Neumann M 49 V Set Large-Diaphragm Tube Microphone

Made to original specifications using archived documentation, the M 49 V Set Large-Diaphragm Tube Microphone is a reissue of the legendary M 49 mic with detail improvements. After years of trials and tests, the engineers at Neumann came up with a microphone considered to be acoustically identical to the historic version, even in direct A/B comparison. A superb vocal microphone for male and female voices, but also versatile enough for all types of instruments, the M 49 V continues to offer the same revolutionary studio technology with its continuously variable, remote-switchable polar pattern, delivering that incomparably full and silky, tube-driven sound, which has made its mark on countless recordings to this day.

The M 49 V was handmade and hand-soldered in Germany. The Set comes with an NM V pattern-control/power-supply unit, a KC 5 cable, and MZ 49 A yoke mount, and a vintage case.

Historical M 49 Tube Microphone

• The M 49 is an iconic microphone that changed the landscape of recording in the 1950s and 1960s and set the reference sound for blues, jazz, pop, and classical music. When you hear masterpieces from legends like Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, or Barbra Streisand, or today´s top talents like Adele, you hear an M 49 at work. Sound engineers and artists alike keep vintage versions of the M 49 like treasures for a reason. And whoever is lucky enough to still have a historic version could easily sell it for a five-figure sum.

The M49 Is Back!

• The M 49 V is a reissue of the last revision "c" designed to be acoustically identical. The M 49 V uses the same circuit as the M 49 c, but with an even lower-noise subminiature tube. This and other circuit changes improved the signal-to-noise ratio, and dynamic range.
• Like all M 49 microphones since the late 1950s, the M 49 V uses the K 49 capsule, which Neumann continues to manufacture unchanged. Its incomparable sound is legendary and cannot be improved upon! The large, acoustically open microphone basket, which has been retained in the M 49 V, also contributes to the unique sound characteristics of the M 49.
• Since radio-frequency interference has increased dramatically due to mobile phone networks and Wi-Fi, an RF-proof connector has been adopted from the M 249 mic.

Continuously Variable Polar Pattern and Universal Power Supply

• The NM V pattern control unit is used to remotely operate the M 49 V microphone. Use the pattern knob to continuously adjust the polar pattern from omnidirectional to cardioid to figure-8 and including intermediate settings.
• The M 49 V Set includes a newly designed power supply. Since the new, very-low noise subminiature tube requires a somewhat higher heater voltage, the M 49 V should not be operated using historical power supplies.
• The power supply automatically switches between the 100 and 240 VAC mains voltage ranges for use internationally.

Iconic Yoke Mount and High-Quality Case

• The M 49 V Set is completed by the popular yoke mount. It has always made the M 49 particularly flexible in terms of positioning and, together with the microphone, forms an iconic unit.
• Compared to the historic yoke mount, the new version has been supplemented with elements for mechanical decoupling of the microphone as well as a cable holder to suppress cable-related structure-borne noise.
• The Set is delivered in a high-quality case, which like the entire microphone, is handmade in Germany.

Order Options

The M 49 V features a set of internal switches and can be ordered in the desired switch configuration through Neumann sales partners and dealers (Made to Order):

• Users can now decide to extend the bass sensitivity and drop the high-pass frequency from the original 30 Hz to an incredible 12 Hz. This reproduces the low-frequency response of the early M 49 (without suffix) up to 1957, which did not have this high pass yet. At the same time, a certain protection against infrasound is retained.
• Another option allows users to switch the microphone to a fixed cardioid pickup pattern. This deactivates the pattern switching; the sensitivity increases by about 2 dB, and the equivalent noise level decreases by about 3 dB. This setting is useful if the M 49 V is to be used exclusively in cardioid mode, e.g. for vocals or speech.

In the default delivery state, the high-pass filter is set to 30 Hz and pattern switching is activated. The internal switches should not be operated by the user, but only by Neumann Service.