Stop Listening In SOLO

forgive me, but don't you have a compressor over both the mikes? It sounds a bit squashed to me, and that is what I'm hearing mostly as a difference between both the mikes.But I agree that listening in solo is pointless. It has to be listened to in the context of the mix, and sometimes the mix behind the vocal needs to be adjusted (darker / brighter) to fit against the vocal. Rather than trying to find the right mike.

The Soyuz is a handmade capsule Made in Russia, the manley uses capsule of chinese origin just like Rode and Lauten Audio. Tbh, idk why certain mic are priced so high even though they are not made with the same amount of care.

Quit lying to yourself and people, Manley Ref C is an smazing mic. Not saying the soyuz is bad because it’s a great mic too, you were just hyped to get the new mic and we humans tend to get very excited when we get something new.

All things considered (settings, gain, plugins etc...) it was the Manley for me on every take, both solo as well as in the mix. That being said I am going to try this Soyuz. There is truth to what you say about having something so long that other options are not even considered, the other side of that coin though is "if it aint broke, don't fix it". I have the Manley Ref C and a VOXBOX and no matter who I'm recording female, male, rapper, singer,,,the Manley sits in the mix quickly with little to no processing and gives me a very solid starting point, from the video its impossible for me to say that the Manley is just better , as with all things its personal preference and too many factors to weigh in. Glad you found something that gives you inspiration, that's alway a good thing !

I really like my Mojave MA 201 FET

Song sounds like an old james Bond song from the 70's

Wouldn’t adding a boost to the mids in the Manley compensate a bit to get a closer effect sound as the Soyuz?

I am about to buy a mic. Should I get the Soyuz 017 FET or get the Lauten Atlantis. I am having a hard time deciding. Please advise.

Any experience with the 017 FET?
Comparison with the Manley?

quick PT comparison tip... create a group of the 2 tracks you want to solo back and forth, then select one of the clips on the Manley, hit play and shift+S while playing and PT will keep swapping the solo between the 2 tracks so you can audition the mics without having to stop or hit solo and mute and all that. Super helpful to audition different mics.

Great video. The Soyuz sounds like a person vs recording in every demo I've heard

The Manley is just better, in the mix as well. The headroom of the Manley equipment is just 🤯

Such a simple concept, but the best advice! Thanks for the awesome eye-opener!

This is also true of guitar tones and not just microphones on vocals. How it sits in the mix is more important than how it sounds by itself.

Are they that far apart in quality? or is the Manley quite up there. Barely noticeable difference.

I love my Manley but it’s like a love and hate. Lol I recorded artist mainly for reggaetón and it’s nice having the vocals on solo but once I hear the takes with instrumentals it sounds brittle etc and mostly end up using a lot of soothe and adding air 10k but taming it at the same time (stressful). Now that I see this video it made me realized I’m not the only one and wish I’ve seen it sooner. I purchase a NOS Telefunken tube to replace the stock tube and It sounds amazing but like I said only on solo. I still haven’t recorded an artist due to my work schedule but let’s see what happens lol If it doesn’t work for me, “which again I love the mic but since I had it so long I’ve noticed things and I’m like “ok, ok” I’m thinking of this Soyuz tube or chandler Redd mic. Great vids btw!!

I cannot tell the difference on Boss headphones

This is really cool and I think Soyuz is an amazing company, but my results were the opposite. I had the 017 and a pair of 013s. While I did think they were killer mics, I actually got a more desirable character from the Manley Ref mic. Truthfully, they are pretty dang close. I do feel like your results speak for themselves and whatever you are doing, it works for you! Also, I thought the 013s were really responsive and had such a big sound for an SDC, in practice they just didn't work for the string instruments I was often doing. However, it seems like they just killed as drum overheads and had interesting results on piano. I opted to go for Telefunken ELAM 260 set instead and I just got more of what I need for string ensembles. They did not have as fat of low end, but I found the 013 were a bit too boomy and harsh in the high end. The T Funk 260 was just sweet and pre mixed sounding. The woody details of string instruments came through without harshness. The detail and quickness of response was killer though. I feel like the 017 has a bit of that quickness. Because of that, certain frequencies might come dynamically quicker/easier while having gentler high end. This is the opposite of what the 013 does. IDK, I wish I could own all of them in the collection, but as you stated, we have to financially decide what makes the cut sometimes! Great video! Fun tests man.

