Many new high-end mics are clones of coveted vintage German or Austrian tube and FET designs, built using modern CNC tooling and manufacturing processes. The result is that they rarely sound identical to the originals they’re modeled after. Soyuz bucks this modern trend and takes a different approach with their proprietary designs, which benefit from the best of Russian, German, and Austrian microphone handcrafting traditions.
Soyuz’s factory — known as The Base — is located in the city of Tula, just two hours south of Moscow, and it is here that Soyuz engineers and technicians handcraft their microphones to deliver the coveted “classic” sonic qualities sought after by artists, producers, and engineers. But rather than being direct copies of specific vintage mics, each Soyuz model has its own distinct personality. As a group, Soyuz’s formidable microphone lineup gives you a new generation of “modern classics” you can use to forge your own signature sound.
Boasting a workforce of experienced machinists and a rich legacy of metalworking stretching back to the 18th century, Tula is a fitting location for The Base. Commissioned by the tsar, Russia’s first weapons factory was located here, and the city has remained a busy hub of machining and weapons production ever since. In 1927, Tula became home to Oktava, Russia’s oldest microphone factory, and Soyuz has been fortunate to be able to employ engineers, machinists, and assemblers who learned their trade there.
A tour of The Base is like stepping into a time machine and being transported back to a premier German or Austrian microphone factory in the 1960s, replete with white lab coats, manual lathes and drill presses, and analog bench test equipment. From capsule tuning to backplate machining to transformer winding, every process is accomplished in much the same way as it was six decades ago. This old-world craftsmanship results in microphones that deliver a sonic character that is not possible with modern computer-assisted manufacturing.
Just as a modern assembly-line violin cannot be expected to sound like a Stradivarius, a truly exceptional microphone requires the human touch of discrete handwired circuitry to elevate it beyond the realm of mere competence. That’s why Soyuz’s handcrafted production — including fabricating capsules, building power supplies, and winding transformers — is performed entirely in-house at The Base. The proof is in the playback, as your ears savor a richness of detail in your source material that was previously obscured. Soyuz microphones offer an unbeatable combination of performance and value at prices any studio can afford. Sweetwater is delighted to offer you these valuable tools to help you make better-sounding recordings.
