Came out of a full week of recording VOs.

The FET 017 was impeccable on male voices, it did not need any EQ in the highs, all the qualities of a nice top end are present.

On females however, i noticed it gets too transient with a sharp pronounced attack, and the brightness found in males usually become too cutting for females. Might work in a song context though.

I had to do more work cutting sibilance and briteness in the 1.5-2.2k region.

A friend just ordered the Beesneez BU67. He thought it came the closest of any Clone when comparing to the original U67.

So your proclamation about the Beesneez K7 capsule adds even more interest into this company. I have always been a sucker for any company that makes their own capsules, bodies, head grilles, transformers and other parts. I like it when a company has total control over the products they make.

So may I ask you then, what are your thoughts on the BU47 & Arabella? Both use your beloved Beesneez K7 capsule. Both emulate the U47.

The Bu47 also uses as hand-made BV-08 transformer. And the Arabellat uses rotary switch for total polar pattern control(as found in a 49).

Very interested in hearing your thoughts as with the Aussie to US dollar convert, these are exceptionally good deals.

I haven’t heard any ready made Beeznees but I’d like to going on the quality of these capsules.

The way I treat my master bus any bright and “clear” mic would be overhyped. The “woolyness” of the Flea is perfect for my application.

Just out of curiosity, how do you treat your master bus?

To my taste. After 30 years I have a feel for it. It’s not overhyped it’s perfect clarity. Unless you’ve heard a non sibilant but clear mic then you can’t judge. It’s all based on the sound of my OG U47.

Try a different tube like a Jan 5654 GE. It will take the
sharper edges off. They’re really cheap on eBay.

I’d love to hear your modified Flea 47. Can you post a sample?

I have been spending the last couple of days shooting out the U67 RI and the Soyuz 017 and, for good measure, comparing them to my Flea 47.

Paul, your descriptions of the Soyuz 017 were spot on. The Soyuz does have the low end heft of the U47 and sweeter mids and highs. Tracking with my Focal Sprirt Pros I didn't need to EQ a thing. It is quite modern sounding and I can't imagine wanting anything brighter.

It is very sensitive to plosives so a pop filter is mandatory.

My favo(u)rite signal chain so far is the Soyuz > Fearn VT-1 > Locomotive Audio 14B with the Attack Off (basically a saturation setting).

There is, however, one downside. For some reason it picks up electrical interference which is noticeable when tracking using headphones. I have experienced this with my studio monitors tweeters on occasion but never any mics. I double checked to see if the U67 or Flea 47 had a similar issue and they don't.

Any suggestions for eliminating the interference would be greatly appreciated.

As for the U67 RI, I guess it was sort of what I expected. Someone described it as a U87ai with a tube which I don't think is far off. It has the Neumann sound signature and, if you want that, then it fits the bill. I just wasn't bowled over.

If I can somehow resolve this electrical interference issue then I am apt to keep the Soyuz 017.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Sorry to hear about the electrical interference, I didn't experience this when I had the mic for a few days. Would you pick the Soyuz over the u67 reissue?

We had that issue with all our 90’s era Gefell UM-70’s. Ended up buying some custom 6 in cables that we kept plugged into them. The cable was a simple fix, I think that you just removed pin 1 and grounded it to the side of the connector. Just search “Gefell RF Issues” or something on here, there will be a few threads with details. I’m not sure if that’s the same problem you’re having, but it would be something easy to try if you’ve got some tools around.

I guess my post wasn't clear.

I think the Soyuz sounds glorious. It addresses all of the issues I have with my Flea 47. It is positively inspiring when listening to it while tracking.

I was underwhelmed by the U67 RI. It had the signature Neumann sound but I didn't feel inspired the same way as I did with the Soyuz or even my Flea 47.

My comments here are only based on my experience with tracking. I will be listening to all of the takes in the next couple of days. I may change my mind later but so far I would pick the Soyuz over the U67 RI.

Thanks for the tip. I am going to try troubleshooting this over next fews days. I really want the Soyuz to work.

I have started by plugging the mic power supply into another power strip. We'll see.

Well it's good to know. I was impressed with the Soyuz and I'm still considering getting one.

They sound great.

Hey Paul,

Interested in swapping out stock tubes in my 017, love the lows on the mic but I seem to be carving out 3k in my voice often when belting. Is there a particular brand of 5654 that you recommend (amperex, aeg, ge, etc.)? Or anything military spec will fit the bill?

Thanks!

I’ve had luck with GE 5 * Jan 5654. It evens out the signal and isn’t so harsh. Most mil spec are good.

Bought a couple tubes and tried them out, the GE 5 star I got was DOA… But I also got a Sylvania JAN Military 6AK5, and I can certainly hear the difference in those high mids! But unfortunately it also made the 300-500 range extra boxy. This may be sending me down the old tube rabbit hole lol

I've always been fairly lucky apart from a couple of odd tubes. Yes the good ones open up all the way without the slight harsh top end. It's a great tube, I use them in my Horch too, once you get a good one it'll last for ever. And luckily they're cheap. I just bought a box of tons and they worked out about $2 each. Burn in will help too.

Hey Paul, was just reading thru some threads on these soyuz 017 and saw that you weren’t really into them at first. Have they changed the way they are made or have you just grown fonder of them?

You obviously didn’t read enough.

Right. Good day, sir.

Exactly my experience. The tube ob my Flea 47 got bad. I sent the mic to them, they replaced and adjusted it for free. Very nice guys.

Were you able to resolve this? Getting electrical interference here and trying to figure it out. Lovely mic though.

Thanks to the help of Christian “Bowie” Whitmore, I was able to find a tube that fits the sound I was after in the Soyuz.

I tried a plethora of tubes out last year, I was very eager to hear them all (most excited about the Mullard) but once I got to the Raytheon 6ak5 (which was suggested by the man himself) and put headphones on and just simply spoke into it, I could tell that it was something special. It’s dead quiet, like all the air in the room got sucked out, 3D effect will put a smile on your face (especially in the low end), and has the overall tone I was looking for.

Soyuz + Tree Audio Branch + Burl = vocal chain heaven

Just posting this for anyone else who is interested in smoothing out the upper mids on their Soyuz, and getting some other benefits along the way.

We want some vocal samples!