what's a fair price for a good condition u67?

[Marcocet]

Wow. I haven't seen one go for as low as $4500 in years! Usually I'm seeing $6500-$7500, with some even higher. Expect to pay more from a dealer.

[Emwolb]

Originally Posted by Marcocet

Wow. I haven't seen one go for as low as $4500 in years! Usually I'm seeing $6500-$7500, with some even higher. Expect to pay more from a dealer.

Absolutely.

Where people come up with 4.5K is beyond me.

Anyone selling U67s for 4.5K please PM me as I will buy ALL of them.

[cinealta]

Originally Posted by Emwolb

Anyone selling U67s for 4.5K please PM me as I will buy ALL of them.

Last eBay sale for clean U67, from retiring engineer, was $5,500. Three listings between $6,500 & $7,500, DID NOT SELL.

[Emwolb]

Originally Posted by cinealta

Last eBay sale for clean U67, from retiring engineer, was $5,500. Three listings between $6,500 & $7,500, DID NOT SELL.

Thats $1000 above 4.5K. Almost 25% of 4.5K...

And just because this month, Ebay listed U67s didn't fly off the shelves doesn't mean they are now all $5500...

$5500 is low. The market is terrible right now, but that won't last forever. And most sellers won't drop down to lowball just to move a mic like a 67. We actually considered both of those 67s on Ebay but decided they weren't what we were looking for- and we were willing to pay $6500.

[timtoonz]

Originally Posted by Emwolb

Thats $1000 above 4.5K. Almost 25% of 4.5K...

And just because this month, Ebay listed U67s didn't fly off the shelves doesn't mean they are now all $5500...

$5500 is low. The market is terrible right now, but that won't last forever.

I agree. I was watching for U67's for 3 years. Never saw a decent one go for much below 6k and finally decided to jump on one that a fellow GS'er had for sale at that price. At least buying from a Gearslut, I had a better sense that they knew what they were talking about, and the mic was everything it was promised to be. I'd be a little more hesitant to toss that kind of money at an anonymous ebayer.

The only U67's I've seen going for less than 6k were either banged up looking, or had refurbs (new tube/capsule/grille) that made me wary.

Maybe if I'd waited another year or so I might've found a better deal. But I have music to record NOW, and 12 months of using my U67 is worth at least a grand in my books...

On the other hand, next year may be a crappy year and then I'll sell my U67 for 5k, replace it with a dozen AT4033's and do just fine.

[Camera]

I worked with some great engineers that loved the 67.

The secret to it is to get up close.

If you use them like a regular mic, they sound ok.

Take advantage of the fact that they were designed for close micing, and you'll see what the 67 is all about and why they sound so good and are so sought after.

They ARE the replacement for the 47 that was NOT designed for close proximity micing.

They will be only going up, and already are.

[Jonathan@FPA]

Originally Posted by Emwolb

Thats $1000 above 4.5K. Almost 25% of 4.5K...

And just because this month, Ebay listed U67s didn't fly off the shelves doesn't mean they are now all $5500...

$5500 is low. The market is terrible right now, but that won't last forever. And most sellers won't drop down to lowball just to move a mic like a 67. We actually considered both of those 67s on Ebay but decided they weren't what we were looking for- and we were willing to pay $6500.

$4.5k is usually for a more beat one, but that price does come up, but I am lucky enough to be offered wholesale pricing from dealers and studios, and often buy in the EU and more obscure places. I am also very patient! I did say 4.5K>6K which puts it pretty close to the 5.5k that one sold for on the bay of pigs. An extremely clean example, or one that had already been cleaned, tweaked, tuned, and rehabbed as needed by a true professional like Klaus H. or one of the German pro's might go for more, and would be well worth it. Given the still rising number of studio failures and closings, the still very weak global economy, and the still very real possibility of recessions/failures/problems in the EU, Far East, and US markets, the vintage market might be flat for awhile...but vintage gear could go either way as it has in the past. Mint U67's where up even higher before the 2008/09 global hiccup...

I was going to add to my earlier post this- [But it is old news IMO]:

Virtually any vintage mic being sold today requires cleaning, selective re-capping and possibly resistors of the correct type, a power supply re-build, careful setting of voltages under load, many need cables, too many need capsules, and well also- a quiet microphone grade tube which isn't as easy to come by as you might think. The U67 can be carefully modded to provide better performance, if you know what you are doing, alot of people think that it's easy, but working with extremely high impedance resistors for example isn't easy, your finger oils can change their value, and cleaning a capsule correctly is several orders of magnitude harder still....

I see alot of not very special ones out there, and because of ebay and the like, people think they are worth top dollar. Another poster mentioned the fact that TEN THOUSAND of them where made, making it the least rare [by far] vintage tube mic that I am aware of...

Best-
Jonathan

[legato]

Originally Posted by Camera

I worked with some great engineers that loved the 67.

