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[richbreen]

Hi there - I've just been perusing Neumann's Capsule/Microphone doc and it reminded me of something I've been confused about for ages:  So a K47 and a K49 are referred to usually interchangeably, and they appear to have been introduced in 1960 - so they are the same capsule?  Is that correct?  1960 is the correct date? 

Is there such a thing as a KK47 or KK49?  I sometimes see references to those, but there's no listing for them in Neumann's document - Do they exist and are they different from a K47/49?

Thanks for clarification!

rich

[klaus]

Hello Rich,
To answer the easy part first:

"KK" plus a number refers to the complete capsule head (Kapselkopf) of a Neumann mic, not just the capsule, which has the prefix "K".
As an example, "KK47" describes the U47's complete head, with capsule, capsule mount, switch assembly and basket.

Until a few decades ago, the principal difference between a K47 and K49 capsule was the uniformity of capsule capacitance between front and rear sides: Because an M49 incorporates a figure-eight pattern, it requires a more or less identical output of both sides of the capsule. Therefore those K47 capsules which measured similar capacitance front and rear were labeled "K49".

Better quality control for all K47 capsules makes it unnecessary to distinguish between K47 and K49 these days. When it comes to capsule replacement I advise to choose the cheaper version (which has flipped back and forth through the decades, for what I believe were marketing reasons).

[richbreen]

Ah, fantastic - all clear!  And those capsules were first introduced in 1960?

thanks!!
rich

[klaus]

The first K47/48/49 appeared in a U48 I had here that was made in late 1958.
M49 received the first K47 in 1959, and U47 did not get the K47 until 1960.

But there was no cut and dry date for the transition from M7 to K47. M7 were used on and off in Neumann U47 mics through 1961.

[richbreen]

Thank you!