VOCAL mic with an attitude...

Signal chain: TLM 49 > mogami gold XLR > apogee duet 2 > PRO Tools 10 > Ozone 5 mastering suite.

This mic shines on vocals with a kind of an attitude. It is not for the faint of heart or singers with a fragile EGO. The TLM 49 morphs itself into the artists voice. It's like having all the various tonal colors at your desire. Put a grinding singer in front and it will bring out the edge characteristics. Put a soft melodic vocalist in front and this mic will become transparent.

Overdub vocals 20 times? No problem, no frequency build up, 100% sonic blending. Throw it in front of an acoustic guitar and with EQ you will be blown away at the possibilities. You need to use this mic on a variety of sources to really appreciate it's capabilities.

If you are considering buying this mic, you won't be disappointed. For the money, you will be getting a staple, go to vocal mic for any singing style or genre of music. Sound is very "finished" and will cut through any mix with no EQ.

Excellent mic!!!

For the price this thing is a 5.0. Professional quality all the way. My girlfriend has a soft sultry type of voice and this mic is perfect choice for her. Its warm and takes eq very well. The key to using this mic is understanding the Proximity effect. At 3" its wooly and thick. At 12" its thin. At 4-8" its just perfect. No this is not a m49 by any means. But it does work well with a singer that would sound good on a m49! I have also gotten some killer tracks on stand up bass with this microphone.

I finally found the sound of those golden years!

My recent search for a vocal microphone around $1500 pointed to this one and I started talking to Kevin in Sweetwater. I also read lot of good reviews about Mojave MA 200 and was very much interested to test that one too. Kevin gave me a good deal and I could keep both mic for a week and return the one (or none) I didn't like.

This does not have any wooden box, comes in a normal paper board retail packing. I used vintech X73i as the preamp, used good quality cables and Apogee and digi rack 003 converters and sang few lines. I have a thin n soft voice, and with this preamp+mic combo finally I could say to myself that I was looking to get this sound for so long. I'm from India and always like our vintage sound of 60s and 70s...This mic has that particular warmth I was looking for. My thin voice sounded warm, fat, smooth and clean over the entire frequency range without even using any EQ on the preamp. The vocal placed itself nicely in the mix without the need of much processing, just a bit of reverb and delay sent to sweeten it.

when I did side by side comparison with MA 200, (which is definitely an excellent mic for the price), I found it has got that digital brittleness as far as my voice is concerned. Even a general listener (my friend) considered the TLM 49 sound smoother and more round compared to Ma 200. I like the mid range of TLM 49. After a casual take, I was sitting back and listening to my recording and I was feeling sooo happy that finally Ive settled for a preamp+mic combo that now I can use in my future records. Ma 200 sounded very good though on a female vocal (recitation and speech) and wasn;t harsh at all, its just that my voice sounded best in TLM 49. I wanted to keep both mics, but MA 200 is going back due to its little lack in smoothness compared to TLM 49.

Wow

Just heard these for the first time as overheads on a drum kit. We were running them through a couple Neve 1081 pres and they sounded incredible! Almost don't even need to close mic the kit... The toms and snare all sounded very punchy and clear and the cymbals weren't too washy or over powering. I would have expected a higher price for these.

clear as can be!!!!!!!

i just recieved my tlm49 its running into my universal audio 610 im blown away on how this thing sounds!! if u have the money id say buy it i have a bluebird mic and a audio technica 4033 mic as well but this neummy is great!!!!!!!!!!!

Works well with drums????

I had this mic in a live room making adjustments to some other mics and placed the 49 on the ground about 5-6 feet away from the kick. It was sitting on a few cables to it was pointed very slightly upward. I had that track unmuted and had the drummer play the kit for a sound check. This accident changed my whole view of this mics versatility. That mic picked up the kit better than all of the the the other mics. I was blown away by everything I picked up, mainly the kick and toms. Give this a try with your 49 and it will not just be your vocal mic anymore.

I Love The TLM49

It's amazing to me,how someone can put down the TLM49. I'm confused by the last reviewer who thinks the TLM49 is all hype and lokks. It's a great sounding mic on vocals. I own a U87 as well and I prefer the TLM 49 on vocals because of the tailored response on the low end. Neumann has tailored the sound by gradually lowering the output from 1 khz down to 20hz (below zero db). This makes the TLM49 shine on vocals without having to roll-off bass which can muddy up most vocals. I use both TLM49's and U87's through An Avalon VT-737 and the sound is pristine. Sometimes I wonder if some of the jealous competitors of Neumann (like RODE etc.) write these negative reviews.....

I've had... the time of my life, and I owe it all to you

several years ago after months of toiling about whether to invest in one really nice mic and having a bevy of low-end ones, I decided on the TLM 49 and haven't looked back since. On its own through the 002's onboard pre's and a/d (neither of which impress me) it sounds realistic, rich and full. But when you pair this beautiful piece of microphonery through a nice preamp, it shines (I'm running through a UA Solo 610). Almost too responsive, it picks up everything; I recorded a guitarist/vocalist with a backup vocalist and harmonica off mic and with just the one mic it sounds like you're in the room with the singer. I agree, those who complain about the sound either have a bad signal chain, no understanding of mic placement, or possibly a defective mic.

