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SOUND ON SOUND MAGAZINE
BEES NEEZ - PRODUCER SERIES

PRODUCT REVIEW: BeesNeez Sally

Text: Hugh Robjohns -Published in SOS November 2011

When I first became involved in professional audio, microphones always came from large, well-established companies like Neumann, Sennheiser, Schoeps and AKG — not forgetting the non-European brands such as Shure, Electro-Voice, Audio-Technica, Sanken, and many others. In recent years, though, several dozen small ‘boutique’ microphone manufacturers have emerged, each claiming wondrous properties for their various models. While some are undoubtedly selling nondescript, re-badged microphones sourced in the Far East, many are making worthwhile upgrades in-house, or are developing interesting bespoke models from the ground up.

Bees Neez are a small Australian boutique microphone manufacturer run by Ben Sneesby and his family, and they produce their own range of microphones entirely from scratch — starting with drilling out the capsule backplate’s metalwork! Having met Ben at the AES trade show in San Francisco last year (and I’m still working the crick out of my neck from looking up to talk to him: you can see my brief video interview with him on the SOS TV site), I can certainly vouch for his knowledge of, and enthusiasm for his unique microphones.

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AUDIO TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE
BEES NEEZ - PRODUCER SERIES

PRODUCT REVIEW: BeesNeez Phelicity, Elly and Tribute 1

Text: Greg Walker - Issue 80 2011

BEESNEEZ PHELICITY, ELLY & TRIBUTE T1 Three different mics with three different sounds.

I first came across the Australian mic manufacturer BeesNeez when I was asked to review the Arabella, Jade and James ‘Studio Series’ tube models back in Issue 67. I immediately fell for their detailed, vibey sound and the Arabella ended up staying on in the studio permanently. This has become my no brainer, go-to mic for mono drum overhead and it never fails to deliver – I put it up somewhere over the kit, hit record and enjoy. It also handles vocals, guitar amps and other duties very nicely.
So I was pleased when three new additions to the BeesNeez catalogue arrive at my doorstep for review: the Phelicity and Elly are from the upgraded Producer Series while the T1 is the first offering in the new Tribute Series. All three mics feature a weighty brass and bronze capsule construction, chrome-plated brass bases and a very heavy-duty build quality. They’re big, heavy and great looking.
The Phelicity is a multi-pattern long body valve microphone that derives much of its design inspiration from the classic AKG C12. The short-body Elly is more of a hybrid, using the same K7 capsule as the T1 model, but with a fixed pattern cardioid transformer-balanced FET design that dispenses with any external power supply and is optimised for vocal work. The T1 is the biggest microphone of the three, being reminiscent of the famous long-body Neumann U47, albeit with a nine-position polar-pattern selector on the power supply. All these BeesNeez mics are made near Kyogle, in northern NSW, right down to the casings, capsules and power supplies.

PHELICITY

The Phelicity has a commanding presence in the studio with its long barrel and large retro-styled BeesNeez badge. The textured silver body and gleaming chrome base and cage lend it a timeless look, and when you put it up on a session people are suitably impressed. It’s worth emphasising that this mic is a very heavy piece of kit due to the extensive use of brass in the construction. My standard K&M stands can just about support the Phelicity’s weight but I’ve generally used one of my old-school stands with a more weighty steel base to stabilise it when extending a boom out to any real distance. Fortunately the supplied 51mm suspension mount is well and truly up to the job and is a good match visually for the mic. My only gripe here is that the smallish clips that secure the mic in place tend to want to hide under the elastic, making adjustments somewhat fiddly. The Phelicity has a dual-backplate edge-terminated K12 capsule and utilises a NOS (new old stock) Mullard RAF tube and Cinemag 2461 NiCo transformer. There’s a selection of nine polar patterns on the external power supply, ranging from figure-eight through to omni and a three-metre Gotham seven-pin cable connects it to the mic. I’d advise prospective buyers to shell out the extra $50 for the six-metre length cable, otherwise you’ll tend to find yourself moving the power supply around a lot. Another cool feature of all three mics is the internal damping in the capsule, which means handling noise and environmental transference via mic stands etc are noticeably reduced compared to most other large diaphragm condensers. Indeed, I rarely used a pop-screen for vocals with any of these mics, a pleasant surprise given their vintage pedigree and diaphragm size.

