What mic is Neil Young using here?

Don't care about the mic how good does a room full of great muso's, great room, great engineer and gear sound WOW. The problem with no money in music is this is going to become rarer and rarer. So sad.

I thought so, thanks guys. Oliver Archut made my U17 in Gaylord, Kansas. Sinsay, (Shannon from Mic Rehab) installed the Thiersch M7 Blueline capsule for me. Oliver told me personally that he tested my mic himself and that it resembled an M49, so it's good to know the mic Neil Young was using is the M49. I haven't heard one of those as often as I've heard C12's or U 47's on youtube, so I had no point of reference.

I'm really hoping we stop talking about M49s in general and everybody forgets about them so I can afford to get a really nice pair or trio of them. So, how about you all forget about this microphone, now, for ever. OK?

Don't you EVEN buy an M49 after you just bought a 251. My jealousy would reach new bounds.

I dream I'll wander into a garage sale somewhere upstate NY, and some retired gear head will have a couple of STA-Levels and a bunch of dusty old Neumann'a buried on a shelf behind some old comics, and he'll sell them to me for $50 each. Oh, and he thinks those ratty looking things in the old box on the floor are the original power supplies.

Remember their are 3 versions of the M49, and like the 47 you will find versions with both M7 and k47 capsules so while there is very much a a M49 sound add in age and you realize you can't judge it based on one sample.
A Nice M7 M49b is my holy grail, that's why I'm building 2 clones!

I nearly experienced this at a family Thanksgiving dinner some years back. We were at the table, eating and talking, and somehow the topic turned to music (imagine that). Quietly, my Uncle, and host, who was getting on in years, said "I played violin when I was young. I still have the instrument". I asked him what kind it was. "Stradivarius, brought over from Europe by my grandfather". I about choked on my mashed. I told him if it were real, it could be worth millions. He laughed. I couldn't help myself, I asked where it was and immediately got up from the table. There it was, in a closet, cased for probably 60 years. Dinner was over. It was old old old, and in good shape. The label looked real, too. So I did some research (this was before the Internet) and became even more excited. But in my rare calm moments, I felt that things weren't quite right with this fiddle. I was growing suspicious of the label, it seemed off the mark, too well-preserved. I took it to an expert and they looked it over. It turned out to be a well-made copy, made in the mid-19th century in Germany. There was provenance on the maker! That's how crazy the violin world is. The telling marks were inside the body (a signature and other marks), and on the label itself, which actually made no pretense to be exact. Still, it was a fine 130-year old instrument and sold for $2000.

But for a little while, I had my hands on a Strad. The feeling was indescribable. I was going to call it "The Fairchild", after my uncle's name. Escort it to auction at Christie's on the Rockefeller, hang at the Waldorf, and tour all the NYC discos. I could have been famous, I tell ya, I could have been somebody.

Still, a well made clone that's 130 years old must've sounded sweet! Gotta listen to Nora Jone's first album for a few minutes today to get the sound of the 49 into my head.

It did. The restoration process was fascinating. Since I was interested, the shop allowed me to stop in and see how things went. It blew me away when they pulled the top to check for small cracks and fully validate the provenance. They pretty much disassembled the entire violin and re-glued it back together. Painstaking work and cheap considering the hours and artistry involved. A new bridge was fabricated as well. Once strung and "settled", it had a beautiful resonant tonality to my ears. The buyer was a parent of a high school student, and the shop guys told me that the girl was an excellent player, excited to have an old instrument. My only regret is that I have no pictures; it had a gorgeous, golden "burst" finish and a patina that no Les Paul could ever have.

It's interesting that the list of Holy Grail microphones includes so many from Neumann. I was not familiar with the M49 until now, thanks for the info.

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Yeah the 49 has never gotten the press of c12, Elam or U47, it's been used on just about everything From some of the most desirable Classical Vinyl (early Mercury Living Presence ) Miles Davis, Sinatra to Heavy Metal Hairbands.
I think part of it is that it wasn't as large and look cool as a prop in photos and videos.

Remember the most expensive rare mic these days is the M49s cousin the Ball mounted omni M50. If you think u47s are a fortune look for a pair of M50s, ask any classical guy about those.

It was funny as a kid my favorite record was my dads Mercury LP the music of Leroy Anderson, I read the linear notes one morning after a night at music head and there they were " recorded with 3 Neumann M49s " loved the sound for as long as I can remember!