[Mike Rivers]

coreybenson wrote:

I find myself wondering (not a slam, a serious question!) how $550
compares to todays dollars... when was that, exactly? If that was
mid-60's dollars, that $550 would equate to around $2.5k, wouldn't it?
Or something like that?

It was around 1980 give or take a couple of years. There were second
hand, but with a fresh capsules and fully blessed by Gotham, the
Neumann distributor at the time. I think new U87s were going for about
$1,000 then, but the used market wasn't as crazy as it is now.

Bottom line, though, was that was part of the cost of doing business.
Even the TASCAM Model 5 console cost about $1500, and I think I paid
$2200 for the 80-8 second hand. Today you can get a much better mixer
and recorder for less money in today's dollars. And for $550, you can
get a mic (several choices) that would work fine any place you'd use a
U87.

But today, I'm not sure that there are that many customers who know
what a U87 is. You must be looking to make a jump up to full priced
commercial clients rather than working with starving musicians. That
can be a good thing, but it requires a serious investment, because
that's what those clients are willing to pay for, and expect to get.
The good news is that there isn't a lot of depreciation in a good
microphone, and sometimes they appreciate, so as long as you can
bankroll a purchase, your money is pretty safe even if your business
doesn't blossom immediately.