to place it an inch or two back from the grill, either dead center if I want a really bright sound or a little bit off center to make it a little less bright.

The mic has a decent output level and does not require as much preamp gain as an SM57, which means you get less hiss as a result. And with its cardiod pattern, you pick up very little outside noise when it's right up to the amp grill.

I like the SM57 better on thick distorted sounds, though the e906 is certainly useable for that application. I haven't actually tried the e906 on this type of sound with the mid switch in cut position - it might sound quite good like that. The Blue Ball picks up a fuller, rounder sound, sort of like a condenser would but without as much top end. It sounds better than the e906 when I play my semi-hollow and I'm going for a deeper, fuller tone, though again the e906 is perfectly usable and I haven't tried it with the mid switch in cut position.

If I had to have just one of the three (e906, SM57, Ball), it would definitely be the e906. While the e906 can fill the other roles just fine, the SM57 tends to sound too shrill on the clean sounds and the Ball doesn't seem to have enough presence on the distorted sounds. So they are not as versatile, in my opinion.

I've been playing guitar for over 20 years and started recording my own stuff on 4 track cassette machines in the early 90's. For the past few years I've used a Korg D1200 and a Shure SM57.

I use this mic on an open back Boogie DC35 cab that I run a Carvin Legacy thru. I poition the e906 about 2/3 up the speaker cone. This mic sounds very different than the Shure. This mic eliminates a bit of the harshness coming out of the speaker whereas the Shure seems to magnify it. It tends to sound a little dark but not overly so. I actually enjoy listening to the amp tone thru the mic and DAW more than just listening to the amp speaker.

I would recommend this mic if the Shure (or any other mic) is capturing to much harshness or shrillness from the speaker cab. This mic really rounds out the tone and leaves it nice and punchy.

I've been a drummer for over two decades and a guitarist for less than two years, but I love Rickenbackers and Telecasters and started to play them devotedly. I have a Vox AC15. I do a fair amount of analog four-track recording.

This is a dynamic cardoid pattern mic designed with guitar cabinets in mind, but Sennheisser adds that this works well as a drum mic.

This mic is significantly better for recording bright, chiming kinds of guitar sounds than Shure SM57s, though I am no hater of Shure mics. But I put the 906e near the center of the AC15 and it is happy to be there. It is desgined to be placed quite close to the sound source. It has a three way switch; the top notch nudges up the middle highs (1.5k--10khz) and the lower notch pulls down the same range slightly. The top notch is super bright; I usually leave the tone switch in its center, neutral position.

This mic has very open and musical qualities; that is--not shrill. It is made for close in, loud bright sounds, and it is also a superb snare microphone.

While this mic is tuned toward high frequency music, it has a broad response and I have used it to reasonable effect on a bass cabinet.

I'll give it a nine with the idea that there may be something better for your work out there, but this is the best mic for the sort of chiming, Beatlish sounds or biting Beck-era Yardbirds guitar sounds that I know of.

I have been a musician for 28 years and have been recording ever since. I had an internship at a 24 track studio in the late 1980s. Since then have been acquiring gear and recording friends and myself. Currently I record to a Mac G4 with MOTU interfaces and Digital Performer 4.12. I have a Ramsa WR-8428 console and a Hafler power amp with Yamaha NS10's as my monitoring setup.

Small mic, huge sound.

The e906 is a dynamic mic with supercardioid pattern. It has a 3 position eq switch; accentuated 4-6k bump, flat, and high end roll off.

I have only had the chance to use this on a guitar cabinet, and it is a really nice mic. I often use a ribbon mic and a condenser mixed to one channel to get a nice balance between heft and sizzle. This mic sounded like the mixture of the two that I try to get. I was truly amazed, because now I can get that sound while tracking with multiple instruments in the live room. The back lobe of the ribbons makes the dual setup difficult in "live" situations.

It has a very detailed midrange and strong low end. It has taken over a lot of the duties my 421 had. Excellent side rejection, very little room bleed-through. Sennheiser does not publish SPL handling specs for this mic, but I would wager it's pretty high. I haven't overdriven it yet.

The e906 is pretty light and doesn't seem exactly rugged, and the clip is a tight fit. I worry about crushing the mic or at least bending the grill when forcing it into the clip. So instead, I use a mic clip that is a clamp. That's a small price to pay for such a huge sound.

I've been in the recording game as an artist and engineer for as long as I can remember(mid 60's). I'm using a Korg D-32xd as my personal recording unit and some Roland 90 watt near field speakers. I have a dozen or so mics, shure, sennhieser, nady etc. I've been trying to upgrade the quality of my recordings.

I've recently bought the e906 because of my experience with the e609. I've a/b'd the e609 in another review against the sm-57 and the sennhieser was so much more realistic then the shure. The shure mic sounded muffled in comparison to the e609. So, I thought I'd spend a little more for the e906. I used it on a project that my bass player started. I was using a distorted tone on my guitar for this piece and I must say that my guitar never sounded fuller or more alive then it does on that recording. I had the mic set in the middle position. It has a 3 filter switch that you can experiment with. I just love what this mic does for the guitar.