Telefunken U47 Microphone

The Telefunken U47 Vocal Microphone was used by John Mayer while playing an acoustic session. In the video "Something like Olivia" the microphone is shown clearly.

Derek Ali’s engineering skills were tested by the amount of live recording that took place in the making of To Pimp A Butterfly. “I mostly use our Stephen Paul-modified Telefunken U47 to record Kendrick, going through a Neve 1073 mic pre and then a Tube-Tech CL1B compressor, which gives a great, fat, warm vocal sound, especially in conjunction with the U47. Sometimes I’ll run his vocals through a Pultec EQP-1A3. On ‘Alright’ I used a U67 instead of a U47 on his voice and on ‘For Free?’ two Electro-Voice mics, the RE20 and the 666. We stacked the two EV mics on top of each other, and this gave a warm, almost distorted sound.

“For acoustic guitar parts, I mostly used the N22. ‘Ordinary World’ was done before I had that mic, though, so I think I used a [Neumann or Telefunken] U47 on that one."

R3hab records voice-overs for his radio show using the Telefunken U47 Microphone.

"At the same time, Crow's acoustic guitar parts were recorded either with a U47, an AKG C12 or a Sennheiser 421, while electric guitars largely made use of a Fender Tweed amp." -via [Sound on Sound](http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr03/articles/sherylcrow.asp)

A plethora of Microphones in what appears to be Owl City's Vocal booth. Amongst them is a Telefunken U47. For all we know, it could be uncle Jimmy's mic that he brought over for the mic shootout though... "Shootouts are good."

At 1:37 you can see a Taylor tracking vocals using a Telefunken U47 for the song 'Call it What You Want'.

In the video, Paul is seen recording using the U47 in the minute 0:19.

"'Some songs were to a new Telefunken USA U47, a lot of songs were to the Blue Bottle, and some were to an old Neumann U 47,' Chiccarelli says. 'The preamp was always either a Neve 1073 or a Neve 1081; the limiter was a Tube-Tech CL1B, and then there was also a Tube-Tech EQ as well.'"

In this video, John can be seen using the U47 in the recording studio at minute 0:14.

According to producer Al Schmitt, a Telefunken U47 was used to record Dylan's vocals for *Shadows in the Night*. > “I used Capitol’s Neumann U47 on Bob’s vocals. It’s the very same microphone that was used on Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Nat King Cole. It’s a great–sounding microphone. Fortunately, because I work a lot at Capitol, I get to use it frequently, and I’ve had it on Paul McCartney and on Diana Krall and others. The mic was maybe nine or 10 inches away from Bob, with a windscreen. Pops and esses were no problem. I used the Neve 1073 mic pres in the old Neve desk at Capitol on all the mics. It has an amazing sound, with lots of punch and warmth. So Bob’s 47 went through that. The only compression I used on the entire album was on Bob’s voice, a tiny bit of an old mono Fairchild. I barely touched it, I used it mainly for the tube sound. It just added some warmth. On the desk I also mixed in some of Capitol’s live chamber number four on his voice. Despite Schmitt's mention of Neumann, [Sinatra's U47](https://equipboard.com/pros/frank-sinatra/telefunken-u47-microphone) is famous for bearing the Telefunken brand.

Ariana Grande using a Telefunken U47 Condenser Microphone in the recording booth for "Almost is never enough"

"I usually record John through a Telefunken U47 from the late 40s. That’s usually my go-to mic on John — I found that I really like him through the classic U47. It’s just such a fantastic mic, it has a lot of great clarity and body for him. John’s a pretty strong singer, and that mic seems to take it pretty well. It’s worth noting that I’ve recorded all his vocals on the album to tape. That adds some nice upper harmonics, and it has a very nice saturation and character to it. This vocal has a dark slap-back delay. Mostly, the signal path would be a U47 going to a Universal Audio 1176, or sometimes an LA2A compressor. Preamp-wise mostly we went through Neve 1073’s or 1081’s. I’m going for character, that’s the main thing. I don’t want neutral, I want character. The 1176 or the Neve impart character on it." — Dave Tozer, executive producer of *Love in the Future*

Producer Brandon Lowry states in [this](http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr12/articles/it-0412.htm) Sound On Sound article: "She has a great voice in general, but it is at its most unique in the alto range, so we wanted her voice to be in that range, and the Telefunken U47 AE worked great for that."

