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[Daniel_Dettwiler]

Hi all,
There will be a short contribution about me and my vintage mics at Swiss Television. Now they want to show that old Jazzstars like sinatra (or could also be classical music) have recorded with the U47. While I find 1000 of photos I don't find any filmed material on which Sinatra and a U47 is seen. If somebody knows something that would be great. If not Sinatra then something else could also fit, only it needs to be interessting for people not interessted in recording, otherwise the would not use it on the television.

Alternatively as I use a CMV3 a lot on my recordings it could also be a film on which a CMV3 is seen on a music recording (but that might even be more difficult).

Thanks for any help on this.
Regards
Daniel

[klaus]

Here is a German-language site I found which lists all movies in which Sinatra sang:

http://www.the-main-event.eu/film/songsinfilmen/index.html

It may take a bit of your time for you to sift through them and analyze scenes with him in front of one of them famous Chrome-Tops.

[Daniel_Dettwiler]

thanks!

[J. Mike Perkins]

Can't find any quick examples of film of Frank Sinatra recording with a U47 (or actually a U48 if at Capitol Studios) but there are a number of examples of the Beatles recording with U47's (or U48's) in the studio.  For example the Hey Bulldog promo from 1968, which uses actual studio footage of the recording session, clearly shows of the mic in all its glory in crisp color. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWdLPGKQRXc

In addition, here is a 2102 Sir Paul performance ("Valentine" - you can search for it if the link dies), live at Capitol Studios in L.A., and he is using the EXACT Neumann U48 that Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole are most associated with using when they recorded for Capitol in the 1950's (which currently has a Thiersch M7 capsule in it). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wxdtq1NpGI

You won't find many TV performances or films that feature the performer using a U47/U48 because they tend to be too big and obscure the singer's face. 

[boz6906]

Here's a page featuring a new video of Rosanne Cash with one of Capital's U48:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-road-trip-with-rosanne-cash/

[klaus]

Interesting mic positioning, beautiful performances by Rosanne and John Leventhal, and… dare I say it?… harsh, sibilant midrange from that mic! Could this be one of them replacement capsules in there?

[boz6906]

I haven't heard the CD yet, I'm hoping that harshness is an artifact of the MPEG codec.

I know that harshness isn't in her voice, I did a show with Roseanne and John a few years ago at Town Hall in NYC, I put up a Shure Beta58, it had a better tone on her voice than what I hear on the video.

Unfortunately, that midrange crunch is the exact problem I have with my U87Ai...

[J. Mike Perkins]

If you look at both the McCartney My Valentine clip and the Rosanne clip, you can see they are using different Capitol owned U48 mics (notice the white sticker below the Capitol sticker on Rosanne's mic, it is not on the U48 McCartney is using. The Capitol sticker on McCartney's mic is also more worn than the one on Rosanne's mic).  Although the somewhat harsh sound on the Rosanne clip is probably not the mic's fault, it is a different mic, and maybe, for whatever reason, Capitol's U48's may sound different from one to the other.  I think they have 3-4 of them.  The vocal sound on the McCartney clip sure is what I imagine a classic U47/U48 to sound like, present and clear, but certainly not harsh.  Although Sinatra, Nat King Cole and the other classic Capitol artists of the 1950's probably used all of Capitol's U48's at one time or another, the legend is the one McCartney is using is most closely associated with Sinatra.  Capitol was smart to hang on to those mics and keep them in service as they continue to attract clients in the 21st century.

[radardoug]

Interesting mic positioning, beautiful performances by Rosanne and John Leventhal, and… dare I say it?… harsh, sibilant midrange from that mic! Could this be one of them replacement capsules in there?

Probably not recorded with that mike, they are probably syncing to a previously recorded track, and put up the microphone the director liked the look of. I really like it when they put up a U67 the wrong way round to film a clip!

[klaus]

I don't believe they were lip-synching. It's just the recording chain of that specific live performance that is the problem here.

[hasbeen]

I watched the Sir Paul PBS special. I noticed that he really likes to get right up on that U47 as opposed to Sinatra who is always pictured a few feet from the mic. Then I did some searching and found that Paul and John both did a majority of their singing very close to the grille. When watching Lennon use the U87 the foam windscreen was always in place and John has his lips right up to it.

Just a comment on proximity, sorry if off topic.