What is the elegance? The capsule diaphragm from any manufacturer can be attached directly to the first mesh of the vacuum tube. How elegantly do you end up changing the directivity pattern of this microphone in the studio when needed? Or are you going to buy another tube microphone instead, or two?
Check the price for a (claimed) NOS original VF14M tube replacement, you'll have a shock. If you can find them, you'll have a much better chance in finding 2SK389/2SJ109 dual JFET pairs.
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Martin Cantola of Pearl microphones built a Calrec style sound field microphone out of 4 original Neumann U47 capsules and VF14's. I think it was a one off, but it looked amazing.
I am glad that you have finally begun to slowly navigate these schemes. And as you can see, the best ones have SE amplification on electron tubes, a transformer output and several from 2 to 3 directivity adjustments.
The main "star" of the company, without a doubt, remained the M7 capsule and the revolutionary idea of switching the microphone directivity pattern for that time. In the future, based on the M7, Neumann will release a real "army" of amazing microphones: U47, U48, M49, CMV563, UM57, UM70, UM71, UMT71S, MT71S, UM921S, UM92S, UMT800 and UMT900!
The main "star" of the company, without a doubt, remained the M7 capsule and the revolutionary idea of switching the microphone directivity pattern for that time. In the future, based on the M7, Neumann will release a real "army" of amazing microphones: U47, U48, M49, CMV563, UM57, UM70, UM71, UMT71S, MT71S, UM921S, UM92S, UMT800 and UMT900!
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But does a 'new' U47 have any of the Cachet of one that has been used by someone famous in the past on a known album? I've always assumed that the value of a U47 is based upon whose DNA can be extracted from the dried spittle on it...
Bill, try 1954 Mercury Records Living Presence, OL-3-102A, Swan lake, mono, single U-47
Oh, may be this is not new enough...
If you actualy use it to record then you dont care about anything but the sound. Two different worlds.
Everything has its drawbacks, even the U47. Otherwise, Neumann would have stopped only on this model. And other manufacturers on its copy. In addition to Neumann, tube microphones with good sounding were produced in the GDR, at the same RFT plant, which was nationalized after the war, at Telefunken, in Czechoslovakia TESLA, AKG Austria, in LOMO and Octavein USSR, in Japan SONY. All capsules and vacuum tubes have their own special style, and sound engineers are well aware of the features of each model of these manufacturers, use and take this into account when recording. For example, LOMO microphones with a gold diaphragm are best suited for baritone recording. And RFT microphones with an aluminum diaphragm sound extremely realistic and perfectly capture the atmosphere of the hall. By the way, if you are careful, you will see that the U47 membrane is also connected through the C1 capacitor.
Those early Mercury monos are on my list, although will have a problem getting yet another copy of swan lake past the approvals comittee 🙂
Except you still see interviews with artists where they are wowing over using the same U47 as Sinatra did, so it matters to some*. And you read about others who take their own microphone with them to each session.
*and nothing wrong if they given their best performance thinking they have a magic mike** in front of them.
** yes aware of the double entendre there 🙂
Now I watched the circuit of the Cambridge Audio Azur 840E preamplifier and the Cambridge Audio Azur 840W power amplifier
Cambridge Audio Azur 840E Stereo Preamplifier Manual | HiFi Engine
Cambridge Audio Azur 840W Stereo Power Amplifier Manual | HiFi Engine
The developers did not particularly bother. Installed non-polar electrolytes shunted with polypropylene capacitors.
Cambridge Audio Azur 840E Stereo Preamplifier Manual | HiFi Engine
Cambridge Audio Azur 840W Stereo Power Amplifier Manual | HiFi Engine
The developers did not particularly bother. Installed non-polar electrolytes shunted with polypropylene capacitors.
I was talking about the engineers not the artists. The good ones will use the one that sounds best, even if its the $100 mic.
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Of course a good Engineer uses the right tool for the job.
But I just found an interview from 2011 where Seth MacFarlane was pushing a record he had done and he gushes over using the same mic as Sinatra. He also claims it was on loan from the smithsonian, which it wasn't.
But a bit of digging turns up that Capitol doesn't have any U47s, only U48s and all of them have been refurbed since the 50s with new capsules....
But I just found an interview from 2011 where Seth MacFarlane was pushing a record he had done and he gushes over using the same mic as Sinatra. He also claims it was on loan from the smithsonian, which it wasn't.
But a bit of digging turns up that Capitol doesn't have any U47s, only U48s and all of them have been refurbed since the 50s with new capsules....
Going back to the schematic Scott posted, I assume if you wanted a different directivity pattern, you’d just screw the appropriate capsule head onto the mic body or am I just being naive here?
The best recording I have is the New York Philharmonic doing West Side story in an auditorium at one of the hotels there (Metropolitan?) from c. 1963/4.
Seems to me the recording side of things was sorted in the mid 1950’s but it took decades for the playback side to catch-up.
Seems to me the recording side of things was sorted in the mid 1950’s but it took decades for the playback side to catch-up.
switchable pattern mikes usually have 2 diaphragms, certainly the U47 and U48 worked that way. PVC membrane was apparantly the magic in that.