U67 Style Microphone

Nailed it.

Interesting. Kind of like the Lawson 47/251mic. 

Yeah, but it sounds like Grosser is behind this circuit.

How did you make out with the HF de-emphasis mod on the MK67, any details to share?

Thanks Doug, I'll give the cap a try. Same place you had your linear mod jumper right?
I see some variance among samples and when everything else is eliminated (capsules, tubes, psu etc) it comes down to the head amp. Not only the HF level but also the shape of the roll off.

I am wondering if anyone has successfully swapped out the transformer in the MK67 kit with an AMI or the new Neumann and what the results yielded. I’m not posting this to be devisive. I found the kit is dark in comparison to the real U67s I’ve used and it doesn’t work on a lot of the big voices I record. I’d love to make this kit work somehow. I’m not a tech or a DIYer, so I’d like to hear what others have experienced before venturing into this modification. Feel free to PM me if you’d like to discuss it rather than post here about it.

Hey Everyone,

A bunch of people reached out to me after seeing my last post. Some asking what I found out about modding the MK67, and some looking for details about my previous 67s. I figured I’d write up a little recap and let everyone know the options I’m currently considering.

My search for “my 67” started after trying a Korby Kat 67M and custom 49 head. I liked the 67M, but it was a bit bright, and I felt the 49 might be a bit dark, but was the best representation of my upper register that I had ever heard recorded. At the time my budget only afforded me enough for an Advanced Audio Microphone or maybe a Peluso. I owned a Peluso 2247SE and Dave from AA had already modded a TNC ACM-1200 for me. I had a relationship with AA, due to discussions about the Mod and asked if they could make their CM67SE, which is designed to sound like a modded 67, sound like the vintage 67. They offered to make me a mic that would give me both sonic options utilizing the roll off switch to essentially boost the low end and roll off the top end instead of using the more complicated de-emphasis circuit. I owned the microphone for a while and it became a go to in my studio. I did find it a little bit dark on my voice, but it worked on other voices well. I often used the 9 pattern switch to open up the top end a bit by going into wide cardioid. This worked well on my voice, but could loose some bottom end on less warm voices. Hey, you record and you learn. While I’ve moved up from the AA mics I still maintain that for $1000 they are some of the best options on the market.

Next I made the mistake of picking up the Slate VMS. Classic tubes 2 advertised a warm FG67 with huge mids and classic tone, their U67 emulation. The reports of how good VMS was got me stoked to try it. Unfortunately, when I finally drank the cool-aid it was sour. Myself and a number of people confronted Steven who finally admitted they were emulating a very popular modded U67, not a stock vintage U67. Unfortunately, even his other emulations were bright and lacking low end and depth imho, so I sold it to fund the BLUE Bottle Rocket Stage II and started collecting some caps to fill the VMS’ place.

I finally decided I was going to go for a 67 that was top of the line, where the only step up would be a vintage U67. So I started this thread. I had strongly been considering a Wunder CM67. I’d still love to hear one at some point, particularly with the new Suprema circuit which gives a more vintage tone supposedly, but when I asked about the 67 the overwhelming consensus here at RGO was that the MK67 kit with a NOS EF86 was as close as they come. This was great news as I have a U87ai I have a love/hate relationship with that the kit would work fine in. I ordered the kit and really liked what I was hearing. The Neumann capsule and true de-emphasis circuit made a huge difference. The only issue was instead of being slightly more open like the Wunder or various other clones, it had the opposite issue. It rolled off a bit more top end and seemed to boost the bottom end. Replacing the tube made it more neutral, but if I’m being honest I think I preferred the PF86 that came stock, particularly on Jazz vox. Neither gave it the top end I was looking for and both presented a much thicker midrange. I found it choked a lot of the full voices I tried it on, including mine and my wife’s voices, unless drastically EQed. The general consensus has been cutting out 2db at 250 hz and boosting 3db at between 8-12 kHz to yield the true U67 sound. That’s before adding additional EQ for the purposes of mixing a song. When I finally got it next to a good vintage U67 it was apparent that this was the case. I posted clips of it here. For me it seemed to have the low/mid beef of the M269, but with less top end than even the U67. In defense of the MK67, many people really like this kit for the same reasons I feel it doesn’t work for me. This is all subjective. Admittedly, most of these people are not recording big, full, jazz, Broadway, or operatic vocals like I am.
On a side note, I had and RMS 269 in my studio most of this year till a month ago. It definitely had that low-mid push I expected from an M269 style mic and an even, and perhaps a bit more open top end. This is based on my very limited time with an M269 (I recorded 3 different selections at Barbershop Studios featuring different styles and singing into the M49C, U67, and M269, among others all simultaneously, including my MK67 and AA CM49 as my reference mics).

