I saw a review in Tape Op of the Dachman Audio U 87 style mic. Has anyone tried these out? Hope do they compare to the real deal? Are here other clones that folks recommend to those of us who can't afford to drop a few grand on a high quality mic? Thanks for any help.

Reviews of that particular mic seem very promising I'd say, that TapeOp one in particular is glowing & dude has credentials. For me, I'd want to see a video of someone putting it together so I know I don't ham-hand it and mess it up as even at that price point that'd be a horrible thing to bone. It looks good, I'm interested for sure although I've never used an actual 87 to know other than that they've been a studio staple forever.

For clones in general, I have a couple of the Warm audio clones of the U47 and ELA M 251 and I am happy with them. The U47 sounds to me like a sonic step up from the KSM32 I was previously using (used on vocals and acoustic guitar) but honestly it's not necessarily night-and-day either as the KSM32 is a fantastic mic in its own right. I'm a little embarrassed to say I haven't really used the 251 that much yet.

This isn't an endorsement for Warm by any stretch of the imagination or any other clones for that matter. Captain Obvious here but about all you can do with clones is read reviews with an extremely skeptical eye and hope for the best (that being said, you're unlikely to incur any major losses since if it doesn't work out you can either return it or put it back out on Reverb right away).

buddy of mine has a couple of the Micparts s87s https://microphone-parts.com/collection ... ophone-kit

and they sound amazing.

TylerDeadPine wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 12:41 pm buddy of mine has a couple of the Micparts s87s https://microphone-parts.com/collection ... ophone-kit

and they sound amazing.

Jeez these are even less money than the Dachman

It does mention they are clones of the A version & some reviewers have said they do not sound as good as the O.G. *however* it also goes on to list off improvements on the clone that make it superior to the version it was cloned after?

Intriguing either way.

One guy's take...

I have an OktavaMod modified MXL990. From memory, it seems like the capsule was a spin of the 47.

It is one of the few pieces of gear that I have owned over the years where I said "Ok. The difference there is pretty darn stark..."

The obvious hitch being that OktavaMod shut down a while back. That said, might be worth keeping an eye out for one used. Even if it doesn't work out, it will probably hold it's value reasonable well.

Now, all that said?

The "Jam Econo..." me that hears someone talking about not wanting to just cannonball into this particular pool?

I would straight up seriously suggest that they grab a used Behringer ECM8000, and try out some of the impulse responses along said line here -

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com ... e+response

- to see how they felt about the whole thing.

One other thing...

On the off chance that you already have, or could easily borrow, an SM57/SM58?

I couldn't see not trying this out...

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/wrYnc

I have used a real U87 a few times and they are fantastic mics. I have used several of the modern clone Neumann style mics as well and they have all been fantastic mics. I haven't used any of the kit mics but I bet they are similar or the same tech. The main thing I have ever noticed is the sig/noise ration on a real Neumann is usually quite a bit lower. I have a tl103 and really only use it when recording really quiet sources because it is really quiet. Once you are in a mix, the clones seem really "good enough" to "who could really tell the difference" to me. It's tech from 50 -60 years ago. We have figured it out. I feel the same with vintage preamps... we know how to do that. If the components are of high quality, thee is really no mojo. JMO

Kniferide wrote: Wed Aug 31, 2022 10:35 am I have used a real U87 a few times and they are fantastic mics. I have used several of the modern clone Neumann style mics as well and they have all been fantastic mics. I haven't used any of the kit mics but I bet they are similar or the same tech. The main thing I have ever noticed is the sig/noise ration on a real Neumann is usually quite a bit lower. I have a tl103 and really only use it when recording really quiet sources because it is really quiet. Once you are in a mix, the clones seem really "good enough" to "who could really tell the difference" to me. It's tech from 50 -60 years ago. We have figured it out. I feel the same with vintage preamps... we know how to do that. If the components are of high quality, thee is really no mojo. JMO

We used to have this saying.

"We are recording someone playing acoustic guitar. We are not recording Tony RIce playing acoustic guitar."

numberthirty wrote: Wed Aug 31, 2022 9:02 pm

Kniferide wrote: Wed Aug 31, 2022 10:35 am I have used a real U87 a few times and they are fantastic mics. I have used several of the modern clone Neumann style mics as well and they have all been fantastic mics. I haven't used any of the kit mics but I bet they are similar or the same tech. The main thing I have ever noticed is the sig/noise ration on a real Neumann is usually quite a bit lower. I have a tl103 and really only use it when recording really quiet sources because it is really quiet. Once you are in a mix, the clones seem really "good enough" to "who could really tell the difference" to me. It's tech from 50 -60 years ago. We have figured it out. I feel the same with vintage preamps... we know how to do that. If the components are of high quality, thee is really no mojo. JMO

We used to have this saying.

