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Sennheiser MKH416 vs. Vintage U47

J

jefflaurence

The Sennheiser mic is really a sweet piece of work. It is very very good, and for the price I must say that it beats many others..especially because it is not a TUBE mic that is subject to all of the variances. Plus it can take a screaming car spot or a narration with equal style. As a shotgun it points it's pattern at you and reaches in for the voice. It's positioning is crucial (and this is real important) it can capture the resonance of your chest, or the saliva in your mouth..It takes some getting used to. I used it exclusively for a week and only one client noticed a difference in the low end. A little well spent time with a decent EQ might help. Both of these mics were run through a UREI M-610 tube preamp.

The U47 is an old mic, with old design, but it is especially good for narrations, and softer sells. It, however can price out at near 10 thousand dollars, and has a very hard to find VF14 tube that, when bad, can make it sound like crap. This one has a NOS tube installed, and the capsule has been serviced so it's a good example of how a U47 sounds in daily use.

I am ordering two MKH416's and outfitting them in the other studios (including the RV) because of the stout build quality, and I'm keeping one here for use as an auxiliary and for high-energy car spots that the U47 "breaks up" on occasionally.

Here's the link to the A/B wav file:

www.jefflaurence.com/audio/MKH416_U47_compare.wav

The Sennheiser mic is a keeper at all levels, but it DOES take some getting used to. Thanks for the tip Steve Mitchell! I owe you a ham.
 
> The Sennheiser mic is really a sweet piece of work. It is
> very very good, and for the price I must say that it beats
> many others..especially because it is not a TUBE mic that is
> subject to all of the variances. Plus it can take a
> screaming car spot or a narration with equal style. As a
> shotgun it points it's pattern at you and reaches in for the
> voice. It's positioning is crucial (and this is real
> important) it can capture the resonance of your chest, or
> the saliva in your mouth..It takes some getting used to. I
> used it exclusively for a week and only one client noticed a
> difference in the low end. A little well spent time with a
> decent EQ might help. Both of these mics were run through a
> UREI M-610 tube preamp.
>
> The U47 is an old mic, with old design, but it is especially
> good for narrations, and softer sells. It, however can
> price out at near 10 thousand dollars, and has a very hard
> to find VF14 tube that, when bad, can make it sound like
> crap. This one has a NOS tube installed, and the capsule
> has been serviced so it's a good example of how a U47 sounds
> in daily use.
>
> I am ordering two MKH416's and outfitting them in the other
> studios (including the RV) because of the stout build
> quality, and I'm keeping one here for use as an auxiliary
> and for high-energy car spots that the U47 "breaks up" on
> occasionally.
>
> Here's the link to the A/B wav file:
>
> www.jefflaurence.com/audio/MKH416_U47_compare.wav
>
> The Sennheiser mic is a keeper at all levels, but it DOES
> take some getting used to. Thanks for the tip Steve
> Mitchell! I owe you a ham.
> Thanks Jeff, 416 sounds great, low end is not as good as the u47, but i suppose it could be eq'd some..how did the 416 sound next to the u87?? but the u47 still gets the nod, and for the price diff, i guess it should..
 
Remember I was using the U "47" The old old tube mic...not the U87..I will bring in the U87 and using the same pre-amp config add that to the comparison. It's in another location, and I'll bring it in later in the week. Keep in mind that these two audio clips are basically barefoot except for the pre-amp. With some playing around with the EQ the MKH could sound bigger..but I wanted to keep the configs the same for the comparison. I have heard a clip that John Wells did on the MKH416..It is AWESOME, but then again so is he..so good stuff in..good stuff out as it goes..

"He don' need no stinkin' processor"
 
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