The "Beatles" Microphone
A visit to the excellent The Beat Goes On exhibition at the Liverpool World Museum can be very enlightening for music fans...as you can even see what gear was used to record The Beatles!

The Beat Goes On exhibition, at the World Museum, highlights the music scene in Liverpool from the early days of pop music to the present, and as you'd expect, The Beatles feature heavily.
Amongst some fascinating memorabilia (the stage where John & Paul fisrt met, jackets, photographs etc.) there's also some Abbey Road studio gear, including an original Neumann U47 Microphone.
Apparently, during the whole of their recording career (1962 - 1970) The Beatles almost exclusively only used this classic microphone. And The Beatles were not the only ones! Other famous users of the smooth, clear-sounding Neumann U47 (great for vocals and instruments like Saxophone) include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Nat King Cole, Sonny Rollins and Bing Crosby. A truly magnificent list of users...
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The Beatles, recording at Abbey Road studios |
Neumann, unfortunately, don't manufacture the U47 anymore (time for a reissue, folks?) but Neumann microphones still rate amongst the best ones you're likely to find, and worth every penny.
The M 147 Tube, a vacuum tube condenser microphone, is the worthy modern equivalent of the U47, and the one recommended for authentic Abbey Road vocals.
Another great microphone we can mention is the Neumann U87, which, unlike the name may suggest, is not a direct successor of the U47, but is one of the most popular Neumann models available right now.
More Links:
The Beat Goes On Exhibition
From The Beatles to The Zutons
12 July 2008 - 1 November 2009
FREE admission (see website for more details)
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