Neumann have confirmed the rumour that they will be reissuing the legendary M49, a classic multipattern valve condenser mic first produced in 1949. The run is expected to be extremely limited and won’t be cheap but if the U67 reissue is anything to go by the results will be spectacular.

The Original M49

The M49 was a goundbreaking product when it was released. It was the first truly multipattern mic, with the mic’s polar pattern adjusted from a dial on the power supply. Unlike its predecessor the U47, it maintained a constant output level between patterns, the U47 was hotter in cardioid than it was in omni, and while it shared a capsule with the U47, it sounded very different due to its wedge shaped housing. Because the grille is slanted in the way which we now find so familiar, it reduces standing waves within the housing.

There were updates and changes to the M49 through its life, the capsule changed from a PVC M7 to a mylar M49 and the valve changed from a Hiller MSC2 to a subminiature Telefunken AC701.

The New M49V

At the moment it’s unclear when the reissue will be available, how limited the production run will be and what it might cost. Also we don’t know exactly what the specs will be. From the images we’ve seen it looks like the are a few deviations from vintage examples, particularly the black connector. What valve they have chosen for this reissue will also be interesting as an NOS AC701 would be very hard to find and the one example we could find was nearly £400.

It looks like Neumann have had completed prototypes fro some time as one eagle eyed person spotted one in use in a Sennheiser video in December 2021.

As Neumann said in their post on Facebook “The M 49 V is 100% hand-crafted and will be extremely limited. Currently, only three people on this planet are able to assemble an M 49 V. And they are loving every moment of it”. If they can do an M49 and a U67, might we see a reissue U47 someday?

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