NO

You're right that in your mix the manley didn't sit in, but you placed them in the same mix...... I add high cut on my manley as I hate the out of control 10k+ and it controls it but maintains the tubey air than any other mic i've tried yet. I'm tempted to buy a C800g though next and watch my dollar disappear instantly.

I find these videos very helpful. So thank you so much for that!
It helps rectify the fact that some of the classic mics might not be what you actually, in the end, would like to use. In this shootout I choose the Soyuz mic over the love-brand one, soloed or not. And I think I might have wanted a 57 over that Manely on her voice. It is so so brittle and shrill. Like most condenser mics.. And that is why the 017 is something truly special!
More of these viedeos! Do a comparison of the KSM32, Soyuz, Manely, AEA. :D

Great video! From my experience RMS matching works much better for comparing stuff. because one pesky peak could lower the whole tracks level.. also, why would you add the same amount of high frequency boost to the brighter mic? just some thoughts, not a rant! ;)

Wow. Kinda outclassed the manley. I did like it better even in solo. But yeah, listening in solo is crazy, in context, topend get smoothen alot, and mid/lowmid gets dissolved to a high degree in my experience

This video is pure gold, and he's recording through the Burl B80 Mothership so the A/D is as good as it gets. Totally natural analog sound.
You can see that badboy up on the high rack, to the left of the board.

Were you going through those BAE 1073's? Just wondering if the pre's were transparent or Transformered.

The Manley almost sounded a little farther away, like it has a less pronounced proximity maybe. Does it have a wider pickup pattern my chance? Try doing a test where you talk into the back of each mic. Which ever one has more rejection will usually have a more pronounced proximity effect.

SOYUZ ALL THE WAY

I’ve tried to find anything about the Soyuz I don’t like in a dozen videos; I got nothing. It’s stunning. Just picked one up.

Your channel is awesome. You keep that nonsense flowing as it's so informative.

Both sound great but the Soyuz really fits so much better in that production.

Hay you might find this interesting!! I checked out the video last night before bed on a small 32in tv.. The speaker is so small.. I was shocked i could tell the difference. The Soyuz sounds so thick. Just checked out the vid in the studio.. Man they both sound amazing!!! But I still like the Soyuz..

I wonder if they include essentially a micro-launcher equivalent in their mics with their "proprietary toroidal transformer imparts color depth" tagline. In other words, would adding a launcher to the manley or other similarly "clinical" mics achieve a similar result? Just in case you happen to have a launcher sitting there ...

The Manely almost sounds like it's cutting out..... I know it's not it's just not as consistent if that makes sense lol.

Aside from the obvious, why not keep both? Surely there will be a use for the Manley in future sessions, no?

I’ve been working on Mc matching cheap mics by flipping the phase of one on the same take and aiming for a -24db cancellation . Never will get a complete cancellation because of the high end wave lengths being so small that stacked mics are still too far apart on position from the live sound source

Ah, very cool video ! It's amazing how much I preferred the Soyuz and it's sweetness instantly to be honest :) The Manley is very sharp and bright, which can be great. But it definitely seems way less forgiving for most vocalists I think. Context is always the key !

I really think that what you showed is cool
that being said I think this has a lot to do with your general mix application, I find that I very often use my manley with a pulteq style eq on the 100hz with attenuation and the maag eq air band at 40khz and I cant ever find a problem (I also did try the soyuz) but in my application (alot of indie music) i ended up liking the manlry more:)
cheers