You should be able to see the diaphragm through the screen. But that won't tell you anything, unless it is severly damaged. If you are really concerned, have a pro look at it. That's a good price on a studio standard that will serve you well. U87s are very versitile. I use mine on acoustic guitars all the time as well on guitar amps, vocals etc.

U87's sound good with a lot of different mic pres, I personally like the Sebatron VMPs with it. If you would like to hear a U87 on acoustic guitar with a Sebatron mic pre you can click [[url=http://[/URL]="http://recording.or…"]here[/]="http://recording.or…"]here[/]

Is it posible to hear the quality on a mic + preamp through an mp3 file? :-?

Ammitsboel wrote: Is it posible to hear the quality on a mic + preamp through an mp3 file? :-?

I think so ... at least as much as it is possible to hear the effects of amateur home mastering. Did you even listen to it or any of my other comparisons? I think the differences are evident. If you can't hear that perhaps you might be in the wrong avocation ???

It's a fact of modern times that more and more songs are being listened to on mp3 formats. Look at the sales of I Pods and related downloads for proof. I do all my mp3's at 128 and I have actually received a lot of comments on how good the quality of the mp3's I make are ...

i totally agree with you cedar!

i have an ipod and for me the great difference between hearing mp3 at 128 or cd with 16/44100 is speaker wise...
when i hear with phones you can get a great sound but with monitors i think i can tell the difference! i don't know the specific terms but for example i can see difference with the hi-hats on a drum! it's more "robotic"! more crispy but it's a difference very small!

can you suggest any good mic pre for the Neumann (under 1000 $)

well, one can hear that you used a clean signal path in your recording, cedar flats. however, when i listened to your mic-pre comparison between an rnp, mackie and other preamps the differences were almost negligible. (apart from the mackie sounding just a little more tinny than the others). you might be a little too quick with alleging other people "being in the wrong avocation".
the damage done by "amateur home mastering" can be huge in comparison, imho.

johnthemiracle wrote: well, one can hear that you used a clean signal path in your recording, cedar flats. however, when i listened to your mic-pre comparison between an rnp, mackie and other preamps the differences were almost negligible. (apart from the mackie sounding just a little more tinny than the others). you might be a little too quick with alleging other people "being in the wrong avocation".
the damage done by "amateur home mastering" can be huge in comparison, imho.

John,
That's exactally what I meant! Ammitsboel and I have a history of digging at each other (all in fun I think), also he is a aspiring mastering buff ... and that's what that is about ...

And ..... I don't know about you but I hear a huge difference between the RNP and a pre like the Great River. Not so much with the Mackie vs. the RNP though ... thanks for the response.

Is it posible to hear the quality on a mic + preamp through an mp3 file?

No, not in any sense that I would trust or rely on in making a valid sound judgement. A complete waste of time. But then I flat out boycott MP3.

John,
That's exactally what I meant! Ammitsboel and I have a history of digging at each other (all in fun I think), also he is a aspiring mastering buff ... and that's what that is about ...

It's nice to know that it's only fun Kurt!!
I was starting to doubt that it was so :roll:

PS. What's a "mastering buff"?

Best Regards,

No, not in any sense that I would trust or rely on in making a valid sound judgement. A complete waste of time. But then I flat out boycott MP3.

Me too!! I also think that it's a waste of time. I 've tried it several times with not acceptabel results.

As soon as you start to think: "I can't hear a difference" or "This is almost as good" then what will be the next?!?...

Best Regards,

"I don't know about you but I hear a huge difference between the RNP and a pre like the Great River"

Seriously, it's really not apparent on the recordings you made. Maybe it was in it's wave form and your the only one who heard it that way. Your probably hearing the difference only because you heard the difference before....seriously, if that comparison was really great and you'd tell me to rely on that to choose a pre-amp, I would go with the RNP anytime! The great river, never sounded 1500$ better than the RNP...
Conclusion, mp3s are a waste of time....sorry Kurt

PS I'm sure the great river is way better!

AudioGaff wrote: But then I flat out boycott MP3.

Ha! I do as well. I've never encoded one, and I never plan to. Clients can do what they want with the masters I provide them. If they want to turn them into crap by encoding them at home into MP3's, fine. I won't do it though. Somebody has to have standards these days.

inLoco wrote: hey
i'm starting to add stuff to my studio

i want good mics and pre-amps
i live in portugal and a Neumann u87 new is around 2700 euros but i know a guy who's selling it for around 1300 euros! i think i can pull it off to 1000 euros but...
thks

In my book an 87 is always near the top. You just can't beat that sheen that it adds to vocals. Also great on instruments. what can I say. If u can pull it off, do it! - You will definitely know when you try it out if its good for you or not. I did. the first time I heard one I was in love! And they sound good through just about any preamp because they sound good period. 8-)

inLoco wrote: is this mic good for recording acoustic guitar? i've seen reviews that it's fabulous on vocals and overheads but it's so expensive...

The thing U87's have going for them is that they rarely sound bad on anything. They can do a pretty good job on acoustic guitars, vocals, overheads, whatever. They are rarely "stunning" though. Don't expect to be "wowed", but its a very good tool. Think of it like you're buying a really nice power drill, and you won't be disappointed. If you're hoping for "audio magic", you might feel let down.

kurt:
good to hear you weren't serious about your remark...i obvously didn't catch this since i'm a noob to this forum...

huge difference between rnp and great river in your comparison recording? you must be kidding. not on your guitar..."huge" is something else..."subtle" might be the correct description.

it's also hard to tell with mic pres because you never know how much the performance affects it...it _will_ sound different if you pull that string harder.

the fact of the matter is, is that you can hear the difrances in mp3 and mp3 encoders differ, like microsoft windows media player encoders suck while music match jukebox is really good.

Olá!

Lisboa?!

Também estou por cá... devo falar em inglês... sorry!
Precisas de ajuda?

Murdock

p.s. - sorry guys, a little chat im portuguese language; saying hi and mark my country... in the global village!

;)