Gefell UM70S

Gefell is not as well known in America, but pretty popular in Europe. You can thank the Berlin Wall for that. Gefell was founded in Gefell, Germany by Georg Neumann (yes, that 'Neumann') after he left Berlin during WW2, where he could continue making and developing the mics he made in Berlin as 'Neumann'. After the War, he went back to Berlin/Neumann, but the Gefell plant stayed open. The Berlin factory was branded 'Neumann', the Gefell plant 'Gefell'. Then the Berlin Wall went up in 1961, separating the 2 factories (Berlin was West Germany, Gefell East), although they still shared designs and parts. Fast forward over about 50 years and some classic mics that defined our concept of microphones, then the Berlin Wall came down, the Neumann brand was taken over by Sennheiser, and Gefell is now the only company still owned by the Neumann estate.

The UM70 is one of their best, probably the one most associated with the brand. Uses the classic M7 capsule, same as many of the classic Neumanns, and is often compared to a U87. I guess I see that, they are similar, and share a lineage, but they definitely each have their own sound. Finding out the manufacture date on these is kinda tough, best I can tell this one is from the early 90s (not long after the introduced this model). The 'S' means higher operating voltage (80v), ie, more sensitive/dynamic range. It's crazy how similar this sounds to my M71, almost identical. The newer ones are transformerless (and use a 'T' in the model name), but I like the sound of iron, so I use the older/non-T versions. I would put a UM70 on anything; and I have. Great mic. I should probably buy a few more before the secret gets out and they skyrocket in price. They're already moving up there.

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