Shopping for a 47 substitute...really, really surprised more by comments than the mics. . I've worked with U47's for over 40 years. "transparency,", "most natural", and "best mic"?? What are we listening for? I want one that sounds like an original U47. Even though they do have a certain smooth/warm quality at times, I think muscle in the midrange when I think of a 47. Not always the "best sounding mic" , neither "most transparency" or "clearest" ...when solo-ed, they can sound a bit rolled off, a bit gritty, not terribly clear, but the mid-muscle makes them sit in a mix with musical authority like nothing else. Alone in a vacuum with no other sounds, instruments, tracks... even a dynamic mic like an MD441 can easily sound more "clear, rich, warm, transparent, etc.", even "better" at times than a U47 by itself but that's not what a 47 is about. None have the overall character and the muscle that stands alone when placed in a mix. . i don't know what some of the comments were listening for. In this clip of 3 voices...which IMO is the worst way to audition a 47, should have been done with one voice to hear what is going on... the Telefunken surprised me a bit, had very firm mids, so did the Bock...the Bock's mids were similar to a 47 IMO, the Wunder was good, too. The Pearlman sounded the most timid and smooth IMO, the Slate is your typical under $1k LDC sound. None of them sounded just like an old 47 to me but 3 or 4 of them would probably sit in the mix somewhat like a 47's character. "Best sounding mic" has nothing to do with a 47 shootout if trying to find closest to original. A 57 can sound just as "good" as any mic with a good engineer and singer. If you are looking to find which mic has most character of the U-47, I don't think this track can reveal a "clear cut", "hands down winner" here... ..you can only listen while imagining which would have the most musical midrange content... which mids will stand up the most firm and musical (yes, warmth) with the most that trademark 47 character peeking out above the noise floor when placed in a mix.
Bock DEFINITELY had the smoothest tone + best natural compression. To me, that's what you'd want in a vintage U47 anyway...if you want sparkle, why not get a C12 or a 251? Just my two cents
I have to say they all sounded really close for the most part but the Flea had an ever so slight something going on for me. I could live with any of them.
The openness of the Flea 47EF12. I work on EDM, Pop and Trap music so colored mic's are not my style. However the transparency of the Flea was so amazing. Time to look into on. Good job VK!
Love the effort, would love, love to hear just one vocalist. Maybe it's my old engineer's ears but trying to pick voices out of the blend was pretty difficult. Will check out the raw files and thanks again.
Yep. The Bock and Wunder had the body. Telefunken has very open highs (and is probably is the spendy one) Love this kind of comparison. The gang of three vocals are great, and the pops and bumps on three mics remind you the importance of how the mic and basket respond in fast moving situations (Slate being pretty poppy and bumpy)
idk about everyone else. but on the line "get back up when you fall" during the slate digital VMS ML-1, there was a bit more plosive distortion, especially in the low end (40-75 hz) This could be due to the difference in performance? Either way, something to think about.
All of them performed nicely, but I preferred (on THESE vocals) those mics that were not as thick sounding. I’m going with the Wunder CM7S. I also liked the Tele. I gotta say that the Slate held its own and sounded similar to the two I mentioned, but still I did not prefer it over the two I mentioned. Thanks for the shootout! Please keep them coming.
With a great artist and a pleasant sounding room I could make a great recording with anyone of these microphones. Tried a lot of microphones and the biggest difference is in the artist and the room. The microphones should be a choice between what works best with the source. All of these microphones are great.
Hands down the Wunder GTS for me, the rest are okay to me with bock and slate being last. Flea and telefunken sounded the most natural. I couldn't really tell them apart
The Flea and the Telefunken were proper, the others were good, but not as good. The Slate has that pinch many cheap Chinese capsule mics have, that's too bad. I've often wondered if they had a great capsule like the Thiersch M7, would it still breakup under pressure or cool out. I've seen the other Vintage King shootout where the Telefunken was clearly top dog, so who knows, but in this case, it's the Flea by a nose. I wish the Warm WA47 was available when they did this, I'd love to hear how it sounds in this context.
