Review by Jeff Laurence Gill, Autumn
Hill Studios
Franklin, NC USA
These microphones are destined to be the benchmark standard for the "new classic sound" and will surely go up in value.
When I began my career as a voice talent in 1970 doing radio and television commercials, along with industrial narrations I had the opportunity to do work at a commercial studio in Toronto, Canada using a Neumann U47 tube microphone. I had used many of the microphones of the time..including the Shure SM5B, and the venerable Sennheiser MD421..but I had never been to a studio that used these huge, independently powered microphones.
Well...I was hooked!
I knew I possessed the ability to read
scripts..and take direction..but I had no idea that one microphone could
make such a difference interpreting my words to tape. It was then
that I vowed to someday operate my own studio, and I was going to one day
OWN one of these magic microphones!
As the years passed I was fortunate to do
work for studios all around North America, and only on few occasions was I
able to find one that had a U47. When I inquired if they would be
willing to part with it..the answer was always NO.
These days I now own my own successful
production facility in the mountains of North Carolina, and I've seen the
advertisements for "vintage quality" microphones..."close
to the original" knock-offs, and otherwise imitations of the great
U47. You can type in "Neumann U47" right now on the
internet and find scores of sites that sell "mint condition"
vintage mics, "restore" these mics, and still more that
offer studio tube microphones that are "just as good" as the
U47..with some tipping the 10 thousand dollar mark. I must say that
with no other alternative I bought one of the "restored"
Telefunken branded U48's (same mic with a different pattern selection) and
up until August of 2003 I loved it like a new baby...but it was
not quite the same.
I had read with great interest the website
of Mr. Gunter Wagner..a well known microphone technician, and one of only
a very few who could repair the costly Neumann U47. He did so with
such a commitment to the original sonic quality of the U47, and attention
to detail that was beyond comparison. It was obvious that Mr. Wagner
knew his stuff!
In August of 2003 I began looking for a
pair of U47s that would be suitable for a new studio project that we were
building, and I had just about given up my search for any two that would
sound as good as that original U47. I was about to just purchase two
of the "almost as good as" spin-off microphones from an audio
supply house when I saw a link to a website called www.german-tubemics.com
and there...posted only weeks before was a page showing two U47's side by
side..and one of them was a NEW mic! A NEW U47 hand built by Gunter
Wagner! I HAD to have one!
These
are hand made in Germany and Australia and these are the REAL
DEAL. Gunter has been in the business of repairing Neumann and
Telefunken mics for decades, and he KNOWS what they are supposed
to SOUND like..and that is the key. Many manufacturers will
publish graphs, and show technical specs that look good on paper, and a
few take great pride at how their mics "look just like the
original". In Mr. Wagner's case he has taken into consideration
the most important characteristic for any studio mic...how it SOUNDS on
the final production. Then, he has a keen sense for the
one extra ingredient that yesterday's tube mics possessed, and
today's mic's would like to have...the MAGIC. Most of these
vintage mics were built nearly 50 years ago, and as most electronic
components change or just go bad, each mic that's still out there sounds
different from when it was new..Plus you can't get original tubes for
them any longer. There are some "restoration" companies
out there that don't restore...they modify to accommodate for available
parts etc. I have a "restored Telefunken U48" that I am
using now, and it's great, but these Wagner re-issues are true to the
ORIGINAL sonic specifications, and there is simply nothing as good
as this out there...at ANY price! The only thing better might be a
"wayback" machine to get a few when they were only
500 dollars or so..but alas there is not.
Today..right now, we have the
finest microphone available on the planet right here..for a price that is
much less than many "vintage" mic dealers are getting for their
"mint condition" U47's..and less than many of the newly built
"look-alikes" In either case you take a chance that the
vintage unit will not have problems (most do), and that the new unit's
manufacturers will be around in 3 years (many
aren't). With a Gunter Wagner re-issue, you get the pristine
hand-made microphone, hand-wired power supply, OEM style elastic shock
mount, and hand wired and tested connector cable..along with a
service warranty provided by several reputable companies worldwide.
Because the microphones are totally hand made, and production capability
is limited the actual price will vary..but if you want to make a
"sound" investment, both in your careers as a studio owner,
voice talent, singer or musician..and in a fine piece of audio history, I
would encourage you to immediately reserve your U47w as soon as you are
able. These microphones are destined to be the benchmark standard
for the "new classic sound" and will surely go up in value.
Jeff Laurence Gill
Autumn Hill Studios
Franklin, NC USA