Telefunken CU29 Copperhead vs. Neumann U87 | VO Mic Comparison

[@voscripts]

Remember to listen in high quality studio headphones or studio monitors to hear the difference 🙂

[@nauwellsmusic8459]

Very good video, thanks for that. Very clean. To me there's no comparison. Telefunken is a tube, brighter, more personality, while the U87 is purer, flatter, which personally blocks me when producing. Sound engineer will love to work with the U87, but as a singer I just can't, too pure, too flat, too warm and bassfull.

[@ndavies8]

This is true

[@kanduagbimson2338]

Both mics sound great, but just as (or more) impressed with the acoustic environment. Most mics will sound great in that space. What are the dimensions and acoustic treatment used?

[@voscripts]

It’s a 14 x 10 foot room with splayed walls to reduce flutter echo. Approximately half of the room is covered in a mix of 2 inch and 4 inch compressed fiberglass panels. Wood diffusers sit behind the performer. Corners vary in bass trap depth, two of which are 8” inches, one is 16” inches and the other has no bass trapping. A ceiling cloud also sits above the performer.

[@diavimusic4523]

I used to own the U87 and now have a CU29 and loved hearing this comparison. I'm shocked to hear how similar they sounded here.

[@authenticsocietyfilms6122]

Do you prefer the CU29 over the 87?

[@diavimusic4523]

@@authenticsocietyfilms6122 I never owned them at the same time, so I can't say in a fair manner. But, I will say that this CU-29 never makes me wish I had the U87 back. It's a sleeper hit - I'm shocked more people haven't discovered this mic.

[@ItzrealMusic]

@@diavimusic4523 right you don’t need a U87Ai

[@AndriaLiana]

Is this woman Siri ?

[@voscripts]

No she isn't, but I can definitely hear why you'd think that!

[@coolrick7139]

I'm pretty sure she's google translate

[@goaway2174]

Thanks for the comparison! The U87ai sounds very familiar as it is prolific and at least to me, much better than the Copperhead! I generally really like tube microphones and just don't care for the voicing on this specific Telefunken model. It doesn't have the air or clarity of the Neumann and sounds congested and boxy. Just my opinion but believe there are numerous better options for voiceover use and probably many that are less expensive.

[@voscripts]

We have a Warm 251 tube mic that we’ll be comparing also. Its a cheaper than the telefunken and u87. It may be a better option than both. Thanks for listening.

[@av3nger3]

@@voscripts This is interesting because I am hearing too much of a mid presence in the U87. The TF-39 sounds less midrangey and more articulate.

[@scrummasterinblack]

I have never used tube mic for voice over. What difference you noticed using TF29 for voice over compared to regular condenser mic?

[@voscripts]

Tube condenser microphones are characteristically warmer with more harmonic character than a phantom powered condenser, but this isn’t always the case 100% of the time and there are always exceptions to this rule, with tube mics that are less warm than a phantom-powered condenser microphone, or a phantom powered mic that’s warm with rich harmonic character. The CU29 in particular is a very bright microphone compared to others, however that brightness tends to be generally smooth, so we’ve found that with proper EQing you really can get a great result with the copperhead, but in most cases you’ll want to roll off the high-end unless you have a really warm and dark voice. If you have a low baritone voice with less content in the high frequency range, a copperhead could work really well for you as it would offset and balance out the microphones frequency response.

[@scrummasterinblack]

@@voscripts Wow thanks for the thorough explanation. I really appreciate it. The TF29 is something I am keeping my eye right now.

[@scrummasterinblack]

I always thought tube mic is only good for singing and does not bring much benefits for VO😄

[@scrummasterinblack]

Hi there. Do you have the raw wav file for this uploaded anywhere? I would like to analyse the sound. Thanks 🙏

[@voscripts]

@@scrummasterinblack At the moment we don’t have the files available for download but this is something we’ve been considering making available through our website, I’ll let you know once that happens. Thank you!

[@roberthoward7484]

Both sound great. Both have smooth 5-7k ..Nuemann sounds a bit bigger and brighter..Copperhead for the win being that it can be molded to sound similar at $2000 price difference

[@JayTheYTGuy]

My thoughts on it too!

[@dcurtaincall]

What's the whole vocals chain?

