Old U87 or New U87?

cobaltaudio

cobaltaudio

New member
So a while ago I wrote this page with a comparison of old and 'new'(ish) U87s.
It includes a video of two different mics being treated in exactly the same way in three different circumstances, on acoustic guitar, on spoken word and a singer.
You can see what I thought and heard alongside the video.

I would be really interested to hear what differences you guys can hear between the two mics,
which mic you prefer on what instruments, and who they agree with in the discussion etc.

So, what do you think?
 
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I listened several times with ATH-50 headphones. I liked the sound of the newer mic on all tests, but the difference was the most noticeable to me on the acoustic guitar, followed by the voiceover, with the singing being the least different to my ear.
 
Definitely agree with you that the difference is most apparent on the guitar. I could kinda go for the older one on the acoustic, but it would have to be just the right piece of music, otherwise I'd generally have the new one.
Anyone prefer the older one?
 
For every recording situation there is always a magical microphone to capture what your after.

It could be an old classic or a brand spanking new microphone, only with a little experimentation will one know which microphone will be best suited.
 
Moresound : If I were to offer you (which unfortunately I'm not ;)) a choice between the old and new one to keep free of charge, which would you have?
And no, you can't sell it on and buy something else.... but you can choose neither.
 
Well Cobalt ... That is a bit of a loaded question and you know I'll probably get a lot of slack about my answer but I would take the new ones for sure.

Only because I have a fair amount of Vintage microphones, which I really-really like, though they are the ones that I have to send to the doctors to fix their battle scares and such.

On the off chance that one would come across a vintage microphone in pristine condition then that might be another story ~ but nine times out of ten there is a reason that someone selling their so called treasure in the first place ;)

So a new u87 all the way, with a manufacturers/dealers warranty.
Then I can start to give the microphone it's own mojo feel and not the vintage sound sought after from before we found out that microphones should not smoke, or be used as a drummers practice pad, or microphones like this shouldn't be used on location, or ................................
 
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It could be an old classic

It could be an old classic or a brand spanking new microphone, only with a little experimentation will one know which microphone will be best suited.
 
hamzaouic said:
It could be an old classic or a brand spanking new microphone, only with a little experimentation will one know which microphone will be best suited.
Click to expand...

well yes... that's kind of the whole point of this thread. If you actually follow the link and watch the video, you'll find a comparison of the two mics. I didn't really expect a definative answer, just different people's preferences and opinions, because opinions are interesting!!
 
hamzaouic said:
It could be an old classic or a brand spanking new microphone, only with a little experimentation will one know which microphone will be best suited.
Click to expand...

cobaltaudio said:
well yes... that's kind of the whole point of this thread. If you actually follow the link and watch the video, you'll find a comparison of the two mics. I didn't really expect a definative answer, just different people's preferences and opinions, because opinions are interesting!!
Click to expand...



I think that was our friendly neighborhood troll.
 
The warranty is an attractive option.
As I recall the "new" mic in the video is only new compared to the 'old' one, it's still over 10 years out of warranty. :(
 
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