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Neumann / Church U47 #7-867 (Vintage)
Neumann

Neumann / Church U47 #7-867 (Vintage)

Very rare Church U47 large diaphragm tube microphone

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Product Description




Stanley Church was the chief sound engineer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the mid 1950s. He purchased a number of M7 capsules and grilles from Gotham Audio, the Neumann distributor for the US, and built his own custom-made version of the famed U47 tube condenser mic. The 'Church' mic was meant for exclusive use on the MGM soundstages, and to that end it has a smaller body and different shockmount system than a U47, custom made by the MGM machine shop. Used on all the great musicals from MGM in the late 50s and early 60s. If you liked Sinatra's singing in the musical 'High Society', that was a Church mic. One of them also appears on the cover of "The Concert Sinatra" album, one of Frank's greatest recordings with bandleader Nelson Riddle.

Somewhere along the line, this custom microphone was dubbed the "CineMic", but it is doubtful that Mr. Church referred to it by this name. The mic has a unique high-voltage circuit which, combined with the GE 6072 tube, gives it a sound all its own.

The total number of these mics that were manufactured is unknown, but is certainly no more than 200, as Mr. Church was only able to purchase that many parts before Neumann discovered what he was doing, and promptly stopped sending him components. Legend has it that Gotham refused to sell Neumann parts to engineers in the U.S. for 30 years because of what Stanley was up to!

Package contents:

  • Mic PSU output XLR cable
  • PSU (after-market)
  • Shock mount (original)