You may have noticed that in my brief look at the microphones we use at Octave Records, the two I've focused first on are both German. In fact, the Germans make some of the best microphones in the world.
Today's post is about another German microphone, one that is not so expensive and yet is an amazing sounding transducer.
The Gefell M930.
The German company, Neumann makes my favorite overall microphone: the aforementioned vacuum tube wonder, the U67. Born out of the creative genius of Georg Neumann, the company began in 1928, and quickly became synonymous with great microphones.
The rise of Neumann as a company was not a walk in the park. Not after what happened to Germany after World War II.
In the tumultuous years following the war, the division of Germany left the Neumann company split between East and West. In East Germany, the company continued under the name Microtech Gefell, founded by Georg Neumann's former employee and childhood friend, Dr. Erich Kuehne.
Which brings us to the Gefell M930 Large Diaphragm Microphone—designed, crafted, and built with the same philosophies as the Neuman large capsule U series.
The Gefell M930 is renowned for its warm, natural sound, and low cost. Where a modern U67 vacuum tube microphone can be purchased for about $8K, and a vintage U67 for $30K, the FET-based Gefells can be bought today for about $1,200 each.
These are amazing FET microphones that sound far better than Neumann FET versions. In fact, side by side comparisons on captures of instruments ranging from woodwinds to pianos, the M930 sonically outperforms the Neumann FET-based U87 all day long.
Sometimes, lower cost and better engineered products can beat their brethren. All it takes to find them is a good set of ears and an open mind.
