Neumann U87 AI vs. U89 i? - Page 2

DarkSky Media · 8th November 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisdee

You don't put a screaming, saliva spitting rock vocalist in front of a U87. It will pick up all the different sounds coming in out of the singers mouth, not just the actual tones. Neither do you put a very soft singer in front of the SM7B because it takes loud volume to drive it.

And yet... I strongly suspect there have been as many screaming, spitting rock vocals recorded on U87s as on SM7Bs. And some of them (the songs containing the vocals, though it's true of the mics also...) have sounded pretty damn good and sold very very well. So it's dangerous to generalize.

It's also wildly off topic, as you are describing someone's comparison of the U87 to a the Shure mic the OP already has, rather than to a U89i.

TheSweetener · 8th November 2009

The U89/TLM193 does not have the presence bump of most LD condensers. That gives this "dark" impression. It might sound a little dull and muddy on vocals, you will definitely need some eq to make it sit in the mix.
Cool mic though!

jmikeperkins · 9th November 2009

Every human singing voice is different, so no one mic will always be best for every singer. As you can see from these responses, most people would try the U87 on the vocal before they would use the U89 as the U87 is brighter and usually sits better in the mix. The U89 is darker sounding and the frequency response is pretty flat which is why the U89 is popular recording strings and classical music. However, there are no rules and certainly there will be some singers who sound better on the U89 compared to the U87. The U87 can also be used to record strings and classical music (the U87 makes a great cello mic).

The old U87 (no A or AI) vs. the newer U87AI argument always gets Gearslutz excited! One problem in comparing an old U87 to a new U87Ai is that no two old 25-30+ year old U87 mics sound exactly the same! This is due to age/condition, repairs/service/mods, and the fact that old U87 mics (with the place inside for the battery) were largely hand made. The newer U87Ai mics are more consistent as time has not changed them yet and the manufacturing process is now more automated. When someone says their old U87 is warmer sounding than a new U87Ai, its hard to tell if that is due to the fact the old U87 needs a capsule cleaning or something like that or if the old U87 really is warmer than a newer U87Ai. I have 2 old U87 mics from the early and mid 1970's and I borrowed a pair of 5 year old U87 Ai mics and did a comarison recording a number of sources with all 4 mics. The two Ai models sounded identical to me but my 2 old U87 mics sounded slightly different from each other even though both have been serviced. However, all four of them sounded more alike than different once the levels were matched (the Ai is louder). The newer Ai models where a bit clearer and more detailed in the upper mids/high end and the older 1970's mics were a bit warmer, but these differences were not large. I do think the older U87 mics are cooler to own because they have a history and could have been used on any number of hit records from the 70's, but sound wise they are more alike than different.

One of the best qualities of both the U87 and the U89 is that they take eq very well so you can make them work most of the time even if they are not the ideal mic to use.

J. Mike Perkins

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8th November 2009	#32
TheSweetener Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Germany / Frankfurt Posts: 1,209	The U89/TLM193 does not have the presence bump of most LD condensers. That gives this "dark" impression. It might sound a little dull and muddy on vocals, you will definitely need some eq to make it sit in the mix. Cool mic though!

9th November 2009	#33
jmikeperkins Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 798	Every human singing voice is different, so no one mic will always be best for every singer. As you can see from these responses, most people would try the U87 on the vocal before they would use the U89 as the U87 is brighter and usually sits better in the mix. The U89 is darker sounding and the frequency response is pretty flat which is why the U89 is popular recording strings and classical music. However, there are no rules and certainly there will be some singers who sound better on the U89 compared to the U87. The U87 can also be used to record strings and classical music (the U87 makes a great cello mic). The old U87 (no A or AI) vs. the newer U87AI argument always gets Gearslutz excited! One problem in comparing an old U87 to a new U87Ai is that no two old 25-30+ year old U87 mics sound exactly the same! This is due to age/condition, repairs/service/mods, and the fact that old U87 mics (with the place inside for the battery) were largely hand made. The newer U87Ai mics are more consistent as time has not changed them yet and the manufacturing process is now more automated. When someone says their old U87 is warmer sounding than a new U87Ai, its hard to tell if that is due to the fact the old U87 needs a capsule cleaning or something like that or if the old U87 really is warmer than a newer U87Ai. I have 2 old U87 mics from the early and mid 1970's and I borrowed a pair of 5 year old U87 Ai mics and did a comarison recording a number of sources with all 4 mics. The two Ai models sounded identical to me but my 2 old U87 mics sounded slightly different from each other even though both have been serviced. However, all four of them sounded more alike than different once the levels were matched (the Ai is louder). The newer Ai models where a bit clearer and more detailed in the upper mids/high end and the older 1970's mics were a bit warmer, but these differences were not large. I do think the older U87 mics are cooler to own because they have a history and could have been used on any number of hit records from the 70's, but sound wise they are more alike than different. One of the best qualities of both the U87 and the U89 is that they take eq very well so you can make them work most of the time even if they are not the ideal mic to use. J. Mike Perkins