Got to use a Neumann for the first time

S

santiu

Rock-scientist
As a hobbyist, I don't really get access to fancy gear like Neumann mics. But the vocalist i recorded over the weekend had her own mic which was a TLM-103 which she had never used before. It may be on the low end of the Neumann line, but it was the most amazing vocal mic I've used so far on a female acoustic/jazz vocalists. In the past I had recorded her with a Rode NT2a (she didn't think to bring her mic last time), and while I thought that sounded good at the time, in comparison the Rode just doesn't sound that good now :( The Neumann was so smooth and pleasant and easy to mix. Just a touch of compression and a pinch of verb and it sits right into the mix at any volume.

Not sure why i posted this... I guess I'm still giddy and needed to share with people who can relate (my roommates were of no help in this regard :p).
 
Quality gear will do that to ya.

And it starts a long and never-ending quest which you must resist going towards padawan.
 
at which point you will move from homerecording.com to gearslutz.com and be forever lost in a sea of tubes, fets, transformers and opto-isolators.

Don
 
the TLM-103 used to be an option for the home recorder..I think they went used for $500, maybe less..

its pretty sad that when lower cost options like MXL and SP came into play, Neumann's went further from reach..
 
Supercreep said:
My experience with a U-87 was dramatically underwhelming.
Click to expand...

When I was finally able to go shopping for higher-end mics I ended up with Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic (also German mics like Neumann, go figure).

There are some Neumann mics I'd love to have, but they are either some vintage ones no longer made, or they are ridiculously out of budget (like getting a pair of M150's at about $6k each).
 
Supercreep said:
My experience with a U-87 was dramatically underwhelming.
Click to expand...

It can be really great on some things and doesn't suck much on most things (how's that for a ringing enorsement). It's not a silver bullet by any means. I checked and my friends are currently using mine as an outside kick/room mic at the moment with an Audix D6 as the main kick mic. Vocals are still using my SM7 and my AEA R84 for BG vocals.
 
santiu how is the nt2a? I might be able to buy a nt2 used and was wondering if its worth it?
 
I could never afford the high-end stuff, but I had a KSM44. I sold it to a friend with a studio a few blocks over; he also has a U87 and an Avalon. He says the KSM44 is almost as nice as the U87 and he uses it all the time. I always thought it was a nice mic, but it never blasted me out of bed in the morning. I don't think anything short of a perfect U47 would do that . . . but I'll never know.

I go over to his place to test stuff out, he asks me if I want to use the Avalon or even his Eureka but usually I just use the Digimax. I used to have one of those too. I like my DMPA with vintage tubes more, but the Digimax is a preamp and it works. Plug a mic that is put in front of some sound into it and press record.
 

Tha studio I used to record in had a Neumann ( something anniversary series)...that thing was tha best thing I ever had since I was a newbie back then. It still sounds nice & if I had that kind of money to buy a mic...I think I would. Like someone above me stated...all you add is some compression & a lil reverb and ur set

 
Given my druthers, I'll take a Sony 37A over a U87 just about every time. We had the long-term use of a U67 way back when. Now that's a mic I'd like to get my hands on again. Utterly delicious sounding 99.9% of the time.
 
For my voice, I've found the silver bullet: RE-20. In fact, I just can't find anything it doesn't sound good on.
 
When the TLM103 first came out, I did an entire song with only the TLM103 on all vocals and acoustic instruments to answer some questions that came up on rec.audio.pro. Here's one of the tracks:



The two acoustic guitars (Martin D28 and Gibson J45), the fiddle, and the vocals were all recorded with the TLM103.
 
RRuskin said:
Given my druthers, I'll take a Sony 37A over a U87 just about every time. We had the long-term use of a U67 way back when. Now that's a mic I'd like to get my hands on again. Utterly delicious sounding 99.9% of the time.
Click to expand...

I'm going to have to re-visit the design of that classic mic. So many things done right, but so many things done wrong. Since I have 2 of the Sony capsules I bet I could come up with something fantastic, or at least respectable and above the C37A performance.

Of course, thanks in part to the education I have received here!:)
 
Harvey Gerst said:
When the TLM103 first came out, I did an entire song with only the TLM103 on all vocals and acoustic instruments to answer some questions that came up on rec.audio.pro. Here's one of the tracks:



The two acoustic guitars (Martin D28 and Gibson J45), the fiddle, and the vocals were all recorded with the TLM103.
Click to expand...

I think the mic sounds great.(so do you) Thanks for posting that.
 
Supercreep said:
My experience with a U-87 was dramatically underwhelming.
Click to expand...

Everyone that has been at this business for any length of time and has been serious about it, has a very pertinent opinion about gear. And they should. Experience tells us about the things we hear and the difference between that and what we WANT to hear.

I own a relatively middle-aged U87 which, IMHO, sounds nothing like the newer U87ai's. Mine has been to Klaus' shop and it had the Gotham choke removed and a thorough cleaning and all other aspects of it brought up to German specs.

I have quite a bit of experience with a few Neumanns and this one is perfect.

Maybe not everyones cup of tea but definately something about it makes it a go-to for any source.

I also have a LOT of experience with both SM7's and RE-20's and love them. I completely understand the allure of these on most voices and as a studio tool, they are easy to use. Plug and play is a great thing for any session.

The great thing about dynamics of this caliber is that they are much more consistant from mic to mic than condensers of any level. It certainly makes it easy to travel from room to room and if theres an SM7 or an RE20 on hand you kinda know what you'll get.

I have had the opportunity over the years to record with 10 U87's .They have all been Neumann's in-so-far as they had that stamp on their sound, but all have been a bit different. The other 87 I had back in the day that was the mate to the one I still have, was less than a hundred serial numbers apart and they were night and day different.

So I understand the vast difference in opinions about this mic in particular.

However. When you find a great one, theres nothing like em.
 
Harvey Gerst said:
When the TLM103 first came out, I did an entire song with only the TLM103 on all vocals and acoustic instruments to answer some questions that came up on rec.audio.pro. Here's one of the tracks:



The two acoustic guitars (Martin D28 and Gibson J45), the fiddle, and the vocals were all recorded with the TLM103.
Click to expand...

Damn that vocal sit nice! :)
 
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