At the beginning of the year BLUE announced the first expansion on their bottle system in years; 3 new caps. Unlike the beginning of their bottle system when they received a lot of criticism over their caps not sounding exactly like the reference mics they gave for each capsule, BLUE now chooses to simply advise the sonic qualities, leaving us to guess. It’s a pretty easy guess from each descriptions that the B9 is meant to be in the vein of the C800G, the B10 to be in the vein of the M49, and the B11, their “Icon Capsule,” to be in the vein of the U67. IMHO the B10 was closer to my CM49 than my FleA 49, but their B11 coupled with my BLUE Bottle Rocket Stage II has a lot of the qualities I loved about the MK67, without the low-Mid bump and just a little more on the top end, if still a bit on the dark side. I actually love the sound of this combination so much that I recorded an entire EP for a new musical with it as the sole vocal mic. I recorded my lyric tenor voice, my friend’s dramatic tenor voice, my wife’s lyric mezzo voice, a dramatic soprano voice, and lastly a light lyric soprano voice. As soon as the composer’s website goes live I will post it for everyone to hear. This may actually end up being my wife’s vocal mic on our Christmas Album we are working on for release next year.

Now, if you’re sitting here wondering why I’m even still looking for a 67 after that glowing review of BLUE’s take on it, there is a pretty simple reason. I need to pick up a couple of more mics in my studio in order to do some of the instrumental recordings I’d like to get into. I sold almost all of my budget mics to fund my FleA 49. I find myself in a position where I really need to pick up one or two additional mics and possibly upgrade my CM49 down the road. Right now I’m lucky enough to have some good friends who will let me borrow mics as needed, but I’m still looking ahead. One of the big disadvantages about the BLUE mic is that it is a cardioid only microphone. Even if I decided to try the big Bottle I would still be using a cardioid only mic. So if I decided I wanted to mic a string or brass section and got myself into a nice space to do it, I would be using directional mics. Now, whether you are into the pure tone of the Schoeps and DPA mics or more of a traditionalist like I am with 67s and 49s, omni is a really great option for this kind of recording, particularly when in a good space. It limits the amount of phase issues and captures a lush, mushy sound that you are probably used to hearing on orchestral recordings whether you realize it or not. Being that my studio is primarily a vocal studio I want to make sure that all the mics in here can really double as solid vocal mics, with only a couple of exceptions. The other reason is that when I picked up the BLUE Bottle Rocket Stage II I did so with the intention on picking up (2) of the Stage Is and (3) B4 M50 style caps to make my own Decca Tree. I use the Stage Is through my Demeter VTMP to add some nice tube tone and 3d quality to a somewhat bland mic. So even if I did decided to use directional mics, my BLUE is already relegated to a stand 15+ ft in the air for the overall section capture.

Now that we’ve got all that out of the way, here are some of the options I’m looking at. As I stated above, I’d like to see if I can try the Wonder CM67S. I may reach out to VK and see if they can arrange a demo the way they did for the FleA 49. Of course there is the obvious Neumann U67 reissue, which from what I’ve heard sounds fantastic, but seems to be missing some of the low end of it’s vintage counter part. Per Klaus Heyen the issue is with the inconsistent and overly tensioned K67 capsule being made today. Others have found simply changing the stock tube to a NOS tube did the trick for them. Bock announced their 67, but I haven’t heard much about it since the reissue came back out. Both the reissue and the Bock are a little out of my price range. There is the hot topic Stam SA-67. If I’m honest, and you can check my old post in that thread, I chose it last in the shoot out they posted. I just found it to be a little more neutral than the other two mics. That said, I’m really nitpicking. I think it sounds pretty good, especially for $1600-1900 depending on the options you choose. My issue with Stam is simply that I do not want to wait a year to receive my purchase. I’d be buying it to use on the album I’m actively working on now, so receiving it in 6 months to a year does me no good. I've also considered picking up a used Korby Kat system.  I've gotten a chance to work with the system for a session in the past on both my voice and my wife's.  Their 251 head and 67M head stood out in that session, even if the 67M was on the brighter side.  I've heard clips of the regular 67 and it sounds great. They've been going at decent prices on Reverb lately, often with more than one head. While Korby may have been gone, Shannon who was a major player at Korby is not.  Of course, getting another mic system does mean giving up a bit of the sonics for the flexibility, but at least the Korby uses heads that are all multipattern.

