I’ve been stockpiling a bit of gear for my endless classical recording project, and have gotten a few mics. The most interesting one, for me, is a new JZ Vintage 47 that arrived last week.
This is intended to sound similar to a Neumann U47 FET, an extremely famous mic that was itself based on the tube U47. But it’s $3000 less expensive than Neumann’s reissue, and much, much less expensive than a vintage 47.
The mic has gotten excellent reviews in the few years since it was released, and JZ doesn’t always have them in production for some reason. Every part of the mic from the capsule to the body machining is done in Riga, Latvia.
JZ are the initials of Juris Zarens, who designed the original, high end Blue microphones that were some of my favorite mics from the time of their introduction, the absolute best one I had being the Blue Mouse (that was loosely based on a 47 as well).
The 47 was the mic of choice for classic singers like Sinatra and many others; it’s also a mic that sounds great on a variety of sources. Most of the revered Mercury Living Presence classical recordings were done with 3 U47s, or a pair of U47s and a 49.
The original has a solid midrange, without a hyped high end.
I figured I’d use it in my planned sessions on bass and ‘cello, but after trying it on my acoustic, I think it will be good to record the high strings that can sometimes sound too strident, especially recorded in a room that’s far from being a reverberant concert hall. It sounded great with my acoustic, and as a bonus, the tracks took EQ and compression particularly well. I’m going to keep experimenting with it, and post a few clips if I capture something I like.
This is intended to sound similar to a Neumann U47 FET, an extremely famous mic that was itself based on the tube U47. But it’s $3000 less expensive than Neumann’s reissue, and much, much less expensive than a vintage 47.
The mic has gotten excellent reviews in the few years since it was released, and JZ doesn’t always have them in production for some reason. Every part of the mic from the capsule to the body machining is done in Riga, Latvia.
JZ are the initials of Juris Zarens, who designed the original, high end Blue microphones that were some of my favorite mics from the time of their introduction, the absolute best one I had being the Blue Mouse (that was loosely based on a 47 as well).
The 47 was the mic of choice for classic singers like Sinatra and many others; it’s also a mic that sounds great on a variety of sources. Most of the revered Mercury Living Presence classical recordings were done with 3 U47s, or a pair of U47s and a 49.
The original has a solid midrange, without a hyped high end.
I figured I’d use it in my planned sessions on bass and ‘cello, but after trying it on my acoustic, I think it will be good to record the high strings that can sometimes sound too strident, especially recorded in a room that’s far from being a reverberant concert hall. It sounded great with my acoustic, and as a bonus, the tracks took EQ and compression particularly well. I’m going to keep experimenting with it, and post a few clips if I capture something I like.
