In the first of a series of articles running until Christmas, we asked the Experts team what audio product they would like to find under the tree. Either something unattainable or something from the past they wished they had owned, or owned again. The U47 was anticipated as being on someone’s fantasy Christmas list but William Wittman went in a slightly different direction with its less famous sibling the U48:

The Neumann U48 is the slightly less ‘famous’ sibling of the U47 (the large diaphragm valve condenser microphone U47 being, arguably, the most famous and revered microphone of all time). Both the 47, and lesser known 48, have probably been used on more lead vocals than perhaps any other microphone due to their incredibly sparkly top end and full rich bottom. 

Sinatra owned his own U47; Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Tony Bennett and, of course, The Beatles and everyone else recording at EMI Abbey Road, used them extensively. It's hard to find an album recorded in the 1950s or 1960s that didn't have a U 47/48 on it. They’re the gold standard. 

The difference between the two models lies in the choice of (two) polar patterns these mics provide. The 47 offers Cardioid and Omni whereas the 48 gives you Cardioid and Figure-of-Eight. Both of course might have their places but, while sharing the same sonic signature, the ability to creatively utilize the off axis rejection of the 48 makes it a lot more versatile. Most famously, no doubt, photos of The Beatles in EMI Studio 2 demonstrate them facing each other, singing into both sides of a 48 with its ‘dead’ side faced toward the live drums, as well as 48s positioned a foot in front of the Vox guitar amplifiers. 

I’ve used U48s on countless vocals over the years including one that was the EMI owned mic favoured for Paul McCartney. There was certainly something magical about that particular example, with an almost indescribable ‘size’ to it. But they’ve all been stellar sounding with both a heft and sparkle that’s impossible to equal. I’ve also used 47/48s on drums, acoustic guitars, woodwinds and strings. It’s just a special microphone with few if any equals. I’d be hard pressed to remember an example of a time when a 47/48 did NOT win a microphone shootout for me. 

With examples selling in the neighbourhood of $25,000 USD these days, someone would have to like me rather a lot for one to turn up under the tree. But hope springs eternal. 

Note to self to befriend more billionaires.