Neumann - U 67 Set

I recorded an entire album of vocals on the 103 into SSL SiX Pre, except for one track. I thought it was great, until I got to the mix and realized every single recording had to be de-essed or EQ’d to hell to get it to not be painfully harsh. That one last track, though, was an original U67 into a Neve desk. That was what made me really understand the difference - the U67 came out perfect, with pretty much nothing needed to make it sit right in the mix.

Preach. I feel like the art of audio engineering is being lost a bit. I get sessions all the time where I'm spending hours fixing things before I even get to dive in to crucial things like balance and dynamics: Acoustic guitars with tons of nasty resonances, drum recordings that are completely out of phase, Vocals that sound like they were recorded in a shoebox, sessions where everything has hyped top and bottom end so I have to do tons of carving to give the mix any depth, etc. Mix engineers aren't wizards they're problem solvers, they can only do what they do in the context of what they receive. If you ask any top level mix engineer how they get their mixes to sound great, they'll pretty much always say that it starts with great source material. To the cost point, totally agree. There are tons of great cost friendly microphones that will absolutely do the job when used correctly. You can even rent microphones if there is something you really want to use but can't afford. I've done a couple of projects where we rented this amazing vintage U67 for $50/day. Definitely beats spending $18k+ on one. Great closing statement. It's important to have reverence for the process of making records. We're capturing an expression of the human experience that can be extremely impactful, from the silliest novelty song to the most devastating ballad. With the incoming competition of AI, the perfectly imperfect excellence of the human imprint on recorded music is more important than ever.

87s already very hard to get right. i despise the 87uis, and never heard an 87 i liked to record with til i got to use a real vintage one. even then i preferred a 67 or 47. I think moreso the 87 is the outlier here because the wa251 is amazing too. dont expect it to be a full 251 sound but if u supplement it itb you can achieve the same sound. which is the purpose of WA mics. get you as close as you can in your budget then supplement from there. also for the youngsters i think its a great way to familiarize yourself with “mic sounds” on a budget. Need to go in knowing its not the real thing but very few get to work with a c800g, vintage 47, or anything above 10k without having great working knowledge.

I got an old 67 and a really old 47 and I love them. BUT, I wouldn't use them for audiobooks. They're both too, big sounding. For big up front vocals or announcer style commercial spots they are the best. U87 all day for audiobooks.

I don’t think it sounds bad rather but there’s mics considerable cheaper that sound just as good. I never use mine but just keep it in the studio cause I know some people think they’re great. I just can’t think of anything I’d use it for before another mic. I don’t mind spending money on a mic - I love my U67’s (my favourite mic) but I think the U87ai is a very boring, overly bright sound that feels too pokey for me. It’s just a fine back up mic if all the others a being used already. Once it’s gone through some tube stuff it sounds much better but I just don’t get the hype at all… Heard a lot of good things about the Soyuz 017s though! Thinking about replacing mine for one of them… the get one sounds great and the tube sounds even better!

I’d do a 67 and one of the elam 260s. I’d prefer the 47 over the 67 but if you’re tracking vocals at the same time then agree the 47 should be the vocal. If it’s more pop country put them both at the 12th fret 6-10 inches away with the capsules as close together as possible. If you need to be more organic, leave the 260 at the twelfth fret and aim the 67 at the body of the guitar below the sound hole. Try to keep the mics at the same distance from the strings-ish. 1073s into distressors if you have a pair. Distressors set at 5505 in 6:1 to start. Dial in about 3-5 dbs of compression and blend the two mics to taste with the outputs of the distressors.

I'll be honest with you, I don't have enough experience with it to know. I need to borrow/rent one some day to try out - but I'm pretty set for big LDC's right now, until it is time to get a new pair to use as overheads, and I have lots of other things on the list first! And my poor experiences with the 102/103 make me skeptical of SenNeumann's TLM mics. Notably I do like the U67 and U69, just not enough to keep one around. Cost no object I'd have both, preferably a pair of 67's for OH duty. It isn't a "I don't like Neumann" thing, it is a "I'd rather use something else" thing. All I could list is things I have enough experience with to know what and why I like!

I'm a little late but it seems to me that it's stature has risen in the last ten years or so. Like, it's youtube famous now? They're great mics but I don't think they're special in the way a 251 or 47 is on some sources. But what I do find intriguing is although I'm not in love with 87s, I am in deeply committed relationships with several 67s. Mics are funny.

Unpopular opinion, but I've never been a fan of any Neumann except the U67. It's ok to not like things other do.

I'd take a 67 over an 87 any day of the week.