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.

Used for the vocals on "Icky Thump", as stated by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 2007 *Sound on Sound* interview. > “Jack is very particular about his vocal sound, and it’s one of the things on the album that we really took a lot of time for. He is very sensitive to what he hears in the headphones, and he wanted something that gave him juice and was exciting to sing to. So every song had a different mic/preamp/compressor setup. Most of his vocals were recorded through an old RCA 77DX mic, but for some of them I used the Shure SM7 guide vocal mic. On the title song Jack’s vocals were recorded with a Telefunken U47, going into a Neve 1073 preamp and then into an 1176 compressor.” This is restated by Chiccarelli in [this October 1, 2007 *Mix Online* interview](https://www.mixonline.com/recording/white-stripes-365875). > Most of the vocals were recorded on a RCA 77DX ribbon microphone, but a U47 and an old Altec 633 salt shaker mic were also pressed into service. Processing, depending on the track, included a Telefunken V76 tube preamp, an 1176, an LA-3A, a Fairchild and a Chandler Limited EMI TG2 compressor. “Sometimes the vocal went through a guitar amp, sometimes through a Neve module with a preamp turned all the way up,” he says. “He's great about working the distortion, knowing how to sing to a certain microphone. He knows how to back way off and come way in when he needs to. The vocal is different on every single song. > “There was no vocal comping,” Chiccarelli continues. “If he didn't like a line, we'd erase it and redo it. It was totally old school, like you're down to track 15 and that's the lead vocal track so make the performance count. A couple of songs were tricky, but he's really good about diving in and working really hard to get the stuff to be what he wants. He's fearless and that's a quality I always look for in an artist.”

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'.

Used for the piano on "the orchestral track recordings" of *Foreign Affairs*, as is visible in producer "Bones" Howe's "[d]iagram for the Foreign Affairs sessions at Wally Heider Studio 4 showing the layout used for the orchestral track recordings" from [this February 2004 *Sound on Sound* interview](https://www.soundonsound.com/people/bones-howe-tom-waits). Howe specifies a Telefunken version while recounting the sessions for Ornette Coleman's *The Shape of Jazz to Come* and *Change of the Century*. > "I set them up in a square, one in each corner of an imaginary room in the studio, close together, all facing the centre of the square. I had set up the microphones before they got there: I had an RCA 77 on Ornette's alto sax — the white plastic one he was notorious for playing — and a 77 on Don Cherry's pocket trumpet, a Telefunken U47 on Charlie's bass, and the drums were miked with a U47 as an overhead and a 77 over the hat and snare. We were recording live to mono and two-track at the same time. I liked this setup so much that I made sure I wrote it down, and I still have that setup sheet to this day. I would use it to record a lot of albums."

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.

Used on "Time of the Season", as mentioned in this February 2016 *Sound on Sound* article. > For the vocal on ‘Time Of The Season’, Blunstone used a Telefunken U47.

> 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.

Credited on the _Plays Wooden Child_ album: "David Tibet only sings Assyrian and Babylonian using the following microphones, which he utterly endorses"

"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."

According to this July 27, 2017 *Mix Online* interview with producer Al Schmitt, a Telefunken U47 was used for Krall's vocals on *Turn Up the Quiet*. > “The Neumann U47 sounded fantastic on Diana,” Schmitt says. “It’s my go-to vocal mic, the same one Sinatra used on his Capitol records. I placed it about five or six inches from Diana. I also used a Neve 1073 preamplifier and just a touch of my Fairchild 660 compressor for the warmth of its tubes, compressed a dB or two. I ran Diana’s voice through Capitol Echo Chamber #4, blended with my Bricasti Design [Model 7 Stereo] reverb to get the sound that I want.” 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. Krall's use of it is supported by the fact that [*Turn Up the Quiet* was recorded at Capitol Studios](https://www.allmusic.com/album/turn-up-the-quiet-mw0003020197). It is also mentioned by Schmitt in [this July 15, 2015 *Voice Council* Magazine interview](http://www.voicecouncil.com/the-man-whos-recorded-sinatra-krall-and-dylan/). > The U47 – that’s the one I used on Bublé, Paul McCartney and so many others. (...) For Diana Krall and Paul McCartney (and others) I used a Neumann Tube U47 into Neve Preamp and then into a Fairchild compressor. That, to me, is the ultimate.

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.'" The microphone is also depicted in [the artwork for *Duets*](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DNo81elV4AEKV1l.jpg) and [*Duets II*](http://www.sinatra.com/sites/g/files/aaj7201/f/Duets%20II.jpg).

"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) The U47 is also visible in [this photo](https://www.edge-prints.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/84889394-Nat-King-Cole1.jpg).

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.

One of Danny’s main studio microphones

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

Used for Staples' vocals on Gorillaz's "Let Me Out", among other songs, as mentioned by recording engineer Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 *Sound on Sound* interview about the production of *Humanz*. > When we recorded Mavis Staples at CRC in Chicago I asked what mic they like to use on her, and it’s a Telefunken U47, so that’s what I used.

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.

In this *TapeOp* interview, sound engineer Steve King stated he ran Franklin through a U47 for "What Now My Love" off of Frank Sinatra's *Duets*. It was an anecdote King made while discussing the recording of Eminem's "Lose Yourself". > Earlier with Marshall I used the Neve 1073 preamp and a U47. I recorded Aretha Franklin for the Frank Sinatra *Duets* record with the Neve, and I made sure to run Frank's voice through all my stuff just for karma! Given that *Duets* was recorded at Capitol Studios, this U47 was most likely a Telefunken version.

Used on *Just the Blues*, as mentioned in this *Sound on Sound* interview with producer Bruce Swedien. > **Telefunken U47** > > "I still have one of the two U47s that I bought new in 1953, and will still frequently be first choice on lead vocal. This is a mic that can be used on a ballad or on a very aggressive rock track. It has a slight peak in its frequency response at around 7kHz, which gives it a feeling of natural presence. It also has a slight peak in the low end around 100Hz. This gives it a warm, rich sound. For Joe Williams, another mic would never have worked as well. I figured out that it was the mic for him when I heard him speak. After you've been doing this for as long as I have, you begin to have instinctive sonic reactions, and it saves a lot of time!” > > Hear it on... Joe Williams in the Count Basie Band's Just The Blues

A Capitol Records Telefunken U47 is visible in this photo of MacFarlane. It is depicted in [the artwork for *Music Is Better Than Words*](https://sethmacfarlane.net/Sethisbetterthan.jpg) and [*In Full Swing*](https://www.gratefulweb.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/gsfdfsadfsdsadfassad.jpg).

Used as a drum overhead on Ornette Coleman's *The Shape of Jazz to Come* and *Change of the Century*, as recounted by sound engineer "Bones" Howe in this February 2004 *Sound on Sound* interview. > "I set them up in a square, one in each corner of an imaginary room in the studio, close together, all facing the centre of the square. I had set up the microphones before they got there: I had an RCA 77 on Ornette's alto sax — the white plastic one he was notorious for playing — and a 77 on Don Cherry's pocket trumpet, a Telefunken U47 on Charlie's bass, and the drums were miked with a U47 as an overhead and a 77 over the hat and snare. We were recording live to mono and two-track at the same time. I liked this setup so much that I made sure I wrote it down, and I still have that setup sheet to this day. I would use it to record a lot of albums."