I am really lucky because a very good friend of mine gave me his vintage Neumann U-67 to use on one of those indefinite loan kind of deals. It really does sound fantastic, and I use it all the time. But it recently went down and I had to record some vocals for an album project. I had recently acquired a U-99 and used it instead. It sounded fantastic as well. Not only does it sound great, the workmanship and quality is amazing, right down to the cabling. Another nice touch is the continuously variable polar pattern, variable from omni to figure 8 and anything in between, including cardioid. When I got my U-67 back, using the same vocalist, we A-B'd the two mics. The difference? The U99 has a little more upper mid, while the U67 has a bit more bottom end and warmth. Other than that, the quality and overall tone of both mics was almost indistinguishable. The biggest difference between the two is price. The U99 lists for under $2000, while I've heard U67s can go for 5K or more. If I wasn't so lucky, would I pay thousands more for a U67 over a U99 to get a little more warmth and a Neumann logo on the mic? No.
Microphones | No. 117
MS47 Mark II Tube Mic
by Larry Crane
For many years, Bill Bradley (Tape Op #42) has built a reputation for expertly repairing microphones in the Nashville area. Over ten years ago, Bill branched into building his own mics, and the MS47...