Vintage Neumann U 67 Tube Microphone, S/N: 4096

Short Description:

A Beautiful Historic U67!  Meticulously inspected, serviced, and cleaned, ready for many more years of gorgeous period-accurate, breathtaking tone!

What We Think:

This original and historic Neumann U 67 has been meticulously inspected, serviced, cleaned, and refurbished while maintaining all historic aspects of the mic.  It was tested in an anechoic chamber receiving a glowing report regarding its period-correct frequency response and tone.

This brings us to THIS microphone.  The Sound Pure team worked intimately with microphone industry legend, John Peluso, to bring this microphone (and several others that were carefully stored by a Sound Pure collector customer) back to their original glory.   Few folks on the planet have his level of understanding of the history, functionality, and tuning of this particular microphone.  An absolutely extraordinary original and vintage specimen, that has undergone an extremely high effort of authentication, inspection, and most specifically an extremely slow and methodical cleaning - proving its performance, this microphone was also placed in an anechoic chamber to confirm its ACTUAL, real-world performance.    

Of note, the internal images of this microphone (and the other that we received as part of this collector acquisition) both lack the typical evidence of rust and oxidation many of the units from this era will see, due to them being subjected to higher levels of relative humidity in the way that they were stored, or worse, in the ways that they were used.  Until John was fully satisfied with the cleaning and analysis was he able to send these on to us as authenticated, and arguably more importantly functionally certified for frequency and period-accurate tonal performance, certified in the Peluso Microphone Labs anechoic chamber, December 2024.

The capsule is original but has been reskinned. This will result in a newer sounding capsule of the same vintage. It does not alter it's historic character.

The microphone is supplied with vintage cable, PSU, an after market flight case, and a vintage, velvet-lined box.  This microphone is safely in our hands and available for on site viewing and testing (for the pre-qualified purchaser) at our Sound Pure’s Grammy-nominated facility, in Durham, NC.   Due to the value of this microphone, standard terms are Bank Wire Prepayment, with shipping only via FedEx overnight, fully insured.  We are able to ship this microphone globally to most international destinations. 

Manufacturer Description:

The Original – Often Imitated, Never Duplicated

Introduced in 1960, the U 67 was the quintessential studio workhorse throughout the formative years of modern music. Today, more than ever, its inimitably smooth sound continues to be in high demand. 

Neumann-Engineering at its Best

The U 67 is equipped with the famous K 67 capsule, which has since become associated with “the Neumann sound” and continues to be used in its successor, the U 87 A. No less important is the U 67’s masterful tube circuit featuring a clever pre-emphasis/de-emphasis scheme to minimize tube hiss. The U 67 was also the first microphone to address modern recording techniques such as close miking. Its switchable low cut filter compensates for the proximity effect occurring at short recording distances. Using its preattenuation, the U 67 can handle high sound pressure levels of up to 124 dB without distortion (and much more if you don’t mind a bit of “tube grit”).

As timeless as its sound and technical design is its outer appearance. The U 67’s cone-shaped body and the tapered headgrille have since become iconic for the Neumann brand; the same elegant design would grace its solid state successor, the U 87, for the next 50+ years.

Specifications:

Acoustical operating principle Pressure gradient transducer Directional pattern Omnidirectional, cardioid, figure-8 Frequency range 20 Hz ... 20 kHz Sensitivity at 1 kHz into 1 kohm 15/24/16 mV/Pa1) Rated impedance 200 ohms Rated load impedance 1 kohms Equivalent noise level, CCIR2) 32/28/31 dB1) Equivalent noise level, A-weighted2) 21/17/20 dB-A1) Signal-to-noise ratio, CCIR2) (rel. 94 dB SPL) 62/66/63 dB1) Signal-to-noise ratio, A-weighted2) (rel. 94 dB SPL) 73/77/74 dB1) Maximum SPL for THD 0.5%3) 114 dB (cardioid) Maximum SPL for THD 0.5% with preattenuation3) -9.8 dBu dB Maximum output voltage 390 mV Power Supply NU 67 V Matching connectors Microphone: spec. 7pin
Power Supply: XLR 3 F Weight 560 g Diameter 56 mm Length 200 mm