Neumann U47

rdf:langString Neumann U47

rdf:langString The Neumann U 47 is a large-diaphragm condenser microphone. It is one of the most famous studio microphones and was Neumann's first microphone after the Second World War. The original series, manufactured by Georg Neumann GmbH between 1949 and 1965, employed a tube design; early U 47s used the M 7 capsule, then replaced by the K 47 from 1958. Units produced before 1950 were distributed by Telefunken and bear the Telefunken logo. Since Telefunken ceased production of VF 14 tubes in 1957, the U 47 was discontinued in 1965 and followed by the U 47 FET in 1969; it employed the same capsule (K 47) and a similar head grille but used solid-state circuitry (discrete op-amps). Intended to recreate the sound of the original U 47, it enjoyed only limited success; however, the U 47 FET, being able to handle high-pressure levels, became popular among recording engineers as a bass drum microphone, and it is also appreciated as a brass, double bass, and guitar amp microphone. Neumann manufactured the U 47 FET between 1969 and 1986 and reissued it in 2014. The Neumann U 47 is regarded as one of several all-time preferred tube recording microphones ("The Big Five"). Its desirability is based primarily on the synergy of its three sound-shaping components: capsule, tube, transformer. The U47 was especially popular in US studios. Frank Sinatra owned his own U 47; Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Tony Bennett and the Beatles also used it. According to the microphone manufacturer John Peluso, "it's hard to find an album recorded in the 1950s or 1960s that didn't have a U47 on it; the Beatles used the mike for almost every track they sang from 1962 through 1970".