[@voscripts]

You'll find this information at 0:57 in the video. We ran it through the DAV electronics BG 2 preamp, and into the Avid Omni interface for the cleanest and most direct signal possible. Thanks for watching! 🙂

[@dcurtaincall]

Last question. On the pre amp is the HPF enabled?

[@voscripts]

DJ Cureton No, there isn’t any eq or filtering.

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

I have a Telefunken TF29. What preamps would you suggest for male vocals? I have a Maag PREQ4 but maybe too clean with thtis mic nd my vocal. Looking at API 512V & 550 EQ or Neve 1073LB with LBEQ.

[@voscripts]

Hello, Geoffrey! The 512V is a wonderful preamp that works great with the Copperhead. It's responsive and has that great API tone, but it may not have as colored or warm of a tone as you're looking for. It sounds like you're trying to stay away from too transparent of a preamp due to the bright character of the TF29, and you might be right in doing so if you intend to stick with the TF29 and aren't too crazy about how bright this microphone is. Something with more color and warmth may work really well to offset this brightness, so the 1073LB may work well for you. Combining the Copperhead with a warmer preamp could possibly help balance it out quite well, but if your voice isn't jiving with the TF29 you might also consider shopping around for a warmer microphone. Thanks for watching!

[@voscripts]

To add, check out the John Hardy preamps.

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

@@voscripts Thanks for the awesome response! What would you suggest as a couple of more warm mics I can look into?

[@hanskristianvilla7621]

Recommend Neve1073 with the TF29💪

[@thisiskevg]

Wanna hear the copperhead on rap vocals

[@SoundManStudio]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZ6yYWeJobKNq5Y Rap and singing using cu29 through gap pre73 mkii

[@MELOPSMUSIC]

I own a blue kiwi and a tlm103 , would you think the cu29 would be a nice add , to get a really different mic ? Specificaly in the lows how it compares ? Thanks a lot

[@voscripts]

The CU29 is a pretty well-rounded microphone, however it's a very bright mic with a noteworthy high-end so if that's a flavor that you feel you would benefit from I'd say go for it. If you're looking for a darker mic with more warmth I'd look elsewhere, but for a mic with great clarity, the CU29 works wonderfully. As a bonus, if you're into recording music, the CU29 is beautiful on more detailed instruments that require clarity, like intimate acoustic guitars, pianos, and it also works great in a wide variety of applications when recording drums. I just used it as a mono drum overhead and it sounded wonderful. I hope this helps, thanks for watching!

[@MELOPSMUSIC]

@@voscripts thanks, it helps ! What would be your advice for a warmer mic ? Not dark , but with nice lows... In the same budget... Thanks.

[@voscripts]

@@MELOPSMUSIC The Audio-Technica 4060 is a rather warm microphone. You might also consider looking at a U47-type microphone of some sort - they can certainly have a top-end sizzle, but they often have great body - I really like the Warm WA47, but the United Studio Technology FET47 seems like it'd be a great choice (I've never used one, but I've watched some videos on it and read some great reviews). Again, they can be bright but often they have a pretty thick body, so if you rolled off the top-end a bit you may be good. Either way, I'd check the frequency response chart of any microphone you're looking to buy to see if it really adds something to your collection. You might also want to look into a ribbon mic like a Coles 4038. They're absolutely beautiful sounding microphones, however you'll want to make sure you have a good room since most ribbons (like the 4038) have a figure-8 polar pattern, so it will pick up sound from the back. It's a great microphone if you have the right environment for it, it's warm and silky. Any ribbon microphone would be good to look into as they're generally warmer in tone, the beyerdynamic m160 is super-cardioid so that would help if you don't have a great room.

[@voscripts]

@@MELOPSMUSIC Oh, and also don't forget the Shure SM7b. While some aren't keen on it, I personally love it and I have found that it works wonderfully on a large variety of sources. Big, rich tone on musical vocals, and it has also worked great on voiceover in the past. It's also pretty dark, but it's a dynamic mic so it'll have a different character than a condenser or ribbon.

[@MELOPSMUSIC]

@@voscripts ok !!! Thanks so much ! I had the sm7b and now a RE20 which i like a lot (a bit better ).

[@CriptoTap4ik]

what is the vocal chain?????

[@voscripts]

It’s stated in the video.

