Neumann - U 87 (original)

Depends on if you have an original or the 'ai' version. the new ones do suck, but the og's are magic.

Curious about your 87s? Are they original or reissue? Cuz the new 'ai' versions suck on vocal, but the originals are amazing. It's such a difference I'm mad that they didn't change the name. That being said, don't sleep on the 47fet. Take that thing off your kick drum and use it on anything else cuz it slays.

It depends by your chain and for what purpose you intend to use it. For a clean recording of the mic in the audio interface u87 is a good mic but nothing esoteric, for example, i prefer an akg c414 for a clean sound. But when you search a specific color and a signature sound u87 is the most versatile mic to use with most high end preamp that makes a miscellanous of colors and styles depending on the combination chosen. I think also, that most of audio engineers or artist use the u87 by 1% of his possibilities because they use only the cardioid polar pattern, but the figure 8 in a mid side for a piano recording, or the omni for a coloured room, they changes everything in terms of texture.

I really will never understand the tlm103 love. For me, it’s u87 or MKH416 for that commercial cut-through.

in my experience, the microphone plays a huge part in what a source sounds like and some mics work better than others for specific sources. it's not necessarily a question of cheap vs expensive microphones; someone's voice might sound nasally and harsh on a u87 whereas it might sound better on a different, cheaper mic. it's about finding the right mic for the source

It might matter, it might not - for you and your voice. It's about finding a vocal mic that suits you and the style you are going for. I recorded a well known singer's guide vocal with a battered SM58 he preferred, then tried recording the actual vocal with my U87. We actually preferred the SM58 on his voice. A lot of Madonna's Ray of Light album was recorded in William Orbit's bathroom with an SM57, which is funny because reviews at the time commented on the 'fuller sound' of her vocals. Find a mic that works for you (and the right compressor)

Depends on what you’re recording day to day. If you’re recording drums then at a minimum a kick mic (d112, Beta52a, or D6), 4-5 sm57s, and a matched pair of neutralish overheads. For vocals a tube LDC and non-tube, and an SM7b. A stereo pair of SDCs for other instruments. For me, aside from dynamics for the drum mics, that’d be a matched pair of 414 style LDCs, a matched pair of KM184s, an SM7b, and a u67/u47 (real or clone) plus like a u87. I also like ribbons on lots of sources, but I wouldn’t call those staples.

I got a track to mix that was vocal to a U87. They’re so saturated and resonant in mids/high mids and to be honest for what I was mixing it genuinely sounded awful for the job. I had to EQ to death because it was so ringy.

I think U87 in omni pattern is awesome, especially compared to cardioid.

I've done a lot of audio books, somewhere in the 100-200 range. My setup is U87 in a treated whisperbooth. Standard Sony 7506 headphones. Old tablet on a music stand to read off of. Big phone-et-ick pronunciation poster on the wall, and then the phonetic spelling of every character and location printed out somewhere. No matter how sure you are, just ask the author, that is not something you want to deal with later. Anyway, mic goes to a Vintech 1073 clone, to a drawmer compressor, to a limiter, and then into pro tools. Punch record with a 4 second pre roll and good to go, barely even have to edit.

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.

“The real pros in here” use them a lot lol. A U87 isn’t always the best sounding mic on any given source but it’s usually top 3 and never the worst.

Yeah I mean it’s not a bad mic by any means, I have one and I have no plans of moving on from it any time soon, but the last vocal session I did I used a 251. The U87’s place in a mic locker is “good default mic if you want something clean and not to colored” which is cool. It was also designed when things like tube preamps and consoles, as well as tape machines were basically always a part of the signal chain by default which will add color and flavor. If you’re going into a clean preamp right into Pro Tools that’s obviously going to sound way different (flat) so a mic with more character will be more exciting. I agree with you in a way, that a U87 isn’t always exciting, but I do think it has a place in a pro studio.