The dollar markup on a long body U47 is slight, at best. Don
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studio infoThey say the heart of Rock & Roll is still beating, which is amazing if you consider all the blow it's done over the years. "The Internet enables pompous blowhards to interact with other pompous blowhards in a big circle jerk of pomposity." - Bill Maher "The negative aspects of this business, not only will continue to prevail, but will continue to accelerate in madness. Conditions aren't going to get better, because the economics of rock and roll are getting closer and closer to the economics of Big Business America." - Bill Graham
« Reply #24 on: February 27, 2007, 11:08:36 AM »
Hello, of course, modifying a perfectly working U48 would never come to my mind, unless I had a perfectly obvious reason for doing so. A conversion from 47V to 60V gives you 2dB higher sensitivity, 2dB lower equivalent noise, and 2 dB less headroom. 2dB is usually not a good reason for a major modification of vintage mics. Some further notes: A one sided figure-8 characteristic is commonly called hypercardioid or supercardioid. The "infamous BV8 version" is presumably the BV8B version, with 50 ohms output impedance. Specially made for the then requirements of the U.S. market and the then available pre-amps. I never knew it was so infamous, but if that's your opinion... It's just one of 4 transformer versions that were used in the U47 / 48, that could be set to 6 (or was it 7?) different possibilities. Back to the Neumann website now. Bye! Best regards, Martin Schneider / Neumann Mic. Development
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« Reply #25 on: February 28, 2007, 05:32:52 PM »
Thanks, Martin, for your input. Martin Schneider wrote on Tue, 27 February 2007 08:08 |
The "infamous BV8 version" is presumably the BV8B version, with 50 ohms output impedance. ... It's just one of 4 transformer versions that were used in the U47 / 48, that could be set to 6 (or was it 7?) different possibilities.
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Unfortunately, if you have the BV8B in your stock U48, you are not only stuck with the aforementioned lower s/n and output of that model, but you also cannot undo, by changing to different taps, the additional 4-6dB lowered output from this special transformer's secondary windings- a permanent, unchangeable feature.
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« Reply #26 on: March 08, 2007, 09:28:49 PM »
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pucksound & son
« Reply #27 on: March 08, 2007, 11:45:35 PM »
Aside the very first x-former the Gefell made M core all other U47 x-former were the same size from 1949 to 1963.....
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Oliver Archut www.tab-funkenwerk.comWe are so advanced, that we can develop technology that can determine how much damage the earth has taken from the development of that technology.
« Reply #28 on: March 09, 2007, 10:23:19 AM »
What a great and informative thread. I'd only like to add that I have both a U-47 and U-48 and I find the musical differences between them to be virtually interchangable. And I'm pretty sure that I must have the lower output transformer. (But now I can check!)
I've often been encouraged by mythologizers to convert the 48 into the "superior" 47, but why would I want to give up the ability to do M/S recording with such a lovely colored pair of mics? As a vocal mic, tracking the same singer with either leads to an identical sound. The variations in a voice from day-to-day outweigh the minute differences between the mics.
DS
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"There IS no Coolometer." - Larry Janus
« Reply #29 on: December 03, 2009, 09:39:34 PM »
Wow, what an awesome thread! So good as a matter of fact, that I just registered on PSW so I could thank you all for this wealth of information and also ask for all of your opinions on something. I purchased a new (not vintage) TELEFUNKEN ELA M 251E for a good friend of mine when I set up her recording studio a few years ago. She's VERY happy with her 251, but she's now ready to add a U47 or U48 to her collection and I was planning on taking the same route, that is, to purchase a new (not vintage) TELEFUNKEN U47 or U48. Just to be clear, this mic is intended for practical use, not collectibility... so variance in sound quality is the only concern... and I am aware of the internal differences between the vintage VF14M and the new VF14K tubes. Any feedback would be most appreciated. By the way... I'm a vintage freak myself, so don't hold back ;^) Thanks! Oh, and here's a link to the mics - http://www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com/products/mics/u47-u 48.php
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