[@cristian-marius-albu]

Compared to CU29 the Neumann U87 is less aggressive being smoother for to my ears. CU29 sounds slightly sharp on some frequencies. Honestly I was expecting to hear some more warmth and mellow sound from it being tube based. A Gefell M930 would be perfect for this type of VO perhaps better than U87.

[@cypressmuzik]

IMHO Copperhead sounds great!.. The U87 is boss tho!.. If I were to choose based on price I would go for Copperhead as the U87 is about 2k$ more, and there’s not a 2k$ difference in sound.. Based on sound the U87 seems more easy/pleasing to work with..

[@voscripts]

Thanks for listening. We’ll be doing a comparison of the Neumann u87 and the Warn 87 soon as well as the Warm 251 and the Tele Copperhead. This are a little more similar in price.

[@BenLukemusic]

I don’t like how bright U87 sounds. For a person with a more brighter voice I think telefunken sounds better

[@voscripts]

Tube mics are typically warmer than condensers, but not always. However if you think the u87ai is bright, you’ll want to stay away from most mics from Blue. Thanks for listening!

[@nightchef57]

As one might expect from response graphs, the Copperhead sounds more scooped/smiley-face, with airy top, big bottom and a slight hole in the middle. The U87 sounds more focused and lively thanks to the flatter midrange response. I thought they were a wash on the male VO - both nice though different - but the U87 was a clear winner for me on the woman’s voice. I found the Copperhead too dull. Side note: for future vids, can I suggest *not* making a camera angle cut every time you change mics? This is distracting to the brain and makes it harder to focus on the sound differences. Just the change in the text caption is enough.

[@intouch8789]

Neuman always sounds good at first but ends up being too airy in the high end for me.

[@relle2222]

Very Nice Voice !

[@TheTalemaster]

Sad the VO does not have a particularly smooth or deep voice to really push the low-freq behavior of the mics. He also moves far too much. Your voice, not your body ought to move us!

[@voscripts]

Thank you for your input, and thanks for watching. We try to have some variety with higher and lower registers throughout our videos (not all male and female voices are created equal, of course!) and have done so in newer videos with the ever-so talented Jim Anglo. Voice acting is acting, a stiff body can often result in a stiff read. Whatever helps the read to better connect, each voice talent has their own methods to best connect to the emotional content of a script and we certainly strive for real-world examples of these mic's in action. Thanks again for watching.

[@voa23]

Top Notch Real Voice Over Coaches will tell you differently. The VO Actor does just superb!

[@closedboxmedia]

U87 sounds a bit fuller..it has a bit more low mid

[@dancegod1691]

Amtrack really is the best

[@mercymourning3853]

ur face is 2 close to the cam lol but dope video

[@0d0d0d]

The U87 is a lot warmer.

[@Wadyofficial8]

👍🏽

[@chrisvantassel8867]

Copper head is warmer

[@voscripts]

Thanks for listening.

[@MusicChannel-rf5zz]

U87 has that high mid sound that I don’t like!

[@UndetectableBomber]

the u87 wins this one

[@protoolstdm7298]

to talk you don´t need harmonics, bad comparasion

[@themodeledwin8901]

Ricky Home Studio *Brasil there are no harmonics in voiceover recording? 😆

[@protoolstdm7298]

@@themodeledwin8901 To test the quality of the microphone you need to sing, only musical frequencies will justify a better microphone, so any cheap microphone should work fine to "talk" or podcast, the telefunken should be better by the tubes harmonics generate

[@themodeledwin8901]

@@protoolstdm7298 Lol, why don't you go to the thousands of working voiceover studios in LA and see what they think about that.

[@themodeledwin8901]

@@protoolstdm7298 do you know what voice over is? or do you hear a commercial and think "the talking voice". Should the google results here be "anything"? www.google.com/search?q=best+microphones+for+voice+over&oq=best+microphones+for+voice+over&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.3287j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[@voscripts]

We appreciate the comment. These comparison videos are not necessarily directed towards music recordists or producers - they are more-so meant for voiceover artists and voiceover engineers to hear the differences between different microphones specifically on voiceover, not singing. Certain microphones sound better on different voice actors for an endless amount of reasons, and even at that, a microphone that sounds great on a singing voice may not sound as great for voiceover. Thanks for watching!