I am very sensitive to sibilance issues and this particular piece was not a good opportunity to hear the kind of problems that typically sets them apart for me. I am not hearing the differences in this video that I heard elsewhere between some of these contenders. Perhaps the Neve isn't the most transparent platform for discerning differences, though it is obviously a typical of what many would consider to be an ideal end context. Having said that, and not having ordered the original files to do a better comparison in my own DAW, I liked the transparency of the CM7S even though IME, that quality goes beyond what a traditional U47 does. On the other end of the spectrum, I thought the Slate was synthetic sounding with more air on top in not a nice way. Predictable...
To my ears going back and forth between the telefunken u47, and the others I think they all do a pretty good job to provide the 47 sound. I think however that the CM7 and the Slate VMS sound the closest to the telefunken, with CM7 being a hair brighter than the two. Nice shootout.
To me, the Bock sounds the closest to the real Telefunken. They all sound incredible, which they absolutely should at the price point of all these mics. The Slate sounded good in its own right, but just doesn't sound like a 47 to me.
Hey guys, there may be difference but very little and lets stop deceiving ourselves as if there's a big difference in the way they all sound. I must say "A BIG Congratulations To SLATE DIGITAL for nailing their U47 mic Hybrid Technology (Steven, BIG THUMBS Up to you and your entire crew). ........Now it's time to make good quality music without breaking a bank!!!
I found that a few of these were not that different from each other. The Slate however was not among that group and was obviously the most different, and not in a nice way. I'm all for not "breaking the bank", but "let's not deceive ourselves," you actually do get what you pay for to some extent.
Well what you said could be right but "if this Test was done blindly, i'm sure your opinion will surely be different and could end up liking the Slate Mic"....... God save us all as some people are still socked in designers mentality!!!
AJ, that is clearly not my experience, though it may well be yours, due to either lack of experience with deep listening, or bad monitoring, or lack of motivation to pursue either. IME, it is safer/more accurate to use the word, "I" rather than "you".
+Tim Britton I will agree that the slate doesn't sound as good as the u47 clones. But the others I'm sure YOU would misidentify Mr. Tim Britton in a blind test. And I have quite a luxury monitoring system FYI. There are differences but let's not kid ourselves, whichever one you choose for a song would sound great.
For me I would get the Telefunken or the Bock, the slate had a almost crackle sound that I didn't like. the wonder cm7 came in third. But thats just my opinion.
Thanks for your great effort. To me, Flea does shine among the others. I love the openness from Flea but overall they all sound close with each others. Slate has a bit harshness but considering for its price, how can you ask for more? Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to hear the original sound of U47 so can't tell how close to the original one. But they are all good for their voice.
Great shootout guys!! All are great mics, to my ears: Pearlman and bock are a little muffled. Wunder glass is great a little on the airy side. Wunder cm7,flea and telefunken are all just amazing, super nice midrange, each one with its own character. Superb. Slate is a little bit on steroids but the extended low and high end can actually work for me.
What a great comparison. And thanks for using great singers. Every mic seems to have that classic 47 quality which to me is all about the way the mids are fat and have a nice spread to them. None of the mics stuck out as particularly different in a good or bad way, they all just sounded great. Not surprisingly as a VMS owner, the Slate 47 model certainly held its own. My favorite VMS model is the 251 so maybe you guys will do a comparison of 251s too. Thanks VK!
For me Wunder CM7 is warmest and sweetest of all, with very full and lively timbre. I think the most impressive sound is the best sound. It's like difference between two singers. The problem is that realy few people really know what is the good sound is and how to achieve it. And even less people want to do it. That's why we have so many plastic-sounding music now. Overprocessing is a problem, and a bad taste. The many recordings of old days are much better by this reason.
Loved the Flea. The Pearlman sounded great too. I wish you had used the intensity knob a bit on the Slate VMS and pushed the gain a bit, you could have gotten a slightly closer sound to the other mics.
Listening 100 times back and forth to each file this is how I would rank them as to what I'd pick for this track with these singers: 1) Wunder CM7s 2) Wunder CM7 GTS 3) Flea 12 4) Telefunken u47 5) Slate VMS 6) Bock u47 7) Pearlman
Amateur ears here, but, I hope, discerning (good headphones, 1080, flipping back and forth) Some were a sniff brighter, some a sniff darker. But overall so bloody close it’s scary. Except for the Slate. It sounded...different from the rest. something in maybe the 2-5 K range, or maybe it’s the transient that’s different? Not sure exactly what. Wouldn’t buy it tho.
