Recording - February 2015 - 18

In those sessions the Beatles set up almost as if they
were on stage, with no headphones. Up front a U48
was placed, set to figure-8, and turned sideways to
reject the drums and amps. It was common for two
Beatles to sing into a single U48, one on either side
of the figure-8 pattern. The moderate distance resulted in the clear, aggressive vocal sound of those early
records. Beatles producer George Martin has called
the U47 his favorite microphone, and used them to
record almost everything on Rubber Soul. The harmony parts on "Nowhere Man" are a great example
of that 4 kHz U47/48 zing!
By the time Revolver was recorded, the Beatles had
so much clout that they got what they wanted, and
what they wanted was to experiment with new techniques. Studio administration goons were banned
from the sessions, and Geoff Emerick was brought in
as lead engineer. You can clearly hear the Beatles
singing closer to the mics. Compare Paul's count-in on
"I Saw Her Standing There" from the debut album
with George's muttered count-in on "Taxman". The
proximity effect is obvious. Vocals on Revolver sound
thicker and richer than on previous albums.
Emerick has said that the string players on "Eleanor
Rigby" would instinctively back away from his very closely
placed U47s between takes, so he had to keep walking out to
move them back in! Things kept getting closer and closer. If you

watch the "All You Need is Love" satellite broadcast, you will
see John Lennon singing as close as an inch away during the
quieter verses (using a pop filter (or "spit screen" in the UK)) and
moving back about a foot for the louder choruses. He sounds
warm and present up close and perfectly blended with Paul and
George when he backs away.
The key to rocking a U47 is to work that distance!
Use a pop filter so you don't hawk loogie on the
diaphragm. Then try singing loudly and softly at different distances. A distance of 1 foot or more works
well for background vocals because the proximity
effect is not so significant. You will get a clear sound
that will not muddy the mix. For lead vocals you can
move in and out depending on how loud you are
singing. For consistently soft or low parts you can lean
in really close, maybe only an inch or two away, then
back off for louder passages. But for consistently loud
and aggressive stuff you can also just stay about 2 or
3 inches from the mic. You will be feeding lots more
level into the tube, which loves to be saturated this
way. You might need to dump a bit of low end with
EQ, but once you do you are left with a sound that
has become a mainstay for loud rock singers. Don't
forget that the frequency response changes with the
polar pattern, so try them all!
If money is no object you can buy an original U47
for maybe $10,000. But for closer to $5000-$6000
there are emulations out there that some engineers
prefer to the originals. Telefunken is still around and
has re-introduced their version, but also check out mics by
Wagner, Soundelux, Manley, and Bock. In the $1500-$3000
range consider offerings from Pearlman Microphones, Lawson,

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Recording - February 2015

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