Rebirth of a legend – vintage reissue of the UM57, faithfully handcrafted in Gefell based on the 1957 model at the NAMM SHOW 2026 in Anaheim, Californ

This year’s NAMM SHOW was a successful start to the MTG trade fair season 2026.

One highlight was the successful presentation of the reissue of the vintage UM 57 studio microphone.

The unique sound of this tube microphone shaped the sound of its era.

With its market launch in 1957, the UM 57 became an export hit in Eastern European countries.

However, exports to the West proved difficult due to the Cold War at the time.

Nevertheless, there were already interested parties in the Western Hemisphere in the 1960s, e.g. in the United States.

In 1965, for example, a film was shown in the US about a concert with Louis Armstrong, who performed at Prague’s Lucerna Hall with a UM57. The film sparked interest in this microphone among American audiences as well.

However, the Iron Curtain made it almost impossible to purchase a UM57 at that time. There are stories of enthusiasts who smuggled a UM57 in via Cuba for this reason.

Even today, the UM 57 is still valued by numerous artists and producers worldwide and is used in many studios, especially for female voices and acoustic instruments, which it makes sound rich and full.

The UM 57 presented at the NAMM SHOW is the original reissue of the legendary Gefell UM 57 tube microphone from 1957, featuring the original M7 capsule manufactured exclusively by Gefell with self-produced, gold-coated PVC diaphragms.

The M7 has two diaphragms mounted one behind the other. Electronic switching allows for three different recording patterns: directional when only the front diaphragm is used, omnidirectional when both diaphragms are used, and figure-8 when the diaphragms are used in phase reversal.

The tube preamplifier is built with the EF 86 pentode, which is operated as a triode and specially selected for its noise characteristics.

The UN 57 power supply generates the supply voltages for the microphone and enables remote switching between omnidirectional, cardioid, and figure-8 pickup patterns. It can be operated at mains voltages of 115 V or 230 V with 50 Hz or 60 Hz. The UN 57 has a power switch, a selector switch for the directional characteristic, a 7-pin connector for connecting the UM 57 microphone, and a 3-pin XLR connector for the microphone output signal.

The Vintage Studio Microphone UM 57 and the power supply UN 57 have a hammered patina finish and comes in a suitcase with connection cable C tube and elastic suspension EA 92.