The secret to it is to get up close.

If you use them like a regular mic, they sound ok.

Take advantage of the fact that they were designed for close micing, and you'll see what the 67 is all about and why they sound so good and are so sought after.

They ARE the replacement for the 47 that was NOT designed for close proximity micing.

They will be only going up, and already are.

Yep, they like to be hugged.




Henk

[rocksure]

Two ex radio U67's were sold online in New Zealand last week. The most mint one went for NZ$8,800, and the other one fetched NZ$5,660.

[Jonathan@FPA]

Originally Posted by rocksure

Two ex radio U67's were sold online in New Zealand last week. The most mint one went for NZ$8,800, and the other one fetched NZ$5,660.

So that puts them at around $4.5k & $7k...in NZ- a place where vintage prices can be somewhat higher due to limited availability, location, and supply. It's not as fast and furious a market as say the EU. Great people, bands, engineers and studios, and fine Pinot Noir though!

Best-
Jonathan

[legato]

Burgundy from way down under.



Henk

[Larry Villella]

While I won't say the exact price, it was "in the pocket" with
the prices that have been bantered about in this thread. . .

What will be informative to me is when he puts it up against the
67L Mod that he has from ADK Custom Shop and does a shoot-out.

I think like most studio owners, the need to have Vintage Mics
so as to attract clients is a compelling one. That said, I think
some of the modern clones have better specs and a similar vibe.


I know, that's heresy, right?

[campers]

They used to be $4000, but weaker dollar made them much more expensive these days.

M269C is overall a better mic. They usually hold better condition, because they are used in mostly for classical / soft music recordings in Europe. (U67 is US version of M269C, and many of them are beat up.) M269Cs are hard to find, though.

[Jonathan@FPA]

Originally Posted by campers

They used to be $4000, but weaker dollar made them much more expensive these days.

M269C is overall a better mic. They usually hold better condition, because they are used in mostly for classical / soft music recordings in Europe. (U67 is US version of M269C, and many of them are beat up.) M269Cs are hard to find, though.

269a/b/c has a AC701k tube [instead of EF86 or EF806s or 6267] and some have a different transformer, is loaded a little differently and therefore also sounds different, has remote pattern selection option and therefore has a different cable and ps, and can be set in between any of the preset patterns, ie wide caridiod, etc.. I agree with campers that they sound better [to me], more open and silky. Diff. top and quieter [the ac701k of course if it is a real selected 'k']. Just take out the S2 jumper to make it linear in the LF if you are doing orchestral work, not really needed to be removed for vocals...

See this informative thread from the archives for some others opinions-
Neumann U67 vs. M269c

I have used a pair of the M367's referred to in the thread and they sound very nice as well. The extra digit is sim.to the addition of the '2' on a 269, 254, 256, etc.. It is the German Broadcast 'brown book' standard and has a different cable, a tuchel connector and diff. power supply and meets the RFI standard of the 'brown book' mostly because of the tuchel. Can't remember if the 367 has a EF86 or variant or a ac701k.

Best-
Jonathan

[norbury brook]

Originally Posted by James Lugo

Those are crazy prices for a 67. Look for one that sounds great more then in physical condition. A lot of 67's sound mediocre. I've owned them and rent them. Personally I don't get the whole 67 thing, I think they are way overrated.

Me too. I have a mint 1960's U67 here that I rarely use.

MC

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[cinealta]

Horses for courses I suppose.

Originally Posted by James Lugo

A lot of 67's sound mediocre...Personally I don't get the whole 67 thing, I think they are way overrated.

Originally Posted by TTatman

I agree, and I owned a pretty good one for several years.

Originally Posted by Jonathan@FPA

...I just never found it was the best choice for me.

Originally Posted by Jonathan@FPA

I see alot of not very special ones out there, and because of ebay and the like, people think they are worth top dollar. Another poster mentioned the fact that TEN THOUSAND of them where made, making it the least rare [by far] vintage tube mic that I am aware of...

Originally Posted by Larry Villella

I think like most studio owners, the need to have Vintage Mics so as to attract clients is a compelling one. That said, I think some of the modern clones have better specs and a similar vibe.

Originally Posted by norbury brook

I have a mint 1960's U67 here that I rarely use.

[rocksure]

Originally Posted by Jonathan@FPA

So that puts them at around $4.5k & $7k...in NZ- a place where vintage prices can be somewhat higher due to limited availability, location, and supply. It's not as fast and furious a market as say the EU. Great people, bands, engineers and studios, and fine Pinot Noir though!

Best-
Jonathan

They were from a radio station demolished by the Christchurch earthquake. The seller was auctioning them for an insurance company.

[Jonathan@FPA]

Originally Posted by rocksure

They were from a radio station demolished by the Christchurch earthquake. The seller was auctioning them for an insurance company.

Nice! Radio Station using u67's!

