Clarity and Character in a Small-diaphragm FET Condenser
Sweetwater is excited to present you with another valuable tool in your quest to make better-sounding recordings. Handcrafted in Russia, the Soyuz 013 FET small-diaphragm condenser microphone combines audio precision and transformer color to deliver impressive musicality and versatility. Best-in-class transient response and the ability to capture precise detail make them perfect for drum overheads as well as acoustic guitar, piano, choral ensembles, strings, orchestras, or any musical setting where clarity and character are paramount.
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Well-rounded performer
The Soyuz 013 FET combines the best qualities of coveted small-diaphragm condenser designs with a unique, warm sonic signature all its own. The 013 FET’s silky top end and midrange accuracy — which is highly musical and never clinical — enable the mic to capture complex, transient-rich instruments and sounds that span the frequency spectrum and dynamic range. For louder sources, a 10dB pad is included that screws in between the capsule and electronics. So yes — the capsules are interchangeable, which makes the Soyuz 013 FET a super-versatile, well-rounded performer in the studio and onstage.
Custom S13 capsule
Collectively, the engineers at Soyuz have spent decades studying, servicing, and building classic microphones; this unique pool of knowledge, craft, and skill — combined with the golden ears of numerous musicians, producers, and audio engineers — has culminated in the creation of the custom S13 capsule used in the 013 Series. The S13 capsule, with its detailed top end, warm yet present midrange, and controlled low end, possesses the remarkable ability to capture source material with an accuracy that is always smooth, never strident.
Eastern engineering, Western design
The Russian word soyuz means “alliance,” and it signifies the partnership that is the driving force behind Soyuz Microphones. In 2013, American vocalist David Arthur Brown and Russian entrepreneur Pavel Bazdyrev teamed up and launched a company to build world-class microphones in Russia. Soyuz now has 20 full-time employees, and Soyuz microphones are being used by top engineers and producers, and have been adopted by artists such as Coldplay, Radiohead, the Lumineers, and Paramore.
What’s in your mic locker?
Among the most cherished assets of any world-class recording studio are its microphones. Take a peek in the mic locker, and you will almost certainly find vintage European tube and FET models made in the 1950s, ’60s, or ’70s. The “human-touch” manufacturing methods and discrete handwired circuitry of that era yielded microphones with sonic characteristics that are distinctly different from modern computer-assisted designs. Soyuz’s original tube and FET microphone designs — while not clones of vintage models — are produced in the old-school way, using manual lathes and drill presses and leveraging the former Soviet Union’s rich technological legacy as a foundation. So what’s in your mic locker? The answer will determine the sound of your recordings.
Soyuz 013 FET Small-diaphragm Condenser Microphone Features:
- Handcrafted in Russia
- Proprietary toroidal transformer
- 25mm gold-sputtered-diaphragm capsule designed in-house
- Polar pattern: cardioid (interchangeable capsule)
- Optional capsules: omni, hypercardioid
- Screw-in 10dB pad and mic clip included
- Comes in a handcrafted Russian hardwood box
- Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz
- Sensitivity: 20mV/Pa
- Impedance: 150 ohms
- SPL: 143dB
- Equivalent noise: 16dB (A-weighted)
- Power: 48-volt phantom