PHELICITY WITH ELECTRICITY

The first thing I did with the Phelicity after it arrived was plug it into a Neve preamp, stick it in front of a Fender guitar amp and start tracking some stacked guitar parts. My initial reaction was that it sounded very nice indeed, with the valve flavour of the microphone really augmenting what was best about the amp’s low and midrange frequencies, while smoothing out the highs in a pleasing ‘valvey’ kind of way. Next I tried it as a drum overhead (in the same role where my Arabella repeatedly excels), but here I wasn’t so convinced as it tended to bring a rather thin tone out of the kit and room, even when I switched from omni to a more directional cardioid pattern. Different story on percussion though, where the Phelicity worked wonders on tambourines, shakers and pretty much everything else I could bang, shake or rattle near it. In this application the tops were full of detail but not hard sounding the way some condensers can be. There’s a definite vintage quality to these sounds that makes you want to turn them up in the mix – always a good sign! The Phelicity gets a big tick on percussion.
On vocals the mic has a definite upper midrange bite to it, which can be either good or bad depending on the vocalist and the delivery. I enjoyed it on my voice, especially on quieter material where the mic’s presence and detail allowed it to punch through the mix effortlessly. I also liked singing into it set to the full omni position; not sure why but it just seemed to suit my voice that way. I put it up on a female vocalist for a session but found the mic too hard sounding on her louder songs (I eventually chose a very dark ribbon mic for this task). Having said that, her voice sounded superb through the Phelicity on the quieter material.
I also used the Phelicity a lot as a room mic for some live duo recordings in a small hall, and as a piano room mic, and was pleased with the realism of the results. On violins and cello it was also very impressive, giving depth and clarity without undue emphasis on the bow and rosin artefacts. The Phelicity has plenty of character – a trait I’ve always liked about the BeesNeez sound. My only question with the Phelicity is how the upper midrange presence behaves on ‘harder’ voices and whether this emphasis might make the mic less of an all-rounder in some applications.

ELLY

The short bodied Elly is only a bit less impressive looking than the Phelicity, and being a fixed cardioid design is very simple to set up. The mic features a transformer-balanced FET circuit, the new BeesNeez K7 capsule, and a Cinemag 24110 transformer. Again you need to take some care setting up the Elly with a decent stand, as it’s a hefty customer (despite being utterly dwarfed by the giant T1). My first impressions of it were similar in fact to the Phelicity; great on guitar cabs through both Neve and API mic preamps. It delivered a warm character-filled version of what I was hearing in the room, although perhaps not quite as flattering as the Phelicity. On my voice, however, it seemed a better fit, offering plenty of detail in the midrange and a better tonal balance
overall. I also used it on another male voice for backing vocals. Here again it worked a treat and sat very naturally in the mix with no treatment whatsoever.
The real surprise came when I experimented one afternoon and placed it about six inches above the snare as part of a three-mic drum setup. Going through an API preamp the snare sound absolutely knocked me for six; it had so much beef, snap and realism I kept checking to see if I was actually hearing things right. Being a condenser microphone there was a lot of bleed from the kick, hats and toms of course, but they all sounded fantastic too, with tons of depth and weight to them. As a consequence I kept going back to this setup whenever I recorded drums, and it was just a matter of filling out the toms and cymbals with a carefully placed overhead and a dynamic mic inside the kick drum. The Elly also rocked as a drum overhead more in the vein of the Arabella and was very impressive in front of a kick drum too. As a room mic the Elly did a very nice job on a variety of sources, although unfortunately you can’t switch it to omni, which limits its room applications somewhat.
Above the open top of an upright piano the Elly leant weight and presence to the sound without getting harsh, and once again the sonic picture felt quite complete. Overall I’d say the Elly is a real bargain and I’m very impressed by the build quality and sonic performance of this mic. I’ve got a feeling BeesNeez has a real winner on its hands with this more affordable member of the Producer Series and that Ellys will be spreading through the audio community ‘like ribbon mics’ in no time.

