United Studio Technologies UT Twin48 (New)

Painstakingly recreated with the utmost attention to detail; United's take on both variants of the most revered condenser microphone of all time - now at an affordable price.

The most legendary series of microphones has returned.

The UT Twin48 is an exceptional preservation of two venerable classic tube microphone designs. The original classics of the late '40s and '50s have been front and centre in countless recordings - and demand for them is higher than ever! United has taken these classic-specification designs to the next level by uniting both designs into a single microphone.

Massive tube sound calls for the right tube: The UT Twin48's amplifier stage is based around a select new old stock EF86 pentode glass vacuum tube - the last living descendent of the originals' tube. This results in a bold, rich sound, due to the pentode's harmonic profile being much different than modern dual-triode tubes.

These legendary microphones, still inspiring after generations, are now available in both of their original forms in the UT Twin48.

The UT Twin48's two operating modes go beyond just polar pattern selection.

The classic 47 and 48-style mics each derived their cardioid operation in very different ways - producing subtle tone differences as well as a slightly different polar pattern. For the first time ever, the UT Twin48 delivers both options in a single microphone.

47 Mode offers both 47 Cardioid and Omni patterns, while 48 Mode offers 48 Cardioid and Figure-of-8. Each cardioid mode delivers a different tonal flavor and performance:

47 Cardioid: de-couples the rear diaphragm in a process known as True Cardioid, for a louder sound with improved sensitivity with more background and top-end detail.

48 Cardioid: polarizes the rear diaphragm with the same voltage as the backplate  -  AKA Active Cardioid - for a more tightly closed-in, warmer, intimate tone that is a bit lower in sensitivity.

Many recording engineers prefer the warmer, more intimate sound of the 48 Cardioid, while others prefer the bigger, open sound of the 47 Cardioid - these options make the UT Twin48 a perfect choice for many different applications; Experiment to find the most flattering capture of a singer's voice; add a bit of ambience to a horn performance; and get the cleanest, most articulate tones imaginable from strings and horns  -  all from a single mic!

The UT K48 capsule is a custom-made, historically correct single backplate/dual diaphragm capsule; skinned in a laboratory clean-room environment and 24k gold-sputtered on 6 micron Mylar. It's been optimized for 60v operation, and tuned to the exacting specifications of the original to match its ancestors' historically smooth sound while avoiding any resonances or overly bright or sibilant sounds that can be found in many other reproductions.

The custom-wound, US-made, UT-BV8 transformer is wound to the original Braunbuch specifications and set to the same laminations historically used on the original parts. Careful measurements were made from a golden specimen of the original German transformer.

United used all high-nickel alloy laminations and employed a copper Faraday shield for reduced Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). While they could have used a smaller or less expensive transformer; they simply refused to compromise.

A tube mic is only as good as its power supply - so they didn't cut corners on that, either.

United developed a fully discrete power supply with individually isolated discrete rails for filament, B+, and polarization voltages. They used a custom, US-made discrete regulator by Sparkos Laboratories for the filament voltage, and fully discrete Zener diode regulation for the high voltage rails, for clean, maintenance-free operation. (No calibration required  -  ever!) Custom US-made PRP resistors and long life/high quality electrolytic capacitors are used throughout, and they selected a very robust, over-spec'd, traditional linear frame-mounted power supply transformer.

In an effort to eliminate as much noise as possible, no IC package regulators, generic parts, or cheaper, switch-mode power transformers were used in the UT Twin48. The power supply also features both an inline EMI/RFI AC input filter as well as a selectable RF filter on the audio output, which can be engaged from the convenience of the power supply front panel.

And because cable quality matters, the Twin48 includes the finest tube microphone cable currently available - the Sommer (Germany) Octave 7 conductor cable - configured and optimized for use with the UT Twin48.