According to me, a great mic

I don't have such a big experience about microphones, but when I changed by a 60$ Samson C01 to the TLM (auto-present for my graduation) I noticed an astonishing change in my tracks. I use a Yamaha 01V as preamp, and with this mic the voice sounds always loud, clear and at the top of the mix. If you want to make an investment for many years, this is definitely the right choice.

I love this microphone

I've been a recording professional for about 10 years. My mic locker includes a Shure SM7B, AKG C414, AKG SolidTube, and a few other cheapies (SM57, SM58, SM86, AKG Perception 200). I've also had extensive experience recording with a vintage Neumann U87. That said, I recently purchased the TLM 49 after reading it's many glowing reviews. For the first session, I was a bit skeptical, but was immediately convinced that this microphone is phenomenal. Since then, I've recorded 30 other vocalists with the TLM 49. All of them sound amazing. For those who say the mic sounds brittle, I think they have a bunk mic or a bad signal path.

THIS IS A SUPER MIC FOR VOCAL TRACKS !!!

I can tell you that the Neumann TLM 49 is one of the best vocal mics that I've tried. It's got a beautiful balance of highs,mids and just the right amount of bottom end. Neumann has created a microphone which is voiced perfectly for singers. Vocals sound up front without the boxiness and harshness found in other mics. The TLM 49 also sounds nice on acoustic guitar !!! This is a super microphone, get one !

STUNNING

I've been through a selection of mics at my home studio and at major studios. This mic by far is in a class of its own with vocals. Pure, clean, upfront in the mix. It will make your vocalist stand back and say wow.

This micrphone has become my new favorite.

It didn't take very long for this mic to become my absolute favorite, and I've only had it for a week. It has such a sweet detailed sound, and sounds fantastic on a variety of sources. If you're considering a new studio condenser mic this is THE ONE!

A modern classic in the making.

I am truly blown away by this microphone, and I own serveral modern Neumann mics and also a vintage Telefunken 251 (currently worth more than my car). The TLM 49 shines on just about everything I have tried it on. Full, warm, bottom end with glimmering highs. During A/B tests through my Neve board with the Telefunken and the TLM 49 using all Mogami cabling throughout the signal path, listeners in my studio chose the TLM 49 after I added a little EQ to make them tonally the same. The winner was clearly the TLM for vocals. I cannot praise Neumann enough for this mic. I truly believe this is a modern classic in the making.

TLM 49 - GOLDEN MIC- AMAZING!!!

This has to be the most awaited mic from Neumann in years. Rich, smooth, and sweet, it sounds like everything I dreamed of when I was hoping for years that Neumann would release a mic like this. The K47 Capsule in a transformerless design. Wow!!!!! You must own this mic. No doubt about it. By the way it also looks gorgeous, and if you own a studio like me, customers will love it.

Really A Fantastic Mic!

Been recording over 28 years and been through a KSM, NTK, K2, Mojave MA-200, Peluso 2247 short body and finally arrived at the TLM49. I have to say that this mic is suberb on most vox. Also excels on acoustic guitar from above. I use it through either a Great River 1NV or UA LA-610 preamp and either one (especially the LA610) works great and this mic just shines. It is very sensitive for an up close and breathy "personal" sound but also you can hit it hard and it handles it with aplomb. Give it a listen and take you time if you can. It is not a super bright, hard-edge "sounds great in solo" mic rather, it settles in like a fine wine and puts the vox up front, smoothly in the mix with ease. Just Great!

beautiful vocal tones

Tonal wise sounds great on vocals and string instruments very clean and warm must have for your mic collection

Good Stuff

Very Cool Mic. I've been borrowing it from a friend.

Definitely has a certain 'sound' to it. Seems to really bring out the upper mids on things. Good present sound. Very quiet of course which is nice. I've used it on both vocals and acoustics...worked great on both but you have to be wanting its pronounced upper mids in the sound you're going for.

Definitely worth buying if you want a great quality quiet mic with a specific flavor.

Neumann TLM49

Nice mic.. Ran it through a Neve 1073 for the crunchy vibe, and then through a Grace for the open sound. Sounded good through both.. Hated it the first day I got it. But with a little eq and experimentation, dialed it in. Clean, not too strong in the low-mid department, but really cuts through..We settled on a Rode K2 tube mic for our main vocal mic on this project though..

Hmmmmm.

Bought one of these for male tenor vocals. Not a good fit, really. If you've got another use in mind it might be fine. For that it's a bit harsh. As it turns out the AKG C414 is a much better fit, has a smoother sound, lots of patterns to choose from, and is cheaper. I'll trade you mine for a 414.

Thin hollow sound

Harsh sounding treble range with much to be desired in the mid-low registers. Definitely an impressive looking mic. not such an impressive sound...

Sorry Neumann... You can do better!

I have used many new and vintage Neumann mics as both a singer and an engineer, and sadly this microphone did not perform as well as I had hoped. On vocals it was annoyingly harsh in the upper midrange, even when paired with my Telefunken 72. Even my TLM 103 sounded more pleasing than this mic and it is considerably less expensive. Don't beleive the hype. use your ears,--- and look past the name, and the cool look of this microphone.