Neumann U87 - Greatest Mic Ever, Or Total Trash? 

The midrange really supports the top, and that's one of the most valuable characteristics of the U87. I personally think the Blackhole top end is smoother, to my ear, but there sure is a lot of it.

Peaky might be a good way to describe it. Blackhole is kinda flat up until that 7k range and then it's take off.

you ended up getting a 67 at one point though right? Cause that's what the 87 wants to be.

@@WeissAdvice I don’t have a 67, but Brian does in studio A. Definitely superior to the 87! I feel like the 67 is almost a 1 size fits all mic for vocals, which is not the case for 87.

LOL The noise floor on the WA / alternative cheaper model clones is ridiculous.

It really comes down to the QUALITY of the top end. If I wanted to darken up the Blackhole it would sound fine because what's there is very well represented. Similarly, I can brighten up the U87 and while it's a bit more textured and maybe a hair grainy, it still sounds good.

@@WeissAdvice Good to know. I think bright mics definitely have more potential to sound amazing but I feel quite cautious about buying one because I don't have a draw full of alternatives :D

you have a decent preamp?

@@WeissAdvice Yes. Neve Shelford Channel and two Neve 511s.

Someone asked me about how I "feel about Telefunken mics" and that was kinda my thought. Bad or good, over time they've become such an iconic sound there's almost this subconscious emotional connection.

Sounds to me like there's a bit of roll off and extra saturation in the top, which is a natural affect of age. Resistance builds up along the circuit path and causes those to occur. The capsule itself is likely in great condition. Because I do a lot of mixing I rarely use x-or solo mode. I'm often times soloing multiple things to hear them specifically together and I guess I'm just averse to the shift key.

@@WeissAdvice thanks for the reply. I was mainly checking because I have a bunch of LDC's that seem pretty stable...same capsules for years and years...but my Manley Ref C needs a new capsule every 7 or so years...I did get 10yrs out of one though, but Paul over at Manley said that is quite rare...That makes perfect sense about the mute button thing...I figured there had to be a specific reason...I do a ton of vocal tracking and comping here, so when going through a bunch of takes, x-or is definitely a necessity for me

You're the second person to ask me about Roswell Microphones. I like U67s on rap quite a bit, they have a much broader midrange saturation than U87s so you get a smoother sound, but still get that mid forwardness that rap vocals tend to like. TLM103 is another mic that gets a lot of controversy. I like them. Particularly on Cello and Upright Bass.

@@WeissAdvice Legend, thanks heaps for your response and view/experience.

You can use the Sphere to figure out what generally sounds best as it emulates other mics. What are you using for a preamp?

@@WeissAdvice Good idea, thanks. I wasn't sure if the Sphere really is close to the mics that it sims. I have Neve 1073, API 512c, UA 610, Earthworks 521 ZDT, Cranborne Camden mic pre's as well as UAD Apollo X8p preamps. I've done a shootout, but as I say, I'm not really sure what I'm looking for to suit my voice, they all sound great! I suppose it's that slight nuance that will give the best result, I just don't know what I'm meant to be looking for.

Def try Telefunken TF51 and thank me later ;)

That's also a really good consideration - if both of your options are going to sound good, at the end of the day, how often does it matter what the EXACT sound is. Sometimes it matters, but a lot of the time, we just want something that's going to represent the source well. And if a cheaper mic matches up, why not! As components age they come out of spec. Capacitors experience dielectric loss, tube filaments start to run out of electrons, dust and smoke can collect on the capsule, head baskets get damaged, nicotine corrodes wire. Sometimes circuits need to have matched components in order to produce a linear response, and when they come out of spec it produces subtle distortion. As various components corrode or collect dirt the resistance goes up which usually results in high freq roll off. Someone who knows the electronics could probably explain it better but that's about the gist of it. I think the theory with higher frequency response is that if you can collect accurately up to 40k, that means your 20k-22k is going to be much more linear than if you are only tuning up to 24k. Otherwise you may need a mic that goes much higher if you are recording things for like sciency purposes.

I know some sound effects people that use it for things like creature voices. when you record that high you can slow it down even further while keeping it natural sounding.

@@RedSpark_ Interesting. Thanks for that info!

@@WeissAdvice Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I got your guide to low end and hope to build upon what ATCQ taught me. Since you seem to appreciate a lot of 90's HH, I thought I would share this mix of 3 beats I made and 3 jokes (Norm Dave Norm) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-heiBqp1fxAM.html

Tbh I find the 87 way too mid forward, particularly on my already mid-forward voice. The blackhole is definitely a bright mic though.

@@WeissAdvice you might try JZ Vintage 67 someday, it has a slight mid dip and sounds smooth, altough needs deessing but it' way less bright than Blackhole. I like it a lot for vocals

Yea, I pretty much have a u87 so I can say I have a u87. It's a good mic, but, meh, there's better.

What microphones do you use now?? Names and models

@@danielpenaofficial4186 I primarily engineer classical recordings, so my go-to mics are usually small diaphragm and in the Schoeps family. CMC6 bodies and a variety of capsules, but most commonly the mk2 and mk4 caps.

Kind of - except NS10s are genuinely bad monitors and everyone is (or should be) kind of aware of it. It's sort of the point. U87s are genuinely good monitors, but in my opinion and as stated I think they get a little more hype than deserved.

I heard it mentioned in a Zappa song...

Kind of. The U47 has always been a George Neumann design, but Telefunken was the original distributor of the U47, so the first mass produced U47s had a Telefunken badge. The original circuit was also designed around a Telefunken tube, but when that tube got discontinued the mic was redesigned in a number of ways (including the U67 which had a different capsule design). It looks old.

@@WeissAdvice I'm guessing you are not familiar with the lyrics of the Zappa song I was alluding to. P'robly for the best. The line is something like "It looks just like a Telefunken U47.. You'll love it!' In the song Frank is trying to persuade a girl to join the crew on the bus by saying he has a 'present' for her. From the Album 'Joe's Garage'.

I agree, particularly on my already honky-ass voice LOL

@@WeissAdvice lol

U killing the game I would love to see u put that whole mix start to finish of that Rick Ross feature that will have your views and subscribers through the roof