Chilli Gold sings for a demonstration of the Neumann U47 and AKG C12 classic vintage vacuum-tube microphones
By Abubakar Waissa - Sound expart
In your first free Audio Masterclass video tutorial we will look at, and listen to, two of the most highly-respected microphones on the planet. We have to ask the question, "Are they really that great?" You'll hear for yourself.
But first, a word about the format of our video tutorials. You might have expected to sit back and watch a video. Well, we don't do 'sitting back' at Audio Masterclass. We do involvement. People who are successful in music and audio don't sit back, they are among the most active people you could ever meet (even if sometimes they look as though they are the most laid back!).
So we prefer not to use a presenter in any of our videos. It makes the pace too slow. And, bearing in mind that almost half of Audio Masterclass students speak a language other than English as their first language, the pace of delivery would have to be even slower.
So we use text instead. Text is quick, it gets the job done, and you can skim it if you like. The videos are 100% content.
One more point before we talk about the audio... Although we host these free video tutorials on the main Audio Masterclass website, we have a completely separate site for our courses. When you are enrolled, you will work in our online Course Center. It's all course, and no pre-enrollment information.
Bring on the microphones...
The Neumann U47 and AKG C12
These two microphones are probably the most classic mics. Secondhand examples sell for anything up to $15,000. We were able to test two examples of both of these microphones at the famous Abbey Road studios in London. We also tested more affordable microphones, and we will show you some of these in a future video tutorial.
So let's take a look at the video. It features Chilli Gold, who is one of the UK's leading country music artists. We have presented her vocal without the backing track so that you can hear the microphone clearly. We advise that you also download the original studio master audio file from the link beneath the video, and audition it in your digital audio workstation.
As you can hear, the Neuman U47 is very rich and smooth. It has an exceptional degree of clarity that seems to favor the actual singing and not so much the other mouth noises. Listen also to the ambience of the studio - this can tell you a lot about a microphone. Listen to the noise. Can you hear the studio's air conditioning system? Is there any background hiss? Is there any distortion or crackling (which you might expect from a vintage microphone)?
Now let's consider the AKG C12. The level is a little lower overall (we didn't adjust it - this is exactly how it was recorded in the studio), so you might consider raising it a little in your DAW so you can get a better comparison with the U47.
As you can hear, the AKG C12 is a very different microphone to the U47. It doesn't have such a full sound, and it seems to pick up mouth noises more. Notice also how the level of ambience and air conditioning noise is higher. This indicates that the polar pattern of the mic isn't as tight. This isn't a problem, just something to be aware of.
You will also almost certainly notice that this microphone is noisy and a little bit crackly. It's old. You might consider that where the Neumann U47 sounds as expensive as it is (on the rare occasion one comes up for sale), the AKG C12 sounds a little cheap in comparison. Listen at the 48 second point. Do you hear the distortion?
But listening to a microphone in isolation like this doesn't always tell the whole story. When a vocal recorded with an AKG C12 is mixed with the other instruments of the band, it can sound really alive and exciting. The U47 can do that too, but the C12 offers just a little more in this respect.
In summary, these are two very characterful microphones. You won't come across them every day, but the standard they reach is something to aspire to.
Thank you for reading, watching and listening. Next time, we'll look at microphones that almost anyone can afford.
By the way, if you can't play the .wav files, the reason is probably that your DAW won't work with 96 kHz files. Let us know by e-mail and we'll help you out.
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