Which preamp to invest in for the Neumann u87 mic?

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Provoice101

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Hi. I wish to upgrade my home studio equipment. I am planning to invest in a Neumann u87 microphone and a macbook pro. Pls advise on which pre-amp to use; to give justice to the u87. I need this only for vocals. No music or instruments.
Also, I need to understand if I would require an external sound card to go with the macbook pro or would the in-built sound card be enough?
Thanks!
 
If you take a $3,400 microphone and plug it into your stock soundcard on that Mac, I'm going to find out where you live and come over to punch you in the face.
 
Thanks Smart guy.... I do get the drift of what you said... I will def be needing a sound card. Now could u advise... which one ? and most imp. which preamp? (that would give a good punch to my recording;)!
 
If you are calling it a sound card the it's unlikely you will get much advantage from that mic. There are plenty of mics that cost a tenth of the U87 which will do nicely for someone with your level of knowledge. Combine a reasonable mic with a decent audio interface and you'll spend way less than $3400 and never notice a difference in quality. When you have the skills, knowledge and other necessities (proper recording space, excellent monitors etc.) then maybe it will be worthwhile spending that much on one mic.
 
Provoice101 said:
Thanks Smart guy.... I do get the drift of what you said... I will def be needing a sound card. Now could u advise... which one ? and most imp. which preamp? (that would give a good punch to my recording;)!
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bouldersoundguy said:
If you are calling it a sound card the it's unlikely you will get much advantage from that mic. There are plenty of mics that cost a tenth of the U87 which will do nicely for someone with your level of knowledge. Combine a reasonable mic with a decent audio interface and you'll spend way less than $3400 and never notice a difference in quality. When you have the skills, knowledge and other necessities (proper recording space, excellent monitors etc.) then maybe it will be worthwhile spending that much on one mic.
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There's a small chance (quite small you see we're all sort of betting here..?) that this, actually all the responses :D were in fact 'off the mark.

Now we wait to see. :p:D
 
There was a Groove Tubes ViPre that just sold for $1300 on eBay earlier today. I was soooooo tempted to get it, but I already have enough decent preamps, including the Groove Tubes SuPre, which isn't quite as top-end as the ViPre, but it is a very nice tube preamp with a very Hi-Fi vibe.
Anyway...the point I want to make is, you might consider some of the preamps (like the GT stuff) that have variable impedances and/or some sort of on-board EQ...that way you will get the most out of that U87.

Also...before you buy the U87, I will suggest you check out the ADK TT/CE, which is a multi-pattern tube mic that kills, costs much less than the U87, and according to some folks...sounds better:

U87 vs ADK CE small listening test - Gearslutz.com

I have the CE (along with a bunch of other ADK mics) and it's my #1 vocal mic. After owning it for about 7 years, last summer I decided to put one of the ADK Custom Shop capsules into it, and it took it to an even higher level of tonal sweetness.
The cool thing was that I bought another ADK mic on eBay for almost nothing, because it had a cracked capsule, and I dropped my original CE capsule into it...so it worked out perfectly.

Another tube-ish brand of preamp that you might consider that gets good reviews, but is not a real major name-brand, is the Sebatron stuff. Made in Australia, they do a tube front end with a solid state output...very nice. I have a 4-channel model, and I've used it on just about everything.

My favorite combination so far is my ADK CE through the Sebatron...it's just so rich and smooth sounding.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
If you are calling it a sound card the it's unlikely you will get much advantage from that mic. There are plenty of mics that cost a tenth of the U87 which will do nicely for someone with your level of knowledge. Combine a reasonable mic with a decent audio interface and you'll spend way less than $3400 and never notice a difference in quality. When you have the skills, knowledge and other necessities (proper recording space, excellent monitors etc.) then maybe it will be worthwhile spending that much on one mic.
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I'm a bit confused now. Could you please explain. Of what I understand: a sound card facilitates better analog to digital conversion ... I understand I am fairly at the the nascent stages of the tech aspects of recording, and I am trying to get a better learning curve here. Just that... I want to make the right choices when it comes to equipment. Your advise and suggestions are appreciated:)
 
Provoice101 said:
I'm a bit confused now. Could you please explain. Of what I understand: a sound card facilitates better analog to digital conversion ... I understand I am fairly at the the nascent stages of the tech aspects of recording, and I am trying to get a better learning curve here. Just that... I want to make the right choices when it comes to equipment. Your advise and suggestions are appreciated:)
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The common terminology in pro audio uses "sound card" to refer to what your computer came with. It has about half a dollar of parts and is good for the mundane stuff. We make a distinction between that and an "audio interface" which is designed specifically for audio production. An interface will not only do a better job of converting analog to digital and back, it also has features that a sound card lacks, like hardware monitoring. Many have built-in mic preamps. Connecting a $3400 mic to the stock sound card would be like putting tires and rims from a small truck onto a Formula 1 car. The chain is only as strong as the weakest link.
 
