MODIFIED MICROPHONES
I once asked Bruce Swedien about
modified microphones, and what did he think of them. He waved his hand as if to
wave off the question, and he can afford to. His collection of 106 microphones (now
105, one was stolen from him) contains at least 2 of every classic vintage
microphone you could think of, purchased new by Swedien many, many, many years
ago. For most engineers, the Holy Grail of microphones is the legendary Neumann U47 tube microphone. From The Beatles to The Beach Boys, Lady Gaga to Jay-Z, this
microphone winds up in front of the lead vocalist on many legendary recordings.
Frank Sinatra even had his own U47 that he used on his recordings!!! This
classic microphone, designed in 1947, has been copied over the years by various
manufacturers, but they never quite “got it”. Pictured below are a few of the
many U47 “clones” and microphones that were inspired by the Neumann U47
Only 5000 original
U47s were ever made, and a good working vintage unit today can cost you between
$10.000 and $15.000. The U47 is now being reissued by Telefunken, who was the distributor for the
original Neumann U47. This is as close as you’re going get to a vintage U47
without breaking the bank, if you can call $8500 not breaking the bank. For
those who want the mojo of a vintage mic without the vintage mic budget, a
modified microphone is the way to go for “the rest of us”
There are a number
of people who offer microphone modification services today, taking cheap
Chinese condenser microphones and turning them into boutique mics.
My favorite is
Michael Joly at Oktavamod in Cape Cod, Mass. For $399, he will take a MXL v250 microphone, remove all inferior parts & wiring, replaces it with
top notch components, and the result is a microphone with the sonic
signature of the $3600
Neumann U87 condenser microphone. Bruce Swedien may not be a fan of modded
mics, but for us without a 100+ vintage mic collection, this will do!!!
