Neumann TLM67 vs Telefunken AK47 vs Bock Audio iFET

Bock is the only one I have had real experience with and it is very good and versitile.

Another you might consider is the Microtech Geffel - the 950 I think.  A little more expensive.

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Ha, believe it or not if I could I would ! Of course as I suspected in asking this question on other forums and over the phone to some companies, more mics have been thrown in the mix. Though AT thanks for the Geffel 950 thought. Looks killer. I'm trying my damndest to find folks who have these mics.

notfadeaway...


Looking to add one of these 3 microphones to my cabinet next week. I have access to NONE of them, so can only read tireless reviews and get advice from those who have used them. I'm a Sonar Producer X2 user and awaiting my new DAW from adk. Thought I'd poke around to you guys and see if anyone has any experience with these.  I have a small home studio and record mostly acoustic rockabilly (vocals, upright bass , acoustic ) and or bluegrass. Love vintage sounding vocals ala Johnny Cash or Frank Sinatra (I know, different). Any thoughts would help as some people have ZERO return policy on microphones.

In a world where a $130 pacific rim microphone is pretty darn good I think you will find that these three $2000 mics are all pretty darn good too and that the details regarding how you value them will be excessively personal.


I have a Wunder CM7 FET mic that is somewhat similar to the Bock mic. I like it a lot because it's just a darn good mic and the difference between it and the $130 mics is that a singer can literally attack it with ultra high energy singing and it still sounds smooth. 


A mic like that can be the star of a home studio mic locker or a utility mic at a top notch studio.






If I was seriously considering the Tele AK47 tube microphone I would look at the Blackspade UM17R which has a German capsule that is remarkably similar to the Bock (and the Wunder) you have asked about. It was designed by the very same guy who inspired and consulted on the design of the AK47.




I don't know much about the TLM67 but I do know that I wouldn't choose a $2,000 transformerless mic unless I had the budget to buy a few of them and consider them utility mics. With my budget I expect a utility mic to cost a lot less than that. In my observation, transformerless condenser mics are both less noisy and less sweet sounding. I prefer the sound of a nice transformer and accept the tiny bit of extra noise as unnoticeable in a mix.

FWIW, I get to use the real U67s, U87s and a U47 up in town. 

I own a pair of Neuman TLM 103s which I consider utility mics at my place.

I thought the Wunder CM7 Fet was a good choice for my place as it represented a great value for my excessively personal taste. :-) Mike Castoro was a pleasure to speak with and he was very helpful when I asked him questions about his mic.


Reviewing your list... I'm leaning towards the Bock.


Good luck with your choice.


best regards,
mike

Either preamp will work fine, tho the Portico is the "better" pre.  I base that on owning a Portico (just used it tonight, in fact).  The Portico has everything you could want in a preamp - excellent electronics and nobody knows transformers like Mr. Neve.  Yes, it is "clean" not vintage (even with the silk engaged), but it is still a top notch pre.  I'm familiar with other UA preamps but the UA 710's reputation doesn't seem to match those units.  Kinda hard at that price differential - $350 or so per channel as opposed to $600-700.

On the other hand, there isn't that much difference between preamps in the real world once you get to decent.  I'm sure the 710 is, tho a little gimicky w/ the on/off comp and "tube" sound.  Tubes can be clean - solid state can be thick, vintage or whatever the buzz word of the day is.  But the difference between preamps once you get plenty of gain isn't going to be the defining factor.  The mike will, and the room and the skill and patience of the engineer. 

Buy a portico and you'll never wonder if the preamp is the problem - it ain't.

The 710 seems like a good preamp, but more built-to-cost (which ain't a bad thing - don't get me wrong).

If you want a "vintage" preamp and don't want to spend a lot of money try a Warm Audio pre.  Built like the old API - the 312.  Cheaper at $450 a channel but is very solid.  Neither I or the engineer at a "pro" studio could tell any difference between it and his rack of API 512s.  Very thick, transformer sound - like going back to the 70s.

A good preamp is a great investment, and if you are doing drums or other multi-mike jobs I'd rather have one great preamp and use transformerless interface mikes on everything else than having 4 preamps just a little better than those on my board or interface.

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I've had the opportunity to use the TLM67 and the a couple of David Bock's microphones, but not the iFet, and I haven't tried the AK47.

My take - I love the TLM67,  but it doesn't sound like either of the U-67s I used as a lad... at least not to my memory. I'd love one though, and it'd be my first choice short of a U-67. The TLM-67 and my TLM-193 would be a pretty killer combo!

But, I'd never sneeze at either of the other two, and if I spent any time with them I could change my mind.