Soyuz 1973 LDC

Others have said the same, and I believe it's true.  That's why the noise spec seems odd to me.

1973-inspiration doesn’t really make me think quiet. Even today’s 87s (or the brand new VIP-60 I just got) don’t have that great of noise specs., when thinking of even since the 103 was released.

Darth Fader vibes.

I figured they were shaving off the cost by going transformerless. I'm not usually a huge fan of transformerless mics for the style I'm into, but this one sounds really good in the demos. Looking forward to hearing more.

Not something that would seem to be suited for any drum application.

What do we know about drum recording, gang? There's no money below 29 hz, 315-350 is the mud to discard, and 2K is the sound of paper.

So, there's that.

Just wanted to chime in on this mic since I've had it for about a week. It sounds really great. Its rather present sounding in the upper mids, but in a really controlled way that doesn't result in a lot of vocal sibilance. I wouldn't say this mic is flat sounding; it has a beautiful sonic imprint that's very musical and useful. I compared it to a u87 on acoustic guitar; it had a beautiful clarity but maybe more pick attack than I'd want, whereas the u87 sounded very relaxed by comparison. There's a presence and urgency to the 1973, that I'd be concerned with on a cheaper capsule, but the Soyuz has yet to sound harsh or cheap. It sounds beautifully sculpted to me in a way that it either sounds finished with little to no processing, or its the wrong mic for the source.

Great post anders. Welcome to the forum!

I’ll post one more, you’ll have to wait for the full video now…

To me, the 73 has a character. The Bomblet sounds similar and fine, but doesn't strike me as having much character. I had a Bomblet for a week back when I was trying out the wonderful 0-17 and the 0-11's. Having those mics around, the Bomblet seemed dull in comparison. The 73 certainly has a sound. It's obviously warm in a similar way a ribbon mic is warm.

I'd love to have one for a week to see if it found a spot as a main mic for something. Maybe acoustic or electric guitar? My first choice on acoustics is a Neumann KM-84, and I hope to get one before the end of the year, but the 73 could be interesting.

No joke, the 1973 is just kicking ass on electric guitar. I keep wanting to scream "this is the best electric guitar mic I've tried", but don't want to be that guy... After a week of feeling that way, I saw a Pete Thorne video pop up where he did a massive electric mic shootout at sweetwater. At the end of that, he bought and walked out of there with a 1973. That's telling, as he's mostly a guitar guy and has used everything under the sun (I've also never heard a bad tone from the guy on his videos I've watched).


I was lazy for years and just did the 57 thing. Got stuck on the SM7 for a while, then started multi mic'ing for a few years. Got sick of little phase issues that seemed inevitable (always a tradeoff). I'm a huge ribbon mic fan, but only do that on rare occasions where I back one way off and get some room tone (natural can sound amazing). Last 5 years or so I've moved to just using condenser mic's on electrics, unless the tones get super fuzz and heavy (back to a 57 lol). Was really happy moving back and forth between my Vanguard V4 and Chandler TG depending on the tone. This 1973 is like the best of all worlds. There's "just" enough low end information for things to sound punchy but not boomy and unmanageable. The focus it brings reminds me a lot of more modern ribbon mics, with a nice rise in the higher frequencies without being too harsh. I'm telling you, there's something special here. But still early on in the relationship here.