SU 011 SMALL DIAPHRAGM CONDENSER
The SU 011 is a chip off the old block in many ways. Again the build quality is exemplary and I love the cream and brass look; in particular the ‘prison bar’ brass grille at the head of the cardioid capsule. The cherrywood case has extra storage spaces for alternative capsules (hypercardioid and omni as well as a -10dB attenuator are planned). This pencil condenser comes with a basic clampstyle mic clip in cream enamel and its PSU is more or less identical to its larger brother’s. The SU 011 uses a sub-miniature 6S6B tube made in 1986 that was sourced from ‘dead stock’ courtesy of the former Soviet Union. It has slightly better noise specs than the SU 017 and operates at 120Ω with the same 120dB SPL handling. As far as pencil condensers go it is quite small at 26 x 123mm and weighs only 130g, but it looks the business on a mic stand. The included measurement sheet shows a gentle roll-off below 150Hz and peaks at 4kHz and 13 kHz, before rolling off above 16kHz. PENCIL IT IN
I initially used it on a lovely Martin small body acoustic guitar and the results were sensational, giving me a great balance of body and airy clarity. By virtue of the mic’s proximity effect I was able to dial in the amount of bass required, moving the SU
011 in and out before settling at a distance of about three feet. This sound became the bedrock of an entire album and I was stoked with the result. At one stage during a session I swapped it for my trusty old AKG 451 just to see what the difference would be. The 451 sounded more than adequate but I immediately missed the extra sweetness in the top end and the subtle valve colouration I was getting from the Soyuz. Needless to say I quickly swapped back. The SU 011 worked beautifully on a number of acoustic instruments and I got great tones on six and 12-string guitars, cello as well as electric guitar and percussion. My last test of the SU 011 was on snare drum about four inches above the edge of the rim and the Soyuz was fantastic, delivering plenty of wallop and again that sweetly detailed top end. RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Overall I was very impressed by the Soyuz microphones. They have the tonal characteristics I look for in quality tube microphones; they’re warm but not dull, detailed without ever getting harsh, but above all, super musical. They look great and are versatile while doing the core jobs such as vocals and guitars with real finesse. There are a few minor gripes such as the lack of flight cases and bass roll-off or attenuation controls that would further increase their utility, but all in all the Soyuz mics are some of the highest quality and
best sounding microphones I have come across in a long time. Unfortunately the effect of the current exchange rate is going to push them well above the budget of many prospective buyers but for those who pull the trigger, the Soyuz sound will provide a lot of joy for a long time to come.
I never felt the need to use a pop shield or place a de-esser on any of the vocals I recorded using this mic
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