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!

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• microphone
• Neumann
• U87

[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]

@TheOrderoftheOwl 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]

@TheOrderoftheOwl 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?)

[darksith36]

@simonbjr18 YA ITS ALL BULLSHIT OVER PRICED CRAP.

[TheoTsanas]

Thanks for the handy steps. Just made mine.

[tubular618]

Sounds expensive.

[tubular618]

This thing on?

[deadbirdsings]

I would agree with the commentators here who say that Neumann mics are overpriced, but OTOH, Chinese-made mics, with few exceptions, make my ears bleed.

[faji187]

@wildhard its Made in germany

[moproducer]

@simonbjr18 Maybe not the best, but for many, preferred. Nowadays you can buy a very good mike for $250, and there are dozens of names. When I got into the biz, it was Neumann, AKG, Beyer, Sennheiser, Shoeps, RCA...that was about it. A U87, as seen in this vid, was considered a poor replacement for a U67 back in the 70s. I'd still take an M49, U47 or KM86 over a U87. But times have changed, and I'm surprised how well my $100 MXL performs. Not as good as a U87, but for the money...