Neumann U 47 Dual-Pattern Tube Condenser Microphone #1462 (Vintage)

The Neumann U 47 is the granddaddy of large diaphragm condenser microphones and features a legendary sound that has captured the vocal stylings of the greatest singers in the modern era. The Beatles used it to great effect, as did Frank Sinatra. From Ella to Adele, the Kingston Trio to the King of Pop, the vocal sounds of jazz and rock, folk and pop would not be the same without a U 47 in the studio. Its richness of tone and full body that peaks at just the right frequencies for the human voice has made the U 47 the undisputed king of vocal microphones.

“The U 47, in my opinion, is the number one vocal mic of choice if I️ only had one to choose from. Not to mention they’re outstanding for one, two and three mic drum recording techniques and on nearly any instrument.” - Mike Nehra, Co-Founder, Vintage King

DESIGN AND HISTORY

The U 47 created its legendary sound with precision German engineering and the perfect synergy of all the right elements: a large wire-mesh head grille surrounding a capsule design perfected in 1932, amplified by a wartime Telefunken vacuum tube feeding a custom-wound transformer. It was the first mic produced by Georg Neumann GmbH in post-war Berlin, and became the industry standard microphone in the early fifties, when engineers like Rudy van Gelder (who got the second-ever U 47 to appear in the States).

Gelder discovered that the sensitivity of the mic brought a heightened sense of presence and detail to their recordings. Aficionados of his early Blue Note work will tell you how fantastic those recordings sound, due in large part to the character of the U 47. But high fidelity comes at a cost, and the U 47 was originally three times the price of the next-most expensive microphone, the RCA 77 ribbon mic. The combination of head grille, diaphragm, tube and output transformer created a magical tone that has never been duplicated. Each separate element had a role to play in the creation of a most amazing transducer.

CREATING THE SIGNAL WITH THE M7 CAPSULE

In the U 47 the signal is created by the fluctuations of the dual diaphragm capsule, the famous M7. This capsule can be set for cardioid or omnidirectional mode. Originally designed for the CMV 3 bottle mic, the M7 design has stood the test of time, and is still made today by Microtech Gefell, who originally supplied many of the early M7s from East Germany, prior to the creation of the Berlin Wall. Initially, the diaphragms were made of PVC at 12 microns thick, with a thin layer of evaporated gold. The membrane was glued to the capsule and edge-terminated around dual backplates made of brass, with 90 precision-drilled holes per side. Although highly sensitive to sound waves, the PVC material could decay over time. As the diaphragm aged the PVC lost tension and strength, shrinking and creating hairline cracks in the film. This allowed moisture to penetrate, causing dropouts due to loss of conductivity.

By 1960, a replacement material was found in Mylar (a type of polyester), which became the diaphragm for the new K47/K49 capsule used in the later U 47 mics, and in the M 49. The new design used a single backplate and held the diaphragm in tension with 12 screws in a brass mounting ring. Originally, the best of these capsules, with the tightest tolerances between diaphragms, were designated K48/49, to indicate better performance in figure-eight mode for the U 48 and M 49. Eventually, the production tolerances became so good that the designation lost all meaning, and any later capsule was officially designated as K47/49. Microphones delivered with the new capsule were usually indicated as U 47a, starting around number 4800, which is also when the transformer changed.

FEATURES:

• Dual pattern large diaphragm tube condenser microphone considered to be the great vocal mic ever produced
• Rich tone and full body tone
• Cardioid and omnidirectional polar patterns
• Excels on vocals, pianos, stringed instruments, or guitar cabs or as a room mic or drum overhead

Click here to learn more about the history of the Neumann U 47 and U 48.