1. Wunder CM7 S 2. Slate VMS 3. Wunder CM7 GTS Whole heartedly surprised by the Slate. I own the Wunder GTS. My ears always drawn to the CM7, but it's about twice the cost.
The thing with modulated mic is that you need a perfect mic to record through before you emulate. And a great tube mic is great because it pickup more details than a transistor mic can, and do it in a nicer way.
I think the lyrics were about saving up money for a quality U47 lol
Pearlman TM47: 01:15
Wunder CM7 GTS: 01:31
Wunder CM7S: 01:47
Telefunken U47: 02:03
Flea 47 EF12 02:19
Bock 47: 02:35
Slate VMS ML-1: 02:51
Telefunken U47 is the best to my ears.
Shopping for a 47 substitute...really, really surprised more by comments than the mics. . I've worked with U47's for over 40 years. "transparency,", "most natural", and "best mic"?? What are we listening for? I want one that sounds like an original U47. Even though they do have a certain smooth/warm quality at times, I think muscle in the midrange when I think of a 47. Not always the "best sounding mic" , neither "most transparency" or "clearest" ...when solo-ed, they can sound a bit rolled off, a bit gritty, not terribly clear, but the mid-muscle makes them sit in a mix with musical authority like nothing else. Alone in a vacuum with no other sounds, instruments, tracks... even a dynamic mic like an MD441 can easily sound more "clear, rich, warm, transparent, etc.", even "better" at times than a U47 by itself but that's not what a 47 is about. None have the overall character and the muscle that stands alone when placed in a mix. .
i don't know what some of the comments were listening for. In this clip of 3 voices...which IMO is the worst way to audition a 47, should have been done with one voice to hear what is going on... the Telefunken surprised me a bit, had very firm mids, so did the Bock...the Bock's mids were similar to a 47 IMO, the Wunder was good, too. The Pearlman sounded the most timid and smooth IMO, the Slate is your typical under $1k LDC sound. None of them sounded just like an old 47 to me but 3 or 4 of them would probably sit in the mix somewhat like a 47's character. "Best sounding mic" has nothing to do with a 47 shootout if trying to find closest to original. A 57 can sound just as "good" as any mic with a good engineer and singer. If you are looking to find which mic has most character of the U-47, I don't think this track can reveal a "clear cut", "hands down winner" here... ..you can only listen while imagining which would have the most musical midrange content... which mids will stand up the most firm and musical (yes, warmth) with the most that trademark 47 character peeking out above the noise floor when placed in a mix.
We need this with the 251 and C12 - please!!!
Just a blur at first listen but the Slate had a thinness I didn't care for.
Bock DEFINITELY had the smoothest tone + best natural compression. To me, that's what you'd want in a vintage U47 anyway...if you want sparkle, why not get a C12 or a 251? Just my two cents
I have to say they all sounded really close for the most part but the Flea had an ever so slight something going on for me. I could live with any of them.
The Bock felt like the right mic for this vocal. Tamed the highs just right and I got right into the song. U47 & Flea sounded sweet as well.
The openness of the Flea 47EF12. I work on EDM, Pop and Trap music so colored mic's are not my style. However the transparency of the Flea was so amazing. Time to look into on. Good job VK!
i work on edm pop and trap mainly as well and color is definitely my vibe :-p
1. Pearlman TM47
2. Bock 47
3. Wunder cm7 gts
I actually do really want it.
Love the effort, would love, love to hear just one vocalist. Maybe it's my old engineer's ears but trying to pick voices out of the blend was pretty difficult. Will check out the raw files and thanks again.
i really dig the Wunder CM7 GTS
1. Telefunken
2. Bock
3. Wunder CM7 S
4. Flea
5. Pearlman
6. Wunder CM7 GTS
7. Slate
I really like the CM7S
Yep. The Bock and Wunder had the body. Telefunken has very open highs (and is probably is the spendy one) Love this kind of comparison. The gang of three vocals are great, and the pops and bumps on three mics remind you the importance of how the mic and basket respond in fast moving situations (Slate being pretty poppy and bumpy)
IME, the "open highs" of the Tele are a bit harsh and not as faithful to the real U47 sound, and for more money, to boot.
1. Bock 47 (warmest and fullest)
2. Wunder CM7 GTS (nice top)
3. Telefunken U47 (like the bock but second place to those reasons)
idk about everyone else. but on the line "get back up when you fall" during the slate digital VMS ML-1, there was a bit more plosive distortion, especially in the low end (40-75 hz) This could be due to the difference in performance? Either way, something to think about.
