The Blue Dragon or Neumann u87?

[CyanJaguar]

first44,

you are not offbase at all. The only place where I think you are mistaken is that you think I like the u87 because it has the Neumann logo on it. That is not the case. If I was all about the Neumann logo, I would be hyping that piece of %$@# called the Neumann TLM 103.

If you are interested, I will put as many links as I can find with a u87 on my website and let you be the judge of it.

in fact,

listen to this unprocessed (no eq, no compression, no nothing) vocal that was recorded on a vintage u87. Keep in mind that it was recorded through a mackie 1402 vlz pro, which to many is the lowliest of preamps.

http://stuwww.hsu.edu/s/se108368/web/u87mackie.wav

 

[frist44]

cyan,

I will definitely listen to the u87, but is there anything that you've recorded that has the same vocal track done with a different mic or something that would easy to compare. That would help me out alot knowing how to compare the u87. I have honestly never had the chance to work with it, but i hope in the future i do. You're right in saying there is probably a good reason recording engineers use it as much as they do. There's so many more solutions out there nowadays thought that probably rival alot of the competition, but maybe not the u87. I would like to hear some others compared to it that you like for vocals. Or some whole songs or something.

thanks man,
Brandon

oh yeah, is the vintage u87 that you're using different from a u87 that someone would buy new today?

 

[Beezoboy]

Yes I beleive the *new* U87ai's have the same capsule but different electronics. The goal was to make the self noise lower. In doingthis though, they got a significantly brighter sound, which is not what you think of when you think of Neumann. Well except maybe the TLM103.

The same goes for the KM84 to the KM184, although I think the capsule might have changed in that one too.

Beezoboy

 

[muser]

Cyan,
If you actually used a Kiwi, you might be surprised. In any case, it's not like some contest. They're both great mics, and different. The Kiwi is certainly in the same class as the Neumann. If you have no experience with it, you should lay off the criticism.

 

[dudleys100]

I was recently in a studio that had some U-87's, some Kiwi's and a Bottle. The engineer said he reaches first for the Bottle for vocals and then the Kiwi and then the U-87. I tried all of them plus a 414 and they are definatly different from each other, but I would have taken the Bottle AND the Kiwi far before I would have taken the U-87, just a personal opinion.

 

[Jeeper]

Try all you can to audition mics before you buy. I know this is not always possible. What sounds good to me on a u87 into a vintage neve may sound better to you with an sm57 into a Mackie board sans pre. In fact many guys will tell you that some talent is so fixed on a stage mic that's all they will use. Here I have a KMS 105 for those guys (but that's not topic here).

Do not fail to audition the Rode NTK. Many people have sworn by these also. I do not know if it's you but listen anyway.

Good luck and remember there are some standards out there that most everyone uses like the old sm57, akg d112, at4033, and several others (just examples). Almost any locker has those standard mics to draw from and are a cool way of building your locker first before the sacred cows.

(I'm just guessing here that you so far have a limited locker. If you do have a decent locker built then excuse my post)