Currently there are 2 other options I’ve been looking at. I’ve been looking at a custom build by Signal Arts Electronics. Chad's most expensive build is comparable to Stam’s, utilizing the Heiserman K67 and an AMI BV12 transformer. He has less expensive options too, using a Chinese k67 made to his specs, as well as a few less expensive transformers. His pricing is comparable to Stam although a little higher, but not by much, and with a wait time only based on a few of the key materials. He isn’t mass producing these, so timing is more manageable. The other thing I like about it is he will custom it to my specs. If I were to pick up a used vintage K67 capsule or a BV12 of my choice and provide it to him, he would incorporate that into the build. The flexibility of customization and more reliable time table makes this a very nice option for me.

Another option, which I asked about in my previous post, is modifying the MK67 kit. A few people on the purple site expressed difficulty modding it themselves. One gentleman reached out and said he had just sent it to Shannon to mod the kit and tweak the capsule as necessary to give him a true U67 sound. He was kind enough to invite me to meet up with him and try the mic as he is also in NY, an offer I will probably accept. I have no doubt that when the one kit returns from Mic Rehab and has Shannon’s stamp on it that it will sound amazing. The only catch is this wouldn’t give me an additional microphone unless I invest additional funds in a used TLM67 or a second U87ai to put it in. Although having two U87AIs with a tlm67 kit and a modded max mod would be a pretty nice setup. So, it’s worth considering. Obviously having Shannon build something is also an option, but it’s premium pricing, although still more affordable than the new reissue or many of the high end clones. If you consider using Shannon I’d advise giving him a call. He’s a good and knowledgeable guy whether you end up utilizing his services or not.

So hopefully this diatribe helps some of you on here or at least starts some interesting new conversations on this thread.

In the cheaper seats, for U67-ish style sound, my big shootout would be Bock Soundelux U99 vs. TLM 67. I love the TLM's sound, but am really curious about U99 w/FAT switch engaged. Sure works great on my U195! Chris

If/when you're ready to buy the U67 reissue JohnKenn will actually get you the lowest price possible.
I've had all the FleAs in my studio for months & thought they were good but didn't blow my mind. Their 47 & 49 sounded almost identical & are very good in their own right but didn't feel they are a replica of an M49 & U47.

Funny enough, I think the FleA 47 and 49 sound pretty different, with the 47 having a more shimmery top and deeper reach and the 49 being a bit more mellow on top, but having a creamy sound up there that makes my voice shine. I’ve had them side by side in my studio. I’ve only ever worked with a Wagner U47W for comparison with the FleA 47. I found the Wagner was a bit more mellow and reached deeper, but they were definitely in the same sonic realm. I actually thought the FleA would be more versatile. The FleA 49 on the other hand was a different experience. I tried 3 different versions of the FleA 49; a standard one with their M7 capsule, one with their K47, and one with the M7 and an AC701.  The M7 with the ac701 sounded closest to the M49C I played around with at Barborshop studios with the obvious difference being the different capsules and signal chains I recorded through. I decided to get the K47 capsule, because both in the FleA and the original M49C it sounded better on my voice. I debated for a while about the ac701, but decided I was happy with the sound I was getting and didn’t want to end up scrambling down the road looking for a replacement tube. It’s the only “what if” I have with that purchase. At the same time, I will freely admit that my voice records really well and can easily make a meh mic sound good. 

Guys, don’t worry about me.  I don’t pay full price for gear. I’m Italian and from New York... I know a guy.

THANK YOU. It amazes me that more people don’t reach out...I could save them a bundle.