Swedien, who counts the recording and mixing of Michael Jackson’s Thriller album among the highlights of his lifetime of career accomplishments, was presented with serial number 82 of the U47 FET Collectors Edition, in honor of the year that the Thriller album was released to the public. The presentation was made by Neumann President Wolfgang Fraissinet at the Neumann booth on Friday, October 10, 2014.
The original U47 FET was used extensively by the Grammy-award winning audio engineer throughout the recording of Thriller, so the event was especially fitting as Neumann launched its new U47 FET Collectors Edition to a new generation.
Fraissinet commented: “It is a very special honor for our company to honor Mr. Swedien in this way. He has not only left an indelible mark on the recording community at large, but his contributions to the recording of Thriller and countless other recordings have had a tremendous influence on our culture.”
The Neumann U47 FET microphone was iconic in shaping the sound of the ‘70s, ‘80s, and beyond. As the transistorized successor of the U47, it permitted the processing of very high sound pressure levels for the first time, and engineers were able to place it directly in front of extremely loud sound sources such as guitar amplifiers and kick drums, as well as in front of more delicate sources such as vocals and acoustic instruments. The combination of the U47 fet’s ability to capture high sound pressure levels and the unique capsule design derived from its famous tube-based predecessor, the U47 FET contributed to many legendary recordings.
Now, the Neumann U47 FET Collectors Edition has been faithfully reproduced using the original production documents and schematics. The Collectors Edition is supplied with a high-quality wooden case with special packaging, and an individual certificate with the serial number of the microphone and signature of Neumann President Wolfgang Fraissinet.
The U47 FET is now shipping and is priced at $3,999.95.
u47fet.neumann.com