In the 'Are you gonna go my way' video, Lenny can be seen U47 microphone during the whole video. It's most clear at 1:54.

"I recorded Patrick's vocals with a U47 tube in most cases, a U67 in other places, and compressed with a Neve 33264, a Distressor or an 1176," says Neal Avron in [this interview](https://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan08/articles/itavron.htm).

In this article by Sound on Sound it says MGMT used this mic when recording their album Congratulations - "The whole signal chain was nice — an old Neumann U47 microphone going into nice preamps — so everything we did there, we could take with us somewhere else,”

According to the official Telefunken-Elecktroakustik site: "Top indie band The National has completed their sixth studio album, "Trouble Will find Me." Lead singer and founder Matt Berninger picked a new U-47 large diaphragm tube microphone from TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik for his self-described "immediate and visceral" vocals."

The Telefunken M251 and U-47 can be seen in the making of "A Different World".

"When we recorded her earlier CDs, I was using an old Telefunken U 47 that needed a lot of EQ tweaking to get the sound I wanted." - Pierre Marchand, Sarah McLachlan's producer, quoted on the True Systems website.

For her Frank Sinatra cover album *Let's Be Frank*, Yearwood used the same Telefunken U47 Sinatra did. > For the album, Yearwood recorded the timeless tracks live with an orchestra at the iconic Capitol Records building in Hollywood using Sinatra’s microphone and sitting on the same stool where he sat while recording the originals.

> I've always favoured the Neumann U47. I don't own one, but whenever there's one available I always try and use it for vocals. AKG Dynamics on toms-toms. I normally favour a condenser mic for snare drums like a Neumann 84, which is unusual because most engineers prefer dynamics on snare drums.

"The wondrous U47 mic, a library, and a great songwriter. Producing a record for NYC artist Jacob Benson!"

"I like the Sennheiser 409 on amps. For a different sound I like a ribbon mic. Acoustic guitar recordings are tough. If you can have a nice big mic further back from the instrument that's usually the best. Further back means no booming. Lately I've enjoyed a U47 or C37A with a 1066 preamp."

In this video, at minute 0:28, Frank can be seen using the U47 in a recording session. [A *Sound on Sound* interview](https://www.soundonsound.com/people/classic-tracks-frank-sinatra-ive-got-you-under-my-skin) featuring recording engineer John Palladino mentions that Sinatra first used the mic when he signed with Capitol Records. > "Another advantage to the U47 was the directional pattern that favoured the voice and didn't allow it to be drowned out by the orchestra. That's why it got to be tremendously popular and became an industry standard in the days when singers like Frank Sinatra recorded in the studio with the band.” [This article](https://www.homebrewaudio.com/the-frank-sinatra-microphone/) by Home Brew Audio states that "Frank loved it so much that he insisted on using no other mic after 1950. He called it his 'Telly.'"

"At one point, instead of being in a vocal booth, she came out and stood right there with the orchestra, à la Frank Sinatra. She was amazing. I used a Neumann U67 on her voice, along with just 2dB of a Summit limiter and a Neve 1073 preamp. I like the 67 a lot, it seems to work well on vocals, and with her it worked really well. When her father recorded 'Unforgettable', he used a 47, and the 67 matched up pretty well with that." — Al Schmitt on the recording of Natalie Cole's cover of Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable", in [this *Sound On Sound* article](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-natalie-cole-nat-king-cole-unforgettable)

Producer Al Schmitt mentions Martin's use of a Telefunken U47 in this *Sound on Sound* interview about the recording of Bob Dylan's *Shadows in the Night*. > “I used Capitol’s Neumann U47 on Bob’s vocals. It’s the very same microphone that was used on Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Nat King Cole. It’s a great–sounding microphone. Fortunately, because I work a lot at Capitol, I get to use it frequently, and I’ve had it on Paul McCartney and on Diana Krall and others." Despite Schmitt's mention of Neumann, [Sinatra's U47](https://equipboard.com/pros/frank-sinatra/telefunken-u47-microphone) is famous for bearing the Telefunken brand.

In the interview, Janus say "I record a lot of vocals, so the lovely U47 clone made by my friend is always in use."

Between 0:25-0:26, you can see the back of a Telefunken U47 microphone. You can visibly see the serial number plate. It could also be a vintage Neumann U47, on which the Telefunken is based on.

Pdogg shows his new Telefunken mics.