Frank Sinatra, “In the Wee Small Hours”. There is just something about this record. This is another vinyl record that’s on all the “lists”. That smoothness to Frank’s vocals being almost a tube like smooth sound, well some of that is because of actual vacuum tubes. He favored a Neuman GmbH U 47 large diaphragm condenser microphone which is/was amplified by a Telefunken vacuum tube feeding a custom wound transformer. So while yes old Blue Eyes is silky smooth... after 1950, Sinatra exclusively used this microphone once his deal with Capital was all buttoned up. He called it his “Telly”. It was rather different than the ribbon mics used at the time by his contemporaries. The U 47 enhanced the mid range sound and not only a boost (between 400 and 2K Hz)... it made his voice sound a little brighter, and it could be set to cut through a full orchestra. The mic had two patterns you could choose from, cardioid or omnidirectional. It was truly groundbreaking... and Frank used it like an instrument with his vocals. Instead of crowding or blasting the mic like so many vocalists, Frank knew how to actually work the mic. Recording engineer John Palladino said, “Frank is so easy to record. I could read him and feel exactly what he was going to do with the microphone”. Sinatra’s use of it was groundbreaking, but it didn’t take long for others to follow suit including the Beatles, Roy Orbison, Dean Martin... all the way to Adele. It was and still is a fabled mic for recording studios. Today this mic, if you could find an original would probably clock in around $10,000. Enjoy! #audiophile#hifi #music #audio #vinyl#headphones #highendaudio#audiophiles #sound #turntable#nowplaying #vinylcollection#highfidelity #hifiaudio #stereo#nowspinning #audioporn #instahifi#musiclover #hifidelity #soundsystem#records #vinyljunkie #speakers#vinylcommunity #sinatra #franksinatra#intheweesmallhours