Vintage Sound with New Technology
Many engineers, these days, long for the smooth sound of classic tube microphones of the 1950s. Unfortunately, vintage originals come at staggering prices and are often in need of maintenance. But for those who want a recording tool rather than a collector’s item, Neumann has developed an elegant solution: The TLM 49 combines the sonic excellence of Neumann’s legendary U 47 and M 49 microphones with the convenience and high reliability of a modern phantom powered microphone. Its looks are classic, too!
As the model number implies, the TLM 49 is inspired by its famous precursor, the legendary Neumann M 49, a microphone associated with countless jazz and pop recordings of the 1950s and 60s. The TLM 49 shares the same large, acoustically open headgrille and the same large diaphragm condenser capsule design. This classic K 47 capsule, renowned for its unsurpassed sonic elegance, was also used in the Neumann U 47, the vocal mic of choice for Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, and scores of famous artists up to the present day.
Re-Engineering the Past
The main difference between the TLM 49 and its famous predecessors lies in its electronic circuit. Instead of electron tubes, the TLM 49’s head amplifier uses reliable transformerless solid state technology – yet with a special sound design that closely reproduces the sonics of tube circuits. For instance, the TLM 49 intentionally produces soft saturation at higher sound pressure levels, resulting in a seemingly low max SPL figure of 110 dB for 0.5% THD, rising slowly to 5% at 129 dB SPL. The TLM 49 thus captures the sound and dynamic behavior of its legendary precursors without the inconvenience of an external PSU or expensive tube replacements, yet with a substantially improved self-noise figure of only 12 dB-A.
Applications
The TLM 49 has a fixed cardioid pattern and is designed mainly as a microphone for vocalists, but its clear bass and superb midrange with a gentle presence boost above 2 kHz will produce excellent results with various instruments, too, such as acoustic guitar and upright bass.
- Same capsule as legendary Neumann U 47 and M 49 microphones
- Cardioid pattern
- Classic sound for silky vocals
- Large, acoustically open headgrille
- Transformerless solid state circuit with tube sound characteristics
- Very low self-noise
