Sony C-48

A couple of years ago, I was looking for a pair of used Neumann U 87 mics for vocals and general aplications. Then a pair of Sony C 48 was offered to me at a ridiculous low price. Here in Germany the Neumann, AKG,Shoeps mics are omnipresent. only a few people know about high-end Japanese microphones.I already owned a Sony C 38 B and was very pleased of it. Since then i use them on drum overheads or room-mic, piano Leslie-cabs.... Then we had to record one of my songs with double vocals. The other singer did very well with the U87 but i wasn´t very happy with it. So i tried the C48 for my vocals. It did for me what i had expected from the u87! So i think the C48s do their job as well as a U87 or a U89! And they have the 9V battery compartement !

The Sony C-48 is a large diaphragm condenser microphone that is not made anymore and is a vintage microphone.  It is best for use in the recording studio, and in the recording studio is the only place I have used it and I would recommend doing the same.  Since it is an older microphone, it is delicate and needs to be kept in the studio and treated properly.



OVERALL OPINION

I haven't been using the Sony C-48 for all that long, only about a year or so, but since I first used it I have found myself using it whenever I get the chance to.  It is really a great sounding microphone for any type of application, but I find it especially great for recording male vocals.  It will sound great for female vocals as well, but for some reason it picks up male vocals especially well.  It also sounds awesome as a room microphone when recording electric guitar - I put it about three feet away from the guitar amp in addition to a Shure SM57 that picks up the close sound of the guitar amp.  This gives me a good amount of room to play around with it when it comes to mixing and I feel that the C-48 does as good of a job of getting that guitar room sound as any other microphone that I've tried.  I also like using the Sony C-48 for recording acoustic stringed instruments like acoustic guitar and cello as I feel when placed right does a tremendous job of picking up these instruments' nuances.  The price of the Sony C-48 is of course pretty expensive, but this is a microphone that is designed for professionals looking for great tone no matter what the price.  If you are a professional studio owner or engineer, I would highly recommend giving the Sony C-48 a shot.