Neumann U47
The Neumann U47 was a large diaphragm condenser microphone from Georg Neumann GmbH . It is one of the most famous studio microphones and was the first microphone produced by Neumann after the Second World War.
Development and technology
For the U47 Georg Neumann used the M7 capsule of his first condenser microphone CMV 3 (“Neumann bottle”). The electronics of the U47 were based on the Telefunken VF14 M electron tube with a steel grid. The decision to develop the U47 was also made because Telefunken launched the lower-noise VF14 tube in 1947. The tube was initially intended to be used for shortwave receivers and antenna amplifiers, as it had a low-noise, steep universal pentode with a separate brake grille for universal current operation.
As the first microphone on the U47, the directional characteristic could also be switched between cardioid and omnidirectional. Technically, the polarization voltage of the microphone capsule was rotated, which led to a change in the bias on the membrane . The BV-08 output transformer with static screen, the M7 capsule (later replaced by K47) and the power supply unit specially made for the microphone were further characteristics of the U47.
In the 1950s, capacitors with smaller designs were developed. So it was possible for the U47 to be about three centimeters shorter from 1956 ( English short body ). According to Andreas Grosser, a German specialist in condenser microphones, there were eight different variants of the U47, which were minimally due to component changes and the one-time shortening of the housing tube. In 1957, von Neumann presented the U48, which differed from the U47 in terms of the selectable cardioid and double cardioid characteristics. The capsule head of the U47 can be operated on a U48 amplifier, but the U48 head cannot be operated on a U47 amplifier.
The Neumann U47 is also available as a Telefunken, more rarely also a Siemens-labeled microphone.
Due to the division of Germany, the Neumann company was divided into the eastern branch Neumann Gefell and the western branch Georg Neumann GmbH West Berlin. With the UM-57 with M7 capsule, Neumann Gefell produced a microphone that was comparable to the U47 in terms of equipment.
Numerous companies tried more or less successfully to imitate the U47 in terms of sound and appearance. However, the original VF14 tube has not been manufactured since the 1960s and other parts are now technically obsolete and have been replaced by new developments. The Berlin company Vox-O-Rama manufactures its "Type 47" microphone with an M7 capsule, the BV-08 transformer and an FET-based replica of the VF14 tube. The Slovak company FLEA builds a large-diaphragm tube microphone, the FLEA 47. US companies are particularly committed to copying historical German microphones, as there was no significant development of condenser microphones in the USA. With the CM7, the US company Wunder Audio is building a reproduction of the U-47 with an M7 capsule, transformer and both polar patterns. The brand name "Telefunken Elektroakustik" was taken over by the US company of the same name, Telefunken-Elektroakustik in Connecticut , which reproduces old microphones. It manufactures the RFT AK-47 MkII as a mixture between the Neumann M49 and U47 / U48.
Today Georg Neumann GmbH , which was taken over by Sennheiser , is again producing a U47 in FET technology under the name U47-FET. This is a new edition of the U47 FET, which was introduced in 1970 and with which Neumann wanted to build on the success of the U47.
use
The U47 became popular with many artists in the early 1950s. Despite the rather high price of around 400 dollars, many sound engineers used it because they could make recordings with very high levels of detail. The sound engineer John Quimby calls the sound of the U47 "aggressive" and therefore a very good choice next to speech and vocals for drums, wind instruments and the acceptance of guitar amps .
Neumann still advertises that well-known artists such as the Beatles in Abbey Road Studios used U47 and U48 for their recordings. Frank Sinatra owned his own U47. The U47 was particularly popular in US studios. Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and Tony Bennett also use the U47. According to the opinion of the microphone manufacturer John Peluso, it is difficult to find an album recorded in the 1950s or 1960s that did not use a U47 when it was recorded. George Martin wrote that the U47 was his favorite microphone.
Individual evidence
- ^ Radiomuseum, Bernd Nagel: Steel tube VF14 - properties, data and application. Sighted January 20, 2016 [1]
- ↑ recording hacks: Neumann U 47 Multi-Pattern Tube Condenser Microphone. Viewed on January 20, 2016 [2]
- ↑ http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Wunder-Audio/CM7#ixzz40GBftm4E
- ↑ John Quimby: The Neumann Model U 47 multi-directional condenser microphone. Sighted January 20, 2016 [3]
- ↑ NPR: Couple's Custom Microphones Carry Colorful Past. Sighted January 21, 2016 [4]