Tonight was my first encounter with either this microphone (Neumann
U67 in excellent condition) or this preamp (Siemens/Telefunken V72).
I'm doing vocals for some new last-minute songs my band has added to
the album we have coming out in the fall.

Both of these items are being rented at a very reasonable price from a
very kind local audiophile collector guy.

I LOVE THIS SOUND.

I never had that much curiosity about the U67 school but now I think
I'm in love. It is very tight and focused. Vivid and whole. I think
it's actually inspiring me to sing better.

[boring tech stuff: The only other thing in the recording chain is a
Distressor which is being used very timidly. Monitoring the signal
on playback, I am running it through an API EQ (mild brightening) and
a Drawmer 1969 compressor used more aggressively. I am tracking to
Digital Performer locked to a Lucid clock. The resulting files will
be dumped to 2" 16track studer next week.

The U67 is very different than the 251 mic that I had used before on
my own voice for this project. Not better, just a different shade of
really good. Darker and more macho. The 251 is airier and "etched"
sounding.

Some things are famous for a reason, I guess. That's the lesson I
keep learning in audio: a lot of things are classic for a reason.
It's like the first time you play a great Rickenbacker into a cranked
AC30, you're like: "Oh, THERE'S that sound." It's like, you know,
duh. Classic for a reason. I don't know why I'm such an idiot as to
always think I can reinvent the wheel. The U67 into a V72 ain't an
innovative combo, but it sure is brilliant.

I don't know what either of these items sounds like apart from each
other -- don't have time to get all scientific a/b-ing and ****. I'm
on a time crunch. Mainly I just thought I'd write to say that I'm
having a lovely evening recording. I'd just thought I'd share it
with you, my fellow sound-obsessed people.

Gear obsession can be really unhealthy and really dorky, I know. I
don't consider myself a gearhead, but I have to say there are moments
when I really enjoy the rare access I've had to the truly great
recording and music tools that are out there. As someone who
generally works in a world of not high budgets --- and let me state
emphatically that I LOVE that world --- I don't always have access to
this type of thing. But it's nice when it happens.

I wish everyone as pleasant an evening as I'm having.

Cheers,

Chad