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In the 45 years since the last Neumann U47 FET was built, the microphone has grown in stature among vintage gear collectors and studio owners around the world. Capable of capturing epic drum and amplifier sounds, the transistor mic remains a truly versatile piece of recording art. Today at AES 2014, Neumann announced that they would be reviving the classic U47 FET, as a part of a special collector's series.

The birth of the U47 FET was directly a result of Neumann ending production on the tube-based U47 microphones in the mid 1960s. Using the same K47 capsule, but swapping tubes for transistors, Neumann's technicians worked to create a microphone that would be able to process extremely high sound pressure levels. The resulting U47 FET would become a staple of the next decade, as engineers and producers would start putting the mics right in front of amplifiers.

Neumann's reproduction of the U47 FET follows the original schematics and documents of the microphone from its classic era. Featuring FET 80 circuitry, this is a condenser mic with cardiod directional characteristic that has an extremely wide dynamic range. Additionally, the mic has a slight boost above 2khz and a low-cut filter that can be engaged to reduce the cutoff frequency from 40 Hz to 140Hz. To prevent overloading, the output signal can also be lowered, simply by using a switch on the bottom of the microphone.

The Collector's Edition of Neumann's U47 FET comes in classic nickel and will be delivered inside a beautiful wooded case. Within the packaging, each new U47 FET owner will receive a special certificate with the serial number of their microphone. After all, not only is this a beautiful microphone that MUST be used for recording, it's also an extremely special collectible edition of a true studio classic.