Tape Op Review: United Studio Technologies UT Twin87 Large Condenser Mic

Introduced in the mid-1960s, the Neumann U 87 was a gift to engineers and producers because a separate power supply was no longer needed due to its tube-replacing FET (field effect transistor) technology. This groundbreaking, solid-state microphone offered three polar patterns, a switchable high-pass filter, and a -10 dB pre-attenuation pad. By the 1970s, the U 87 became one of the most well- known microphones in studios worldwide – primarily because of its incredible versatility. Even today, you’d be hard pressed to find a studio that doesn’t have at least one U 87 in its microphone closet. From voiceovers, solo vocalists, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, grand pianos, brass, and drums – this microphone has got you covered, and is still considered to be among the most famous condenser microphones in the world.

Enter United Studio Technologies, a relatively new company that has set out not just to replicate what the original U 87 has been able to achieve sonically, they have redefined how we view Neumann’s iconic mic by creating a microphone that can capture the sonic characteristics of the original, but also the more modern sound of the U 87 Ai that Neumann began producing in 1986. The UT Twin87 achieves both vintage and modern sonic characteristics by utilizing two discrete U 87-style circuit topologies directed by a change in phantom powered voltages – all with a toggle switch on the front of the mic. Vintage mode utilizes an insulated backplate design to polarize the front and back sides separately. When switching to Modern mode, the capsule backplates are connected, and the polarization voltage is raised to about 63 volts. As expected, Vintage mode offers a slightly warmer, and what I would call rounder, sound. Since Modern mode is polarized at a higher voltage FET oscillator circuit, it produces a louder and brighter sound, characteristic of Neumann’s U 87 Ai model.

Read the full review in Tape Op