All of them performed nicely, but I preferred (on THESE vocals) those mics that were not as thick sounding. I’m going with the Wunder CM7S. I also liked the Tele. I gotta say that the Slate held its own and sounded similar to the two I mentioned, but still I did not prefer it over the two I mentioned.
Thanks for the shootout! Please keep them coming.
Fantastic shootout. stacked tracks accentuate the characteristics of each microphone. Excellent!
With a great artist and a pleasant sounding room I could make a great recording with anyone of these microphones. Tried a lot of microphones and the biggest difference is in the artist and the room. The microphones should be a choice between what works best with the source. All of these microphones are great.
Hands down the Wunder GTS for me, the rest are okay to me with bock and slate being last. Flea and telefunken sounded the most natural. I couldn't really tell them apart
The Flea and the Telefunken were proper, the others were good, but not as good. The Slate has that pinch many cheap Chinese capsule mics have, that's too bad. I've often wondered if they had a great capsule like the Thiersch M7, would it still breakup under pressure or cool out. I've seen the other Vintage King shootout where the Telefunken was clearly top dog, so who knows, but in this case, it's the Flea by a nose. I wish the Warm WA47 was available when they did this, I'd love to hear how it sounds in this context.
I am very sensitive to sibilance issues and this particular piece was not a good opportunity to hear the kind of problems that typically sets them apart for me. I am not hearing the differences in this video that I heard elsewhere between some of these contenders. Perhaps the Neve isn't the most transparent platform for discerning differences, though it is obviously a typical of what many would consider to be an ideal end context. Having said that, and not having ordered the original files to do a better comparison in my own DAW, I liked the transparency of the CM7S even though IME, that quality goes beyond what a traditional U47 does. On the other end of the spectrum, I thought the Slate was synthetic sounding with more air on top in not a nice way. Predictable...
To my ears going back and forth between the telefunken u47, and the others I think they all do a pretty good job to provide the 47 sound. I think however that the CM7 and the Slate VMS sound the closest to the telefunken, with CM7 being a hair brighter than the two. Nice shootout.
To me, the Bock sounds the closest to the real Telefunken. They all sound incredible, which they absolutely should at the price point of all these mics. The Slate sounded good in its own right, but just doesn't sound like a 47 to me.
Sorry but the Slate doesn’t sound like any of the 47 mics here, not even close IMO. i like the Telefunken and the Wunder the most in this test.
U47 all the way!!
Wunder CM7s ftw!
Was there a reason you excluded the Neumann U-47 FET?
P.S. What model Audeze headphones are you using?
Because it would have been the only FET mic in the lineup?
That's why i thought you were going to include it.I understand what you were doing.
@vintage king - Do the Wunder mics in this shootout have the k47 or the m7 capsule?
Hey guys, there may be difference but very little and lets stop deceiving ourselves as if there's a big difference in the way they all sound. I must say "A BIG Congratulations To SLATE DIGITAL for nailing their U47 mic Hybrid Technology (Steven, BIG THUMBS Up to you and your entire crew).
........Now it's time to make good quality music without breaking a bank!!!
I found that a few of these were not that different from each other. The Slate however was not among that group and was obviously the most different, and not in a nice way. I'm all for not "breaking the bank", but "let's not deceive ourselves," you actually do get what you pay for to some extent.
Well what you said could be right but "if this Test was done blindly, i'm sure your opinion will surely be different and could end up liking the Slate Mic"....... God save us all as some people are still socked in designers mentality!!!
im going to have to agree. If it was a blind test you wouldn't know whats what.
AJ, that is clearly not my experience, though it may well be yours, due to either lack of experience with deep listening, or bad monitoring, or lack of motivation to pursue either. IME, it is safer/more accurate to use the word, "I" rather than "you".
+Tim Britton I will agree that the slate doesn't sound as good as the u47 clones. But the others I'm sure YOU would misidentify Mr. Tim Britton in a blind test. And I have quite a luxury monitoring system FYI. There are differences but let's not kid ourselves, whichever one you choose for a song would sound great.
For me I would get the Telefunken or the Bock, the slate had a almost crackle sound that I didn't like. the wonder cm7 came in third. But thats just my opinion.
