Neumann U89i for Voice Over

Smoother than a u87. Is the Neumann u89i the VO mic I've been searching for?
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[@jasonbermingham]

I've learned to freeze my credit cards in blocks of ice the day before Mark posts new content about mics he's adding to his collection. I hadn't really given much thought to the U89 for VO. Now it's a race between my GAS and those blocks of ice thawing out on the kitchen sink.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

I would further suggest throwing your wallet into a volcano if I didn’t think the u89 was worth still diving in to retrieve it.

[@subtonic24]

Thank you for shedding some light on the U89! I have the TLM103 for modern pop/rap/r&b vocals but I have been looking for a high end neutral/darkish multipattern studio workhorse option incase an artist comes in I have never worked with or doesn't match my TLM103, and the U89 was one of the mics on my radar (along with the TLM107, TLM67, and some others). I know you are more voiceover type of content but it still does help me to just hear the mics! Looking forward to more U89 videos!

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

You’re very welcome. Yeah, the 89 so far just seems like the kind of mic that can do a lot of different stuff extremely well.

[@oldman1944]

That mystery M7 from a few weeks back is still my fav. So smooth.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

I love it when a mic haunts your memories. It really says something about hitting an emotional bullseye of some kind and those feelings can’t be ignored.

[@Leo_Vulkan]

The U89i is an incredible sounding mic, one of the underrated dog IMO. I guess if you like it you're going to even love more an U77. If you ever able to try one, sure you will want to have it in your locker.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

I’d love to get my hands on a u77. That’s a total bucket list mic

[@PepPayo]

Wow! The sound you can get out of this Neumann U 89 I is incredible! You are very talented, BUT also guilty of feed my GAS 👻 I am now on the Neumann website comparing my newcomer Neumann TLM 103 with the U 89 I and U 87 AI. Surprisingly, on paper, the TLM 103 doesn't perform badly! I love the concepts 'hyped' (U 87 AI), and 'honest' (U 89 I), and that the 87 was designed for tape, and the 89 designed to replace the 87; I think all of this also applies to the Sennheiser MKH 416 and MKH 60 and MKH 8060, but more on that another day! 😉 Thanks again for sharing your content and keep up the good work!🙌

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Hi Pep! Yup. The 416 is another dinosaur from the tape era that has been replaced by something better, but the sheer proliferation of 416’s in the wild keeps the better mics in their shadow. Problem was they built these mics so well, nobody replaces them like an iPhone user would, trading up every couple of years.

[@tunstalljeremy]

Class demonstration, informative and entertaining.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tunstalljeremy]

Enjoying this gem and many more on your channel. The sonic excellence you have achieved here for your timbre within your post is gorgeous. I am listening on ATC´s with and without Trinnov Optimizer tuned in so I dare say no resonance escapes my listening environment. Voice and post sound OUTSTANDING. Was wondering if the EQ/Compression settings on the U89i were accomplished by using the Focusrite or Neve console emulations by PluginAlliance, as showed in another of your videos here? Thanks for your time!@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff

[@curseleisure5507]

Finally someone from the VO community demonstrating this mic! This is the mic I’ve zeroed in on as possibly my next LDC purchase.

[@ArtVandelay592]

Best part is that it’s technically not an LDC. It’s using the same K89 capsule that’s in the TLM 170r and TLM 193, which is a smaller 3/4” capsule as opposed to the standard 1” large capsule you find in all the other Neumann mics. So it’s not quite small enough to be an SDC, but it’s not large enough to be an LDC. It’s an MDC, and it has the best properties of both sizes.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

I’m blown away by the u89. I can’t believe it took me this long to discover what it does on my voice.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Exactly! Couldn’t have said it better. The blend of detail and character in this capsule is just insanely gorgeous.

[@thaexception3406]

Nice review and voice

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

So nice of you. Thank you very much!

[@RedLir_Live]

Mom. I'm on TV!! Sounds great!

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Thanks man! See, I did you a solid. I could have mentioned your name in a Behringer review and your mom would have disinvited you to Canadian Thanksgiving this year.

[@RadicalRumin]

This mic shares some quality with your 1979, for your voice at least. I love this. Super open and smooth. A bit dirtier than a gefell would sound, probably that transformer. And the headbasket probably contributes to that as well, right? It also reminds me of my sanken, after I drench it in saturation.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Totally. The smoothness in the upper mid is very much the same as on the 1979. Great ears, man!

[@QuantumGamingUploads]

Not sure if you have ever tried the Neumann TLM 193 but I found that Mic fantastic. Very rarely mentioned but works for both voice overs and to use for instruments. Looks like the U87/89 but smaller. Stunning Mic.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Same capsule as the u89, so very similar sonically but I like the extra weight of the u89 transformer.

[@QuantumGamingUploads]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff I was impressed how it sounded compared to tlm 103. I was like how come tlm 103 is so popular when you got this beautiful thing. I think a very underrated Mic.

[@liquidvelvetliterature]

Great… another mic obsession. Thanks…

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Oh yeah, if I hadn’t bought this one, I’d be out stalking it, sitting outside its window with a pair of binoculars. Waiting. Watching. Total obsession stuff.

[@liquidvelvetliterature]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff That’s exactly what I’m doing, mentally. That smooth sound…

[@Tav_cr]

I think we need a comparison between this and the U87 Ai or at least the Sphere modeled version of it in your booth. As a Bonus track you could Include the U67 as well.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Let’s see what we can do. Probably won’t be the Sphere, but there will be comparisons.