TRIBUTE T1

And now to the elephant in the room. The T1 is a ginormous beast of a mic, looks great and is an absolute pleasure to address either as a singer or instrumentalist – and well it should with a price tag well in excess of four grand. On the flipside of this argument, it’s still only roughly half the price of a used U47 in today’s vintage marketplace, and then of course you’ve still got those rather large questions of maintenance, repair and tube sourcing hanging over your head.
The T1 features a dual-lapped K7 capsule, an oversized NiCo 2461 transformer and a NOS EF Series steel tube from the ’40s. Here, for the first time, the BeesNeez badge doesn’t look too big and the impression you’re left with is that the Germans may have invented the original U47 not so much as a sound capture device as an offensive weapon. I haven’t sung into a real U47 for about five years so I won’t try to compare the T1 sound to this much-revered classic, although you can find a bit of discussion online if you search for it. Vintage Neumann guru Klaus Heyne speaks very favourably of the new BeesNeez K7 capsule in comparison to other recent Neumann K47 capsule reproductions, so you can take it as given that BeesNeez have got a lot of things right in trying to reproduce arguably the most well-regarded microphone in history.
The T1 ‘Tribute’ arrived a little after the other mics so I already had my ears attuned to their sonic qualities, and when I plugged the T1 in I hoped to be able to hear another step up in performance from the Producer Series models. I recorded an entire song straight off the bat using only the T1 set to cardioid on each source, via a UA 2108 solid-state mic preamp: acoustic guitar, drums (with a dynamic in the kick drum for fairness’ sake and the T1 hovering just above and in front of the kit), vocals, piano, bass amp and electric guitar. Then I sat back and listened… and was very impressed by what I heard. Basically the track sat together amazingly well given there was no EQ or compression to be seen anywhere. The track had tremendous tonal balance, warmth and valve mojo but with excellent presence and detail to the point where it sounded like it had already hit some tasty outboard processing. It wasn’t overly bright but zesty in the upper mids and highs, clearly marking it out as a superior microphone. The Tribute struck me as a real rock ’n’ roll microphone geared towards delivering big, bold sounds, as well as more than a hint of harmonic distortion. I wouldn’t recommend it for classical recordings or applications where a pristine sound image is required, but as a pop/rock microphone it’s as good as anything I’ve used since I last bumped into a real U47. While perhaps lacking a U47’s huge bottom end, I didn’t really miss this in my time with the T1 and there was no mud or mush to deal with in any of the subsequent applications I used it in.

DIAL UP A SMILE

I recorded quite a few vocalists performing different kinds of material with the T1 and every time it felt like the right mic, and vocals sat in the track effortlessly. As a drum overhead it immediately evoked the kind of retro cool that you wish you could coax out of your cheaper condensers and it certainly ate my U87 for dinner in this application. Guitar cabs sounded great too, the T1 making them sing out with smooth clarity up top and plenty of oomph down below, although for my preferred guitar amp sound the Phelicity edged it out with its extra bit of zing. I did some more vocal tests with the other two BeesNeez mics, singing into each one in turn – just to confirm my feelings about them – and sure enough the Tribute beat them hands down as a vocal mic. It’s not that the Phelicity and Elly sounded bad; the T1 simply took things to another level of sonic performance.
On classical guitar and cello the Tribute 1 delivered nice articulation of the lower frequencies while smoothing out the highs and again providing a result that already felt very much like a finished product. The key to all these sounds for me was the even tonal balance which, time after time, whether six inches or four meters away, gave me the sound I was looking for straight off the bat. I haven’t been as impressed by a microphone since I reviewed the AEA A440 ribbon mic and there’s only a select group of mics out there that can give you these kinds of excellent results in this many applications. It’s a wonderful thing to have access to such amazing reproductions of classic microphones without the headaches of the vintage gear merry-go-round, albeit at a price most of us mere mortals might still balk at. Nevertheless, if you’re ready to take the plunge I think you’ll find the T1 a serious contender in the U47 clone wars, and one that’s more than capable of putting a smile on the dial of even the most jaded recording engineer or lighting up the most jet-lagged of singers.

WEAK AT THE NEEZ

A pretty awesome trio of microphones then. All three do nothing to dispel my view that BeesNeez are seriously cooking with gas up in Kyogle. I love the new improved look and feel of the Producer Series and the fact that they’re now made lock, stock and barrel in Australia. The Phelicity may not be such an all-rounder but it’s a great vocal and guitar cab mic on the right source. The Elly is very good value and rules on snare, and the T1 can basically run your studio for you while you pop off down the beach. Seriously though, the presence of any of these microphones in your studio will make it a better place to work in, and if you can stump up for the T1 in particular you’ll find that recording just got a whole lot easier and more fun. For those of us in the real world meanwhile, the Elly looks to be a great all-rounder at a great price that can give the international competition a real run for its money.