If you're planning on spending $3k on a microphone (that really isn't anything particularly special for most applications, IMO/E) and don't have a reasonably basic understanding on the rest of the basics, and you're talking about spending 1-to-7 hundred dollars to interface the system, it'd be a disservice not to ask what the rest of your gear consists of.

I (and I'm sure most others) have a sinking feeling that you're making some seriously misguided decisions here...
 
Definitely, if you are just a home recorder that's starting out I would not even spend that much on a mic, let alone any single item to go into your home studio. There's alot of great mics out there, you just have to know what you're getting. I've heard alot of good things about the Shure SM7 B. Not only is it good for vocals but it can be a multi use mic for just about anything, and it's only $350 new.

You're not going to get great results from that Neumann unless you're in a pro studio running through thousands of dollars of gear, and even still, there are mic's that sound just as good or better than the Neumann.
 
Home recording? I'm not going to judge here about the U87. It's way out of my range, nor do I think my recording techniques are good enough to make the best of it. You can find stuff that will get you 80% there for 20% of the money -- this is for mic + preamp. That last 20% costs 80% of the money.

I'm supposed to get the new Sennheiser MK4 around the 25th. I'll post a review after I've had a chance to use it. It's $400 with shock mount. Made in Germany. I'm kind of a guinea pig with this one. I'm using this on vox and I tend to be very sibilant which is why I'm trying it -- no over-hyped highs. I think a U87 would be wasted on anything less than an absolutely stellar recording rig and rooms.
 
These choices make very little sense really. Even if I had the money I wouldn't blow 3 grand on a mic. Hell..I doubt I would spend $1000 on a mic. I think after that price point any noticeable difference is purely psychosomatic. Your brain says "I paid the equivalent to a down payment on a good car for this gadget so it must sound better". Save your money.
 
While I agree that a "newb" who is just getting into it might want to "pace" himself with purchases...I don't agree with the notion that using costlier gear is purely a "psychosomatic" experience. I think it takes time to develop your skills and ears to appreciate top-shelf gear...but better gear does make a difference in sonic quality, though if someone doesn't know how to reap those rewards, then it may be a waste of money for them.

Unless you can actually try out and hands-on compare cheap gear next to its more expensive counterparts in a real world setting over time....you're just assuming that better gear makes no difference.
It's really up to the buyer if they wish to invest lots of money into gear (regardless of their goals), though they should buy with some plan rather than pure expectation that an expensive piece will improve their recordings. You really need to consider the entire signal chain, as many have pointed out, not just one or two expensive pieces.

Also...when it comes to expensive mics and preamps (and a lot of other top-shelf recording equipment)...there ain't no doubt that the stuff holds its value and often appreciates over time. Cheap gear is basically a throwaway...in most cases.
 
leaningpine said:
Definitely, if you are just a home recorder that's starting out I would not even spend that much on a mic, let alone any single item to go into your home studio. There's alot of great mics out there, you just have to know what you're getting. I've heard alot of good things about the Shure SM7 B. Not only is it good for vocals but it can be a multi use mic for just about anything, and it's only $350 new.

You're not going to get great results from that Neumann unless you're in a pro studio running through thousands of dollars of gear, and even still, there are mic's that sound just as good or better than the Neumann.
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Thanks guys... all the advice and suggestions are appreciated. Ok... so for now Neumann can take a back seat. After reading all your comments and suggestions on other forums; I quite like the idea of the Shure SM7B. (or maybe even the Rode Nt1... gosh, so many overwhelming options!). One thing... what kind of audio interface would u advise to go with this shure model SM7B. Also, Is there any such thing as a Sound card with a built-in pre? Thanks!
 
I hope this help

I am sorry man…I feel people in these page did not really get it ( at least some of them…not everyone). Well, if you are using a u87 mic you have many choices…the 500 series are cool…the avalon 737 is well known in the industry but you have to have a nice converter …or a decent interface to go with it. Check this for preamps:DAV No. 1U; Grace Design m101; Symmetrix 528 E;Universal Audio 710 Twin-Finity; Focusrite ISA 220;AVALON M5;AVALON 737; LA 610; Telefunken V72….hope this helps….


….the learning curve comes with trying and nobody this page should think or treat you as they they know it all because nobody does!

Have a good day :)

Nando
 
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