Originally Posted by adirondack

Not for pop per se - but on singer / songwriter stuff I use it often on vocals and acoustic instruments as well as the TLM193. Both great mics in my experience. I also often reach for a C414 which is a little more scooped than the 89 with a little more high end. Many folks do not endorse the U89 as they feel it is flat. Bt that's exactly why I like it. It can be a little wooly in the mids so I would not necessarily use the U89 with a very thick or colored chain. It is also a beautiful mic from an engineering point of view and I believe one of the last original spec Neumann's available (if that sort of thing is important to you). Rent one. It's what's in front of the mic that defines how it sounds.

Originally Posted by Plush

We have used the U89 for 20 years of more and it is an invaluable tool.\
We use the 89 on female vocals, soprano sections of choirs and anywhere that a true and unhyped sound is required.

Originally Posted by Ward Pike

Rather than starting a new thread... I'll just add to this old one.

I did a microphone shoot-out on a high baritone (almost tenor range but baritone in formant/tone) this evening for a male singer's album.

Up in a cluster for shoot our were:
U87 (old 1971 sucker in perfect condition), Gefell M930, 414EB, 414xls, T-Funk CU29, Kiwi, U89

The U89 surprised me. Easily we ruled out the 87, copperhead and kiwi on account of too much aggression... but it was really close between the 414eb, U89 and M930. The M930 had a lot more detail, the 414 was very smooth and the U89 was right in between the two... it was perfect.

I was quite surprised. I didn't expect it to best U87, 414eb and the M930 on baritone vocals but it did. And this is a baritone on a blues record.

Originally Posted by Plush

LIN is the neutral position without any filters. It stands for LINEAR--in other words, flat response.

The U89 is very clearly, along with the TLM 170, the top top mic made today by Neumann. (mit trafo)

Originally Posted by dreckdirect

Thank you Plush, I am really loving this mic as drum oh's , acoustic guitar and on vocals !!!!
I think I finally found the perfect mic for my voice :-)
The Neumann manual says this:
Setting the pre-attenuation
The switchable pre-attenuation increases the maximum signal level in order to avoid overload- ing when transmitting signals at extremely high sound pressure levels.
“LIN” or “–6 dB” can be selected by means of a switch on the back of the microphone.
When the “LIN” setting is used, a steep low-cut prevents the output transformer from being over- loaded by interference below the audio range.
So LIN is -6db ??
Steep low-cut ?
But they don't mention frequency?

Originally Posted by Plush

It is a subsonic filter for non audio sounds.

Use LIN as your regular set up and don't worry about it.

Originally Posted by matyas

Used a U89 on a great soprano into a vintage Neve 1073. It sounded gorgeous. I disagree with anyone who thinks this mic is boring.

Originally Posted by wildplum

Anyone use the U89 on upright bass in a four piece bluegrass band (live in the studio)?