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AUDIO PRO INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
BEES NEEZ - JADE PRODUCER SERIES

PRODUCT REVIEW: BeesNeez Jade condenser mic

Text: WES MAEBE - FEB 28 2011

Wes Maebe puts the BeesNeez Jade condenser mic to the test at RAK Studios with Elliott Randall...

A few days before I set off for San Francisco, I was asked by our editor if I wanted to review an Australian large diaphragm tube condenser microphone. Being very snobby about mics, as I’m sure most of us are, I thought: “This review could go either way”. But you readers have a right to know, so I grabbed the opportunity and accepted. In the meantime I looked them up and saw amazing mic bodies that reminded me of old classics – and the logo, which has a cool 60s Chevy vibe got me excited. I really wanted to hear these guys. On arrival at the 129th AES, I was pleasantly surprised to see that fine logo on display, so I headed over to the stand and met the team behind this wonderful microphone brand.

Worker Bees

It’s always nice to meet the faces behind a product you use, but meeting the Sneesbys at the AES was like being invited into their home. Ben and Veronica are lovely people and gladly told me all about how the mics are made in-house, explaining the reasoning and decisions behind their development. Once I’d spoken to them, got a feel for the company philosophy, all I wanted to do is take one of these puppies home and try it out. And that’s exactly what I did at the end of the show. Jade, from the Producer series, went into my suitcase and came home with me, ready for some serious action.

Lead by example

Personally, I think the market has been flooded by microphone manufacturers and even though I wanted to love this mic, I still couldn’t help but think: “Here we go, another mic. It won’t beat any of your favourites.” How wrong I was. I really wanted to make the Jade work and see how it performed in different conditions. The first piece of action was in Studio Four at RAK on a writing session. We used the Jade on vocals and glockenspiel. It impressed the client immediately and I was struck by its full and smooth character. I subsequently used it on double bass and the lush backing vocals of singer Raie at drummer Ralph Salmins’ private studio, where it reminded me strongly of the classic Neumann U47 with a nice bottom end and a lovely sparkle that isn’t harsh. Next I wanted to hear how it tackled an acoustic guitar. Elliott Randall was keen to try it out on his 70s Martin D-28, so I rigged it up and recorded a few takes with different polar patterns. Once we decided on the take, we did some improvisation overdubs, mixed the track and it’s now ready for mastering. In Elliott’s words: “Now, that’s how it’s supposed to sound.” What I have found every time with this mic is that I tend to refrain from eq’ing or even compressing. What goes in, comes out and the elements you record with it almost mix themselves.

A Taste of Honey

I haven’t had a chance to test the Jade on anything really heavy yet, but so far everything I’ve thrown at it has come out as sweet as I could have hoped for. It’s been great to come across a product that’s been hand-crafted in the old-fashioned way and has lived up to all of its promise. It even comes in a funky yellow peli case that looks like it might hold a life raft. It doesn’t, of course, it holds this fine mic, its hand-built power supply (switchable between 230 and 115 Volts), suspension mount and cable. At first glance the seven-pin cable may appear a bit short, but this is another example of thethought and care that’s gone into the design. Keeping the cable run short between PSU and mic has improved fidelity since the early days of recording. The Jade is surprisingly affordable and it’s even more surprising that I couldn’t find a UK distributor mentioned anywhere on the BeezNeez website. The site is also refreshingly low on frequency charts and other geeky detail, which I love, because you should listen to a mic, not judge it only on its technical spec. I hope someone can help make this excellent mic – and others in the range – more widely available.

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AUDIO TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE
BEES NEEZ - STUDIO SERIES

The nametags might look a little homespun but the sound quality of these Australian mics more than compensates.

Text: Greg Walker

WalkerI hadn’t heard of Bees Neez before I received three tasty looking valve mics in the mail for review. To my surprise, a quick browse online revealed they were manufactured by hand in Australia amongst the green hills of Kyogle, in northern New South Wales by Ben Sneesby – a man who’s clearly passionate about his microphones.

Like so many boutique mics on the market, Bees Neez microphones originally came about as an extension of Ben’s mic repair and maintenance business, and the range now includes the ‘Producer Series’ of entirely hand-made, high-end, no compromise big-budget mics and the more affordable ‘Studio Series’ reviewed here.

