How a Neumann U87 microphone is manufactured

Interesting little clip about how a Neumann U87 microphone is manufactured. Pretty fiddly, with a ton of hand labor - no wonder they're so freaking expensive!

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[TheOrderoftheOwl]

I have been racking my brain to try and figure out how the classic recordings get that great sound they do. For example, Some groups still use reel to reel to record albums and get that good analog sound but it still doesn't sound like for example, an recording made in the 60's. It doesn't even sound like a recording made in the 70's. So I came to the conclusion that the vintage mic's where the secret to getting that sound, I'm not sure though, maybe the secret is in the tape..

[postingoldtapes]

Personally, it was the acoustics of the recording studios and the practices of the time. I started recording in the late 70s, and remember how we got that "70s drum sound". It was all about paper towels, and duct-taping the drummer's wallet to the snare.

I prefer to record digitally, and dump tracks to analog as an effect. You're not going to lose the best characteristics of digital, and have a choice of how hard to saturate the tape after the fact.

[postingoldtapes]

Don't forget too that the players are different. I did sound for Ray Charles in the 80s, and he wanted to recapture the sound of his big band from the 60s. Only vocal mics. The problem is the young players really did not know how to play quietly in a band like the 60s guys did (who learned from the players of the '40s). So I had to sneak a mic in under his piano after sound check (which was a shitty thing to do to a blind man, but what can you do?)

[MattsterFelix]

Cool story wikipida lol 

[Electrocaseal]

you dont know shit about mics and dont know a u87 is just like most other mics in the fact it is voiced to work on some sources and not all sources will sound good on it and a lot of other mics will out perform it. now go get a life instead of pretending you know a damn thing.

[MattsterFelix]

Keep talking, someday you’ll say something intelligent.

[Electrocaseal]

god youre stupid

[Electrocaseal]

you sound like youre describing a blue snowball... u87 is not any better than a lot of condensers. ive seen it compared to other mics. they are all different and just as fucked up in their own ways that includes the u87

[mordokch]

Just a note for americans - solder has an 'L' in it - it is not, nor has it ever been called 'soder'

Neumann mics are very over priced but they are good, however these days it's quite possible to get a mic for a few hundred quid that sounds just as good (red5, se electronics etc)

[TheOrderoftheOwl]

I've also noticed that a lot of recordings from the 30's and 40's kind of have that real tight, compressed sound, kind of like they were singing through a can or something... I just think the modern recording sounds a little too clean and over produced.

[Sylvain Moreau]

the sound is also due to the acoustic and position of mics & musicians. In the 70's they didn't use one mic for each instrument (or several as we do now) and all was in the same room and recorded at once ... search for the video called : EDITED VERSION OF THE TEMPTATIONS IN HITSVILLE STUDIOS RECORDING (and don't miss the blanket over the piano)

[TiqueO6]

Seeing the backplates of condensers brings to light one reason why they have extra (artificial) highs compared to, especially, ribbons.

Resonances in those tiny drilled holes will created their own "ear-candy" as i like to say, in the very highs as will standing waves due to the close proximity of the plates and other membranes.

Also, round elements 'suffer' from resonances just like any round membrane will have resonances (drums, cymbals, etc).

Dynamic mics also have these issues.