"We are recording someone playing acoustic guitar. We are not recording Tony RIce playing acoustic guitar."

With a player like that, the mic doesn't matter at all anymore. And I mean "AT ALL" honestly. do you know how many videos there are of Roy Clark playing in front of a EV 635a or a RE50? Why were all those weird dynamite proof EV dynamic mics so popular on TV in the 60's? Not because they sound great, but because a gaffer can blast them across the rafters and it will still work. Who gives a shit if a clone is 10% less than perfect from the original? Doesn't matter. There are so many mid to even low budget mics these days that perform in a way that would blow away engineers from 30-40 years ago. The technology just isn't magic.


That being said... The only mic that ever just put me on my ass was a vintage Neumann U269 which was described top be as a U67 that had a special ORTF curve applied in the preamp... whatever that means. That mic had a depth and width that was so realistic that it literally blew my mind. I heard it through a Daking Pre and if you closed your eyes, it just sounded like a person standing in the room. Not like a mic being amplified through a speaker... it sounded "real". Just amazing and it really opened my eyes to how amazing a microphone could be. We used it to record an audio book about how to cheat at blackjack... because why the fuck not? THe dude that owned it paid over 10K for it. Worth it? No fucking way. That mic ruled all the balls but I'd rather put a 57 on a rad performance than spend 10K on a museum piece that I'm afraid to take out of the case. Still... fucking-A that mic was nice. Buy clones... play good.

Putting this here because it is about as close to a U87 thread as I could find.

So, when I got a Japanese Morales copy I was convinced it was a true-to-form copy of a vintage Mosrite, if only because the Morales presented all the “problems” people complain about real Mosrites having. Plus, a lot of the stereotypical Mosrite sound happens in the middle pickup position, and the Morales did that thing for sure - even string bends on that weird ass neck sounded ‘surfy,’ if only because it wasn’t a necessary a modern, easy playing pull, so you had the feel of old records come out unintentionally - they were just bending notes on a weird ass guitar too. I’ve played real Mosrites, but only in guitar stores and we know how that goes, but after the Morales I was satisfied - or at least had my curiosity enough to never want a Mosrite again, whether it’s a fair comparison or not doesn’t really matter. If you can’t hang with a $500 Les Paul that doesn’t necessarily mean you wouldn’t like a $3000 Les Paul, but it could totally put you off, and maybe with good reason, maybe not.

My point with all this? 3U Warbler Mk I, which is a $300 Chinese U87 type mic that is supposedly a passion project made by an offshore OEM mic manufacturer that people really seem to like. A vintage U87 can be nasally on some singers? Hello! A vintage U87 is kind of dark? This one has a 3-position hi-cut switch and I can’t imagine using the darker ones. A vintage U87 has a certain midrange characteristics? So does this.

I did a lot of experimenting on my very midrange voice last night and the nasal qualities of the mic were calmed down by lowering the mic down to chest/neck height. It was bad at first, but once I made one change in mic position I never had to touch it again, aside from moving forward or back a bit. I’ve never dealt with a real U87 and can’t imagine being in a hurry to, but there was a characteristic sound to the vocal that felt kinda cocaine hi-fi. Fake plate, slapback, and few dbs compression all added up to do the thing. Like putting a sort of aggressive bass sound through an 1176 type compressor, there’s a sort of characteristic to the sound that you’ve heard on records that just happens, even if you’re not necessarily chasing after that sound. Some gear has a color that just rings bells.

I feel like lower cost large diaphragm condensers really tend to give themselves away, so I would generally much rather sink $300 into dynamics like an RE20, 421, M88, or tried and true SDCs, though Audio Technica 40** LDCs are good and can easily be had for that much too, cardioid 4047s included. The Warbler seems like a pretty good mic, and if someone were just dying for a U87 cosplay I would totally recommend them to start there. There are glowing reviews all over youtube but that stuff really doesn’t tell me very much until I get to try it for myself.

If anyone else who has really dealt with a U87 or even the respected clones tried this mic I would really like to hear about it.