BURNT IN
All Bees Neez mic capsules are made in-house and fitted with ‘burnt in’ (as opposed to burnt out) New Old Stock European and American tubes. The philosophy here is to take elements from some legendary designs (most notably the Neumann K47 capsule), experiment with different configurations of high quality components and throw a few new design elements into the mix for good measure. Ben makes it clear that these microphones are not clones per sé, but new variations on some classic themes. The studio series mics (with their unusually personable names) ship with heavy-duty power supplies, generous seven-pin microphone cables and rugged suspension mounts.

The Bees Neez name is simply engraved on a steel plate screwed to the front of each mic, adding a slightly homespun touch to their otherwise professional looks. The cursive-style branding almost makes the mic look like you won one at an under 12s footy presentation!
An impressive nine polar patterns are selectable from the power supply giving a wide range of sonic options, and the mics travel in rock solid aluminium flight cases. Bees Neez also offers a customised capsule tuning service for an extra fee, allowing customers to specify the kind of tonality they’re seeking.

All three Bees Neez mics reviewed here have a robust look about them, with good (not great) build quality allied with classic brushed silver (James) and powder-coated cream (Jade and Arabella) finishes. Being large diaphragm mics with conspicuous silver grilles, they have a strong visual presence and pretty much beg to be sung and played into – so let’s look at each mic in a little more detail and see how they performed in the studio.

JAMES, COME HITHER
At 21cm long and 5cm in diameter, the James is a large, long bodied microphone that bears some physical resemblance to the old Telefunken ELAM 251 shape, though that’s where the similarities end. Behind the grille is a 34mm single backplate Bees Neez K47b capsule similar to the Neumann K47 capsule. The main differences are that the diaphragm is single-lapped and utilises a spacer, and also that the hole size, configuration and depth are different – design aspects that the Bees Neez website credits as determining the mic’s forward-sounding midrange. The tube is European NOS and can be seen glowing gently through a transparent slit window on the front of the mic. The point-to-point wired circuit includes paper in oil and film capacitors and a Cinemag output transformer. Interestingly, the James features an ‘SRO’ (Sibilance Roll-Off) switch that gently filters off higher frequencies starting at around 3K as well as a more standard –10dB pad. In recording sessions I found the James to be an eminently usable and versatile mic. I first tried it on acoustic guitar overdubs where it produced a nice clear tone from my battered old Tama (yes it’s a Tama guitar!). Afterwards I put it through its paces on violins, percussion, vocals, mandolins and sundry other instruments during further extended overdub sessions. On vocals I found its sound to be warm and slightly saturated without excessive ‘tubbiness’ but capable of cutting through nicely without any trouble at all.

Overall I was impressed by the way the James sounds worked in the mix, having a nice tonal balance and none of the glassy harshness in the upper frequencies that some valve mics exhibit. The SRO feature worked well enough – in a subtle way – but I didn’t find the mic to be at all ‘essy’ in the first place, so this feature didn’t get used much. The thing I particularly enjoyed about the James was its ‘valveness’, that is to say, it has a definite valve thickness and tonality without being too coloured. The mic also boasts good signal-to-noise performance and is versatile enough to be a real workhorse in the studio.

JADE
The Jade is a larger barrelled microphone than the James (18cm long and 6cm in diameter), with a cream powder coating complementing the expansive silver grille. The Jade uses a hand-made replica of the Neumann K47 capsule (again, differing slightly in that it’s single-lapped) paired with a military-spec’d NOS American Raytheon vacuum tube and Cinemag output transformer. A more stripped back approach here means the Jade has no attenuation or roll-off options – what you hear is what you get.

Bees Neez claims the Jade has a harmonically rich tone and a very linear frequency response, though no measurement charts have been published. In any case the Jade also performed well in the various recording duties I put it through, with a slightly more coloured, thick sound than the James, which leant itself to big upfront vocals and meaty guitar and drum sounds. The Jade does what a good valve mic should do, which is to slightly magnify and enrich the source to produce a very musical result that rides sweetly in the mix. I’m not a fan of valve microphones that are too clinical and clean (seems to miss the point a bit) so I enjoyed the Jade’s bolder colouration. It gave a warm density to stacked violins and backing vocals and also produced some nice detailed drum room sounds which were eminently useable, but the Jade really stood out on lead vocals, being thick and creamy while still retaining a nice clarity. Perhaps not so much of an all-round performer but fantastic on the big stuff with that extra bit of tube attitude – very tasty!

