Looking for a great vintage microphone that you won’t have to sell your house for?
If you’ve spent some time in a studio, you may have been told of the legendary Neumann U47 tube microphone. This large-diaphragm condenser mic was manufactured back in the mid 50s and 60s, and was revered for it’s stellar clarity and higher midrange emphasis. These things are now going for up to $16,000, and that’s if you can even find a dealer who’s selling. For years it seemed that all hope was lost for the commoner who wished to get that classic U47 sound in their recording – until now!
The SA-47 from Stam Audio is a much, much more affordable version of the classic Neumann U47. The good people at Stam Audio were able to use similar components to the U47 while still keeping that sweet lower price point. Spec-wise, the SA-47 uses a twin 6028/408A pentode tube in parallel, a Heiserman HK47 capsule, and AMI T47 (BV8 replica) output transformer, which all come together to help duplicate the true nature of the original U47. It also includes Omni Pattern switching, Vishay Resistors, a flight case, XLR cable, and a fancy-as-hell custom wooden box that you can show off to all your friends.
In all seriousness, this process of creating this microphone appears to be done so with extreme care and attention to quality. Stam Audio’s description of the SA-47 even states that they “have made the brave decision to bypass distributors and retailers and use that 30% margin on components. While we can reach less people without distribution, we can afford to have a large budget for parts allowing us to build a better product at a better price than any other offerings in all of our product range”. That’s some pretty big stuff right there.
To learn more about the SA-47 specs and to put in a pre-order for one, head over to Stam Audio’s website and get on it ASAP. The SA-47 is retailing at $990, but you can currently put down an early deposit and save even a little more dough, so why not?
