Neumann U47 vs Stam Audio SA47

The stam certainly sounds fine but when I watch tihs again I think there are differences due to the position and the singer is typically singing much more into the stam than the N47

he is mostly singing off the top of the inverted neumann capsule

I don't think this is deliberate just what happened.

my experience with my mk-u47 with the Thiersch blue cap tells me this focus can change sound a lot.

I am intersted to know if the capsule mount height is the same ? Not a big deal just curious to understand elements that could be affecting the sonics.

I've tried a few variations when doing shootouts, and there is no ideal. I had six high end mics lined up next to each other on individual mic stands, and moved over for each one, but stayed exactly the same distance. But just by standing in a slightly different position, the sound in the room changed. I settled on using only four mics because being further to the sides reacted too differently with the room sound.

I've tried two mics right next to each other, and stood back enough that my voice hit them equally, but even that is slightly off axis. Of course, having the same take to compare mics seems like a no-brainer, but I've found I prefer doing separate takes, singing as close to the same way as possible. I keep the mic stand where it was and mark the floor where I stood. Although I lose the chance to hear the exact same part that emphasizes a particular quality of the mic, like handling hard transients, I've found I can tell which sound I prefer best that way.

In the shootout I did at The Barbershop Studios with Jeremy Gillespie in the summer of 2016, I did individual takes with a U 47, M49, U67, C12, Soyuz 0-19 and Blackspade UM-17. Although the levels are a little hotter for the U67, which was technically "not fair" or scientific, it was perfectly obvious the 67 took the gold media and was the better fit for my voice. The U47 took the silver, and the Soyuz 0-19 FET, the bronze.This is why I try to cut anyone putting a shootout together a little slack.

I also like to hear a mic with another instrument, like an acoustic guitar and a slight touch of reverb. I like shootouts to be direct, no EQ, no compression, but honestly, I hate plain flat mic sounds. I've heard $12,000 mics sound mediocre in that context. I do think it's necessary if you plan to post your results, but I also try to include a track with the vocal and a single instrument or a band with the vocal in a mix context.

The impossible correct standard would be each mic in it's best position, ignoring all others. Which is individual tests that can't be A/B.

I just watched this Sweetwater shootout between vintage Telefunkens. The ELA-251, U47 and C12. They did it the same way as Stam did, and it clearly showed how close they were, you could hear the subtle differences. I thought the 251 was different, the 47 quite close, but a little leaner, and the C12 was practically indistinguishable. The Telefunken copies cost 5-9X what Stams costs, and the Stam holds up just about as well.



U47

I have been emailing you sir!

I guess that's the stam thing, innit?

I gotta say, between clips of the SA87 and SA47, if there was an SA49 in the same price range I probably would've picked it up. 

Here is a video with the same singing bit, but drums at the end 



Cheers

Wiz

That is pretty close. Doesn't sound quite as close as the SA-87 did in the shootout or two I heard, but still pretty dang close.

Hey stam, the preorder price is 1290, right? It's what it says on your website.