Back in the day in the US we had radio stations with Gates, UREI, RCA, Neve, Fairchild, Federal, Pultec's, Lang, etc. Eq's, compressors and consoles, RCA Ribbons, AKG, Schoeps, and Neuman tube and solid state Mic's [and of course the EV dynamics and Shure SM5 and SM7's, Studer, Ampex, or 3M tape machines]! Now days it's more likely to be Adobe Premier or Garage band or some free workstation and either an old dynamic or the cheapest condensors out there... And they had staff! Sigh...

[Camera]

Then there is the cost of experience to know how to use a mic.

Priceless.

[legato]

OK fellow slutz, here's one in my country that's been stuck at 3333 euros or some 4350 US$ for three days now.

Telefunken badge, Grosser PSU, Grosser selected tube, coarse grill mesh on the outside on this one. 1962.

No shipping; it has to be picked up. (Not really in my neighborhood, but if it's still there and someone is seriously interested, I guess I could go and take a look.)

Marktplaats.nl > Neumann U67 vintage buizenmicrofoon studiomicrofoon - Muziek en Instrumenten - Microfoons

No affiliation.




Henk

[legato]

Anyone across the pond then?





Henk

[Camera]

One just sold for over $8800...

But it was Dick Clarks...

[Geetarpicker]

I have a matched pair of quite clean u67s from 1961 in my studio (one stamped 1 the other 2 on the bottom barrels) and their serials numbers are 2 digits apart and in the low 2XX range. My dad bought the pair used in 1962 for $400, he said they were then running about $800 a pair new. Apparently these two mics were originally bought new by a production company doing a movie, then they sold them right after the filming. About 12 years ago we had them rebuilt as both diaphrams were going bad, but we had the original capsules reskinned as opposed to totally swapping them out. We also had the power supplies recapped, and the main cables were hardening up badly so we had them rebuilt with new wire. These mics have the somewhat primative combination tuchel connector mic stand clip, but around the time of the rebuilds I also picked up some new Neumann shock mounts.

About 10 years ago I also picked up a mildly beat up but great sounding short body u47 w/VF14. In some ways the u47 almost sounds more modern then the u67s, as it has a little bit more top end clarity and seems clearer sounding by a smidge. On most singers the u47 wins out, but the u67 sure is a very nice mic too and you don't have to worry about the darn tube. Still if I have a singer with any sibilance issues the u67 does wonders, and the u67 is also my go to mic for fiddle. Anyway with the u67 I prefer to add just a tad of extreme top end, where as with the u47 I typically leave it totally flat. Well, I still usually do a sub low cut on either mic around 50hz to minimize any floor rumble from dancing feet, ha!

On a sad note my dad also bought a pair of Telefunken 251s new around the same time he picked up the used u67s, but he sold them sometime in the 70s-80s. I guess you can't win them all!

[syra]

Originally Posted by Geetarpicker

In some ways the u47 almost sounds more modern then the u67s, as it has a little bit more top end clarity and seems clearer sounding by a smidge.

I don't like 67s with the filter still in them... take it out and your observation will be exactly the opposite.

[legato]

I don't like 67s with the filter still in them...

I do.

BTW, there's more than one.

A stock U67, assuming it's not suffering from aged parts, is a well-designed, technical marvel that I wouldn't want to mess with.
Also, it's not dark.





Henk

[Geetarpicker]

Originally Posted by syra

I don't like 67s with the filter still in them... take it out and your observation will be exactly the opposite.

I've considered it. I've actuallly had to reattach a wire or two in the capsule assembly over the years, delicate stuff but I didn't hurt anything in the process. I'd be interested if anyone knows how to unhook the "filter", and if it's really just unhooking a cap or something almost as simple?

That said I've heard they can then be too bright without the filter, but I'd like to hear it someday to decide for myself.

[Trakworx]

How can I tell if my U67 has the filter removed by looking inside - is there a simple way to tell? Thanks,

[syra]

Originally Posted by legato

I do.

BTW, there's more than one.

A stock U67, assuming it's not suffering from aged parts, is a well-designed, technical marvel that I wouldn't want to mess with.
Also, it's not dark.

There are 2 if I'm not mistaken. If you like it stock awesome... for my taste it doesn't come alive until your remove the high cut... mine would collect dust if not for the mod.

Originally Posted by Geetarpicker

I've considered it. I've actuallly had to reattach a wire or two in the capsule assembly over the years, delicate stuff but I didn't hurt anything in the process. I'd be interested if anyone knows how to unhook the "filter", and if it's really just unhooking a cap or something almost as simple?

That said I've heard they can then be too bright without the filter, but I'd like to hear it someday to decide for myself.

Its just a solder joint... takes 1 minute and is easily reversible.

Originally Posted by Trakworx

How can I tell if my U67 has the filter removed by looking inside - is there a simple way to tell? Thanks,

I'll take a pic when I have a sec...

[legato]