Hands down the Flea 47 killed everything IMO, blew the rest out of the water :-)
Thanks for your great effort. To me, Flea does shine among the others. I love the openness from Flea but overall they all sound close with each others. Slate has a bit harshness but considering for its price, how can you ask for more? Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to hear the original sound of U47 so can't tell how close to the original one. But they are all good for their voice.
Great shootout guys!!
All are great mics, to my ears:
Pearlman and bock are a little muffled.
Wunder glass is great a little on the airy side.
Wunder cm7,flea and telefunken are all just amazing, super nice midrange, each one with its own character. Superb.
Slate is a little bit on steroids but the extended low and high end can actually work for me.
Thanks for doing this guys! I'm U47 shoppn'! ha
I probably really, really want it.
wundercm7s,flea 47!
The difference,for me anyway, was too subtle. I think when you add everything else into the mix, who could really tell?
I'm with you, although the Slate stood out too much as being thinner.
Thanks for sharing.
Is there another link for the U47 raw audio files? The one in the description goes to some type of off the wall blog site.
The link has been fixed. Click it for more info on how to get the raw files.
thanks!
What a great comparison. And thanks for using great singers. Every mic seems to have that classic 47 quality which to me is all about the way the mids are fat and have a nice spread to them. None of the mics stuck out as particularly different in a good or bad way, they all just sounded great. Not surprisingly as a VMS owner, the Slate 47 model certainly held its own. My favorite VMS model is the 251 so maybe you guys will do a comparison of 251s too. Thanks VK!
I like Flea 47 EF12.
Wunder Cm7 S was best. Most clarity and body. Runner up was Flea.
VMS sounded closer to Flea47 or CM7S. Telefunken U47 was bit darker and Bock was the darkest. I liked Telefunken U47 and Flea 47 the best.
I have the pearlman but it's super THICK the cm7s sounded the best to me!
For me Wunder CM7 is warmest and sweetest of all, with very full and lively timbre. I think the most impressive sound is the best sound. It's like difference between two singers. The problem is that realy few people really know what is the good sound is and how to achieve it. And even less people want to do it. That's why we have so many plastic-sounding music now. Overprocessing is a problem, and a bad taste. The many recordings of old days are much better by this reason.
Loved the Flea. The Pearlman sounded great too. I wish you had used the intensity knob a bit on the Slate VMS and pushed the gain a bit, you could have gotten a slightly closer sound to the other mics.
1 Telefunken
2 PearlMan
No $5 pop filter? The 'get BBBack' explodes.. But they all sound amazing and great vocals.
Listening 100 times back and forth to each file this is how I would rank them as to what I'd pick for this track with these singers:
1) Wunder CM7s
2) Wunder CM7 GTS
3) Flea 12
4) Telefunken u47
5) Slate VMS
6) Bock u47
7) Pearlman
my picks 1 telefunkin 2 pearman 3 flea
Amateur ears here, but, I hope, discerning (good headphones, 1080, flipping back and forth) Some were a sniff brighter, some a sniff darker. But overall so bloody close it’s scary. Except for the Slate. It sounded...different from the rest. something in maybe the 2-5 K range, or maybe it’s the transient that’s different? Not sure exactly what. Wouldn’t buy it tho.
Which is the cheapest price wise ?
In terms of the traditional mics, the Pearlman has the lowest price, but the Slate VMS comes in lower than that at $999.
Telefunken U87, Flea 47.
I liked the Flea and the Pearlman the best. The Slate VMS kept up with a lot of the others, but wasn't my favorite.
1. Wunder CM7 S
2. Slate VMS
3. Wunder CM7 GTS
Whole heartedly surprised by the Slate. I own the Wunder GTS. My ears always drawn to the CM7, but it's about twice the cost.
Same ....
The thing with modulated mic is that you need a perfect mic to record through before you emulate. And a great tube mic is great because it pickup more details than a transistor mic can, and do it in a nicer way.
Telefunken>Flea........ throw the rest into the sea.
Looks like the Flea level is a notch higher
Wunder
i cant believe the slate microphone stood its ground against these expensive mics.
Not only that, it can imitate other mics instead.
Wunder cm7s was the best to my ears. The flea-47 was too sibilant and reminded me of cheap chinese tubes so im rating it as the least pleasing.
fun, but not a great way to hear the characteristics of a microphone in depth with 3 voices singing at once.
They all sound the same