[@nathanieljohnsonjr775]

Riiiiiight!! This is why I hate new 87’s and love the vintage one!! Thanks for posting this video!!

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

The age of digital capture was right around the corner and 87’s, designed to record to tape were supposed to be replaced by the flat-response 89, but there were just too many 87’s out there and the sound of music changed, and eventually evolved to hyped top end sonics and the 89 was left almost forgotten. But there is no doubt it is a much better mic than the 87.

[@chagize]

U89 is absolutely underrated and more or less unknown even in Studios. I own one and sell it now while switching to Gefell M7 mic. U89 and Audiobooks are not a good combo - it takes hours to filter the sound. But then its stunning how far you can go. The raw sound is simply "to much" if you have a deeper voice.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

I can totally see how a real bari voice up close would be way too much for a u89 when you hear what that transformer is doing down there already.

[@chagize]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff 👍😎 That’s why I prefer M7 style mics as the start from 500Hz down reducing low frequencies slightly. If you need a Trailer voice simply add MB compressor in that range and you are done :-)

[@ArtVandelay592]

Which Gefell mic do you have out of curiosity? I have the MT71S which uses an M7, and it’s absolutely lovely sounding. Really gives something like the U87 a run for its money for a fraction of the cost, and I dare even say it sounds as good as the 017 FET (granted in its own way, they’re not similar sounding mics at all, but both are equally beautiful)

[@chagize]

@@ArtVandelay592 it’s a MT71S too on my side. And I’m in good company as more and more VO artists here are switching to Gefell mic’s. That Neumann „larger than real“ honk in lows and low miss is not trendy any more here.

[@JothanGurr]

Damn that mic sounds so creamy! I know you like your 3u GZ-251 but have you tried the Warbler MK 1? The reason I ask is I think you are really good at articulating the different characteristics of Neumann mics and I know the Warbler MK1 takes it's inspiration from the u87 and was wondering if thought there's any similarities in their sound profiles? I'm just about to pull the trigger and buy one because of what I've been hearing on the forums about them

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

I had a Warbler MK1 many, many years ago, but I had it back before it had a chiseled headbasket and I didn't really love it, probably because it didn't have the more preferable headbasket for that capsule. It's a pretty great mic and for that price, it's very hard to beat. It is inspired by the 87 and I think it does a pretty good job of getting into that sonic family, plus you have 3 tonal options from dark to bright so it's very versatile.

[@JothanGurr]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff Thank you Mark! That is the perspective I was looking for, and I'm going to place my order today. Plus he's got a good return policy so I think it's worth test drive for sure!

[@ryanlynch505]

What acoustic treatment do you use besides the blanket and foam we can see? Your room sounds awesome!

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

It’s actually not a blanket. It’s a panel inside my booth. Dig around about a couple months or so ago and there’s a video showing the inside of my booth in more detail.

[@zanza_the_rewolverine]

do you still use the Uad sphere? I ordered the Dlx, it was at an excellent price, I ended up buying it.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

I don’t. It was great for getting to really figure out what mic types worked best with my voice, but lately it’s been out of the booth as I drill down on my work mic choices.

[@ivomartijn7400]

Nice review! Great to hear a U89. I have a TLM170 (purple badge), so the same capsule, and it's defintely close to the U89. Of course, it doesn't have a transformer, but my Focusrite ISA One, which powers it, does. Since the TLM170 doesn't have a transformer, it takes on more of the characteristics of the preamp than the U89. I've recorded a lot of movie commercials on TLM 170's with Focusrite ISA's, and absolutely love them. I've also done a lot of commercials on U87's and I've never liked them. I always felt that they took the power out of my voice and I was fighting them. The best sound engineer I've worked with for years, Bert Penninx (God have his soul), always said about U87's: "They are for singing!" And he was not a fan of the TLM103: "It sounds nasal".

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Couldn’t agree more.

[@duelmaster66]

i love my u89 but atm i try to get a u77 to see how it will sound :)

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Oh man. I definitely have the u77 on my list. It’s so rare these days you see one for sale, and most of the time it’s in the EU.

[@duelmaster66]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff lucky i'm in the EU and i have see one in my country for 2.1k $ We are currently in the process of negotiating :D

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Wow!! Fingers x’d it works out and you are able to acquire it! That would be so cool!

[@JimHalpert00]

Between the U89i & U87ai, which one would you recommend for a female VO artist who has a sibilant voice?? My wife's still contemplating between the two mics. Her voice is very sibilant around 6-7 kHz. She's planning to invest in a Neumann mic at the early stage of her VO career, so she really wants to make sure that she buys the right mic lol. She doesn't sing, so the mic will be used for VO only.

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

89. They engineered it as a replacement for the 87 because it handles sibilance better.

[@JimHalpert00]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff Awesome. Thank you! Great content as always.

[@djb12DeepAcidHouseExperience]

Man, I can’t spend another $3200 lol 😂

[@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff]

Used prices on them are not terrible.

[@farhaansiddiqui]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff - Can you suggest which is the most trustworthy site to find used gear - B&H ? or reverb or......help . You got me thinking on a U89......

[@djb12DeepAcidHouseExperience]

@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff Some stores are running 48 months 0% interest promotions, so that can make it manageable.