Neumann Vintage U87 Clone : Build Thread.

[kpearsall]

yea well, Fletcher is Fletcher. Maybe some of Joe Meek's "crazy" rubbed off on him.

 

[adeptusmajor]

yup, not trying to pick a fight or anything. I actually like Fletcher. I just thought it was an amusing anecdote.

 

[kpearsall]

Yea I like Fletcher too. He's just VERY opinionated, and not always right. Personally though, Ive been thinking of a way to make the head basket a little less cheap sounding. It may be subtle, but I know it's affecting the sound. It's not a huge deal though, and I'm not gonna get uptight about the proper shape.

 

[HellfireStudios]

If it is a chinese U87 style body, you could always hammer the headbasket grill into a flatter, more Neumannesque shape. That should reduce standing waves in the headbasket. RTV silicon in the mic body should fix any resonances there.
I say put the mic together and tap all over it, if any resonances are even there, then deaden the resonances with the aforementioned RTV silicon (the electronics safe kind).

 

[tskguy]

It’s interesting topic, There are a bunch of self-proclaimed pros that say the head basket shape changes the sound considerably. They may be 100% correct but I have no real way of testing the theory. I would love to have an original basket to compare different shapes to. I guess an anechoic chamber would be needed as well to really see the difference. I highly doubt any ears would be able to subjectively tell the difference.  I only assume that Neumann spent tons of money on R&D to best design the current u87 head basket!  ;D

 

[kante1603]

Info on pattern modes:
On the homepage for the RK87 capsule it says the original U87 ("non-A-Version") had only omni and figure-eight patterns.
http://microphone-parts.com/rk87-microphone-capsule/
This is wrong,even in 1972 it had a cardioid pattern,easy to see at the original schematics.
We owned some of them in our company,ours definetely had a cardioid mode.Later we exchanged them to "A" types in 1986.

Udo.

Edited,all good now.....

 

[MagnetoSound]

Info on pattern modes:
On the homepage for the RK87 capsule it says the original U87 ("non-A-Version") had only omni and figure-eight patterns.

I think you misunderstood. It actually says ...

"The U87 (non-A revision) ... could only create the Omni and Figure-8 polar patterns with a 4-wire capsule. If you are recreating the original U87, you need a 4-wire capsule for multipattern operation."

... which means something completely different, and happens to be true. 

 

[mparts]

I think you misunderstood...

Dan, thank you for replying to Udo's comment. The text to which Udo refers was somewhat poorly written, and has since been revised to be (we hope) more clear.

 

[kante1603]

@Dan(magnetosound):Yes,if one pronounces different it gets a different meaning.
@(mparts):Excuse the confusion.Have read your new text,it is way more clear to read now.

Udo

P.S.:Will change my original post.

 

[HellfireStudios]

I recieved the Peluso BV8P-S yesterday. It looks to be about double the size of the Cinemag 2480. It does have taps for both 5.5:1 and 11:1 operation. I'll try to post acoustic guitar clips when I find time to build this thing. I have a djembe I could mic up, as well, to get a feel for the low end. I'll keep all of you posted.

-James-

 

[tskguy]

Little sneak peak 

 

[berkleystudios]

Finally got my cinemag in. installed and shot it out against my bluebird. much lower output than my blue bird but it remained quite. with low self noise. was surprised as how bright it was  on my acoustic guitar. the bluebird was far warmer. but the u1621 had a very fast and punchy. very happy. forgot my external HHD or i would have posted my results. ill try do do that soon.

using the rk87/cm2480/micas

 

[HellfireStudios]

tskguy, any prices yet?

 

[tskguy]

Hi all,

I decided on $225, I am still a 2 or 3 weeks away from being able to finish them. The company I found locally to do the mylar coating has a bit of a lead time before its completed.  I will update this thread as I get closer. My first run is pretty limited, I have enough backplates for 20 capsules and some are already spoken for.  If it goes well I will for sure make more!! 100% made in the USA!

Eric

 

[wave]

Eric,
The backplates look great! I wish I was there to see them. 

Dave

 

[tskguy]

Thanks!
So far things are looking very good. Let me know when your around and you can see them in person

Eric

 

[sr1200]

TSK, if its not too much trouble, can you start a thread showing the process of making them (not tryin to rip you off, cause i would NEVER have the patience to do something that intricate, but i am really interested in how that all works!)

 

[tskguy]

I am thinking of starting my own thread but not until I start to put them together. There are a few other parts that Im waiting on. As soon as I have all the parts I will take some pics and start a for sale thread.

Eric

 

[saxmonster]

I love how its made videos!!!!!!!!

 

[Studio Mollan]

Hi all!
I just completed my three microphones and I'm VERY pleased with the sound! One concern though is the output level. In comparison to my u89 the output is way lower. Singing softly into it needs full gain from my API 2488 preamps for a proper input to ProTools. The files from the clones are a bit noisier than the files from the u89 but only because of the preamp from what I can hear. The mike itself seems to be quiet. I know its been a topic here but i just wanted to confirm that. Anybody having any real trouble with noise in actual recording situations? 
Seems to e a lot smoother compared to the u89 sound wise. As stated earlier in this thread, very vintage sounding. Great! in other words. I'll put them to test in my next sessions.

There's also an annoying pop when i change between omni, card, 8 and also when I engage the hipass and pad. Also a slight tendency for resonance in the body. When holding the u89 the handling noise is very low frequency. The clones are more midrangey, perhaps caused by the different housing. Any ideas?
Im using peluso capsules and ami transformers.
The body is perhaps not historically correct but I thought the looked cool!
Thanks for all your help!!!
Let's all get together for a beer some time!