Life is not always easy for small, highly specialized companies manufacturing very high quality, boutique microphones and preamps. After finding early success with its very high quality studio handmade microphones, Soyuz struggled with the lack of industry events due to the pandemic and quickly pivoted to new imaginative strategies, including launching its extremely well designed Tula desktop microphones, a collaboration with two engineers working for the iconic Swedish brand Teenage Engineering, and featuring a unique noise reduction technology from Klevgrand, a Swedish software company. The other successful strategy was to launch limited series of its microphones with exclusive finishes and promote those online. It worked.
Soyuz is a company founded and based in Russia, which is a country rightfully renowned for its history in tube microphone manufacturing. But imagine having a successful global business dealing with musicians, recording engineers and creative people, and suddenly, just after the pandemic effects were starting to subside, the head of state in your own country decides to invade another independent country and initiative a medieval war in the 21st Century.
Naturally, Russia's citizens and businesses are now suffering the effects of its foolish, hallucinated dictator whims, and the nation's products are suffering an embargo from the rest of the civilized world. Fortunately, Soyuz also successfully moved its marketing and operations away from Putin's land and is now managed and trading from Los Angeles, in the US. How do they manage to send the microphones across to the West, we don't know.
What we know is that Soyuz was previously very successful with that smart strategy of making its boutique microphones even more desirable, by releasing very limited runs. Now, Soyuz is reviving its unique finishing process for another batch of 017 Series Brass Black microphones. This new production run will remain highly limited. There will only be x40 017 TUBE and x40 017 FET edition mics made during this period.
"Since the initial release of the 017 Series Brass Black mics, we have received countless emails, calls, and direct messages from folks asking if there would ever be another chance to get one of their own," says Marc Kuzio of Soyuz Microphones. "Our team has put hard work into all of the meticulous details of these mics and we're excited to say that the new batch of Brass Blacks is here."
The bluing process behind for the 017 Series Brass Black is a time-honored tradition in Tula, the hometown of Soyuz Microphones, just South of Moscow. This technique was originally used to ensure metal wouldn’t rust, but it also provides a visual aesthetic and custom finish that is simply second to none.
To give the Brass Black series its signature look, the master craftsmen at Soyuz subject the microphone's brass body to a passivation process. This electrochemical conversion occurs when oxidizing the metal, which forms a protective coat of magnetite on the body of the mic. The end result is a world-class mic that now features a one-of-a-kind hue and patina.
Aside from its stylish appearance, the 017 Series Brass Black is the same condenser microphone that artists like Radiohead, Coldplay, Shawn Mendes and Paramore, alongside producers and engineers like Nigel Godrich, Ryan Hewitt, Sylvia Massy and Butch Walker have used and loved. The 017 captures a classic sound reminiscent of vintage microphones, but with a distinct and modern character that stands out. Its hand-machined and tensioned gold sputtered capsules enable details to be captured with stunning depth and warmth, while imparting a smooth and silky character to the upper frequencies. As with all Soyuz products, the microphone is completely machined by hand and assembled in the brand’s production facility.
The 017 TUBE Brass Black and 017 FET Brass Black large diaphragm condenser microphones are now available at Soyuz retailers around the world.
www.soyuzmicrophones.com