ARABELLA DONNA
Last but not least in the Studio Series is the more expensive Arabella. It uses an identical body to the James and also features a similar sibilance reduction filter (this time rolling off above 6kHz) and a –10dB pad, but this model sports a powder-coated finish which helps distinguish the two mics. Internally, the Arabella steps things up with a K47c capsule (using the traditional and more time-consuming hand manufactured dual-milled diaphragm), a Telefunken EF12 tube and a larger Cinemag 2461NICO transformer. To sweeten the deal, Bees Neez also offers a lifetime warranty on this microphone and a two-year warranty on the tube.

In use, the Arabella was the most refined sounding of the three mics, with a sweet top end and plenty of mid-range grunt to back it up. Once again the tonal balance of this microphone was very pleasing to the ear but it seemed to have a degree more silk to go with the gusto of the other two models. Room-miked drum sounds came out clear and detailed, percussion sounds were crisp and sweet and guitar amps fat and gutsy.

Vocals and violins in particular sounded really rich and smooth through the Arabella. At times it sounded as though the signal had passed through some gentle high-quality compression (a beneficial by-product of the valve and big transformer combination), something that most users would find pretty welcome during long hours of tracking I’d imagine. As with the other models in this series, the Arabella seems to be able to cope with a wide range of recording duties and I see no reason why this mic couldn’t be employed as an all-round studio workhorse with excellent results. To my ears its sound is slightly less ‘valvey’ than the other two but the Arabella’s refined top end makes a very powerful argument in its favour and perhaps explains the difference in price.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Overall then the Bees Neez studio series microphones impressed me a great deal. They’re relatively affordable, aren’t afraid to wear their valve hearts on their utilitarian steel sleeves, and cover a lot of the main recording bases with ease. The somewhat quirky ‘Sibilance Roll-Off’ feature seems somewhat unnecessary but would get a work-out now and again no doubt, though some might prefer the more standard bass roll-off, but this is a minor quibble. More to the point, having an impressive nine polar patterns to work with is very handy indeed (I generally liked it dialled in somewhere between cardioid and hypercardioid but also enjoyed the near-omni position for letting a bit of extra room creep in), and the –10dB pad is always useful.

Having had the pleasure of recording with the Bees Neez valve microphones over the last month or so, I’ve got to say it’s great to see a small Australian company getting into the hand-built boutique microphone game and doing it with such aplomb. When you consider the quality on offer here and the relatively modest pricing from a local company (not to mention the buzz that’s starting to gather momentum on overseas gear forums around these mics) it’s hard to imagine Bees Neez being a secret for much longer.

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MICHAEL STAVROU

"You'll love the sound of beesneez microphones the moment you hear them but when you compare them to other mics is when you really appreciate their unique and valuable qualities. I always look to capture more of the quality in a sound that is usually lost downstream in the digital record making process. One of those qualities, in particular with lead vocals, is that fleshy tactile quality that you experience when standing next to a vocalist. Most microphones can sound very thin or metallic once recorded. Sally manages to capture that fleshy human quality without sacrificing top end. One interesting test I did was to stand a few inches away from the mics and create a continuously variable rainbow of tones by smoothly going from an ooo to an ahh and then back to an ooohh while performing large changes in facial shapes. Try this on a variety of microphones and you'll find that Sally shows more colours in the rainbow.

Ben, Thanks again for a superb creation. Stav

PETER NEIL

Hi Ben,
You very kindly sorted me out with a Para1 awhile ago. (Bless, you even shipped it to my Mum's) It's done double duties at my studio and in the main room at Universal in London for a few months now. Really favorable reaction so you should be pleased.

Tracks guitars really well and the texture control is definitely an added dimension for tuning mic/pre combinations for finding sweet spots on big guitar rigs. Nice as a bass DI in the control room because of it's tunability, great start before breaking out serious EQ. It predominantly gets used as warm modern, don't know why, that seems to be where it ends up with different engineers. Possibly because of stacking tracks. Just thought you'd like to know.

All the best with the mics by the way. I'll keep my ear to the ground (so to speak). Thanks a bunch for the mic pre. In a wall full of the best of the best (not my wall unfortunately) it has it's own useful musical voice and you should be pretty chuffed.