Neumann U 47

Records it appears on · 57

• Ordinary

  Alex Warren · You'll Be Alright, Kid, 2025

  • Lead vocal · MicrophoneVerifiedLead vocal microphone, chosen for a darker tone than the 251 Yaron would normally use on Warren.
  • Choir / gang vocals · MicrophoneVerifiedOne of three microphones used to capture the choir vocals.
  • Rubber bridge guitar (arpeggio riff and counter-melodies) · MicrophoneVerifiedSecond acoustic guitar mic, adding warmth and body.
• I Can Help

  Billy Swan · I Can Help, 1974

  • Lead and backing vocals · MicrophoneReportedUsed on Billy Swan's lead vocal.
  • Lead and backing vocals · MicrophoneReportedUsed for the bridge backing vocals, with the singers standing around it.
• Parallel Lines

  Blondie · Album, 1978

  • Drums · MicrophoneReportedKick drum microphone for the Parallel Lines sessions at the Record Plant.
• Plastic Letters

  Blondie · Album, 1978

  • Lead vocal · MicrophoneVerifiedEngineer had Harry sing into this tube microphone in the vocal booth while the band tracked live.
• Glycerine

  Bush · Sixteen Stone, 1996

  • Strings and tape · MicrophoneReportedBelieved to have been used on the cello part, per the writer's hedged statement.
• If I Could Turn Back Time

  Cher · Heart of Stone, 1989

  • Lead vocal · MicrophoneReportedMicrophone Cher sang the lead vocal into during the two days of vocal sessions.
• Sunshine of Your Love

  Cream · Disraeli Gears, 1967

  • Lead and harmony vocals · MicrophoneReportedMicrophone on one of the two vocals, probably Bruce's lead, though Dowd allows the U47 and U48 may have been the other way round.
  • Drum kit · MicrophoneReportedPair of overhead microphones over Baker's rack and floor toms and cymbal trees.
• "Heroes"

  David Bowie · "Heroes", 1977

  • Lead vocal · MicrophoneVerifiedClose lead vocal microphone, the valve U47 in front of Bowie, fed through fairly heavy compression.
• Layla

  Derek and the Dominos · Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, 1970

  • Drum kit · MicrophoneReportedPair of microphones used as overheads.
• Brothers in Arms

  Dire Straits · Album, 1985

  • Lead vocal · MicrophoneReportedCapture of Knopfler's lead vocal on the Money For Nothing session, described only as a valve 47. (recalled with uncertainty)
• Drift Away

  Dobie Gray · Drift Away, 1973

  • Drum kit · MicrophoneReportedKick drum microphone, placed in front of the drum.Position: In front of the kick drum
• ÷

  Ed Sheeran · Album, 2017

  • Lead vocal · MicrophoneReportedOne of two vocal microphones Rubel names for Sheeran's vocal on the album sessions, the other being the Sontronics Aria. (recalled with uncertainty)
• Eddie Money

  Eddie Money · Album, 1977

  • Lead vocal · MicrophoneReportedMicrophone for Eddie Money's keeper vocals, recorded after the live tracking dates.
• Discovery

  Electric Light Orchestra · Album, 1979

  • Drum kit (Bev Bevan) · MicrophoneReportedUsed on the kick drum during the Discovery sessions.
• All by Myself

  Eric Carmen · Eric Carmen, 1975

  • Lead vocal · MicrophoneVerifiedSherdel recalls recording Carmen's lead vocal with this microphone, slightly compressed.
• Back on the Streets

  Gary Moore · Album, 1979

  • Drums · MicrophoneVerifiedMicrophone on Downey's bass drum for the live rhythm tracks.
• He Stopped Loving Her Today

  George Jones · I Am What I Am, 1980

  • Backing vocals · MicrophoneVerifiedMicrophone for the Jordanaires and Millie Kirkham singing backing vocals.
• Chaos and the Calm

  James Bay · Album, 2014

  • Drums · MicrophoneVerifiedPlaced directly over the kick drum and blended in to help the kit glue together.Position: directly over the kick drum
• The Lonesome Jubilee

  John Cougar Mellencamp · Album, 1987

  • Fiddle, accordion and tracking console · MicrophoneReportedLeonard thinks it was probably used on Germano's fiddle, or the C-12.
• Continuum

  John Mayer · Album, 2006

  • Lead vocal · MicrophoneReportedMain lead vocal microphone on most of the Continuum songs.
  • Drums · MicrophoneReportedPlaced in front of the kick for a low-end sound.Position: about 18 inches off the ground and four to seven feet in front of the kick drum

Sources for each use are on the record’s own page.

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