Beesneez Oliver Tube Condenser Microphone

The BeesNeez Oliver Tube Condenser Microphone, with the BeesNeez K7 [K47] capsule, has been designed to capture sources in a realistic manner. Nothing hyped just true to life reproduction. The Oliver captures subtle nuances that are left behind by many other modern microphones. How have we managed this? We have designed the capsule in the Oliver to have cochlear linearity^TM, which is the ability to capture audio utilising a similar frequency response to the human ear. When you add to this the incredible sensitivity of the capacitive capsule, the end result is source capture that needs little to no processing after the fact. Sources captured with the Oliver will sit well in any mix at any level. If you find yourself as an engineer or musician struggling to define your mixes, then the Oliver may be the glue that will bind them together.

Circuit Design

The Oliver Condenser Microphone features our very own designed E-Core single-spool transformer. The E-Core transformer in this microphone offers us the advantage of a low-leakage transformer and a small physical size. We have also found during our testing phase that E-Core transformers such as this one offer a lower susceptibility to core magnetization. When a core becomes magnetized, the lamination permeability is reduced. Many phantom-powered microphones that do not have carefully chosen transformers over the years become magnetized and the functionality of the transformer is drastically reduced.

The capsule in the Oliver is the BeesNeez K7 capsule, which is a perfect replica of the K47. This is a single backplate capsule made famous by Georg Neumann & Co. The difficulties in reproducing a capsule like this is that it has both blind and through holes. The correlation between these holes controls the pattern via absolute distance and is quite mathematically complex due to having only a single backplate. Other capsules with two backplates are much easier for pattern control in the design phase as the standing wave end point is a solid object [the opposing backplate] rather than a moving diaphragm. The diaphragm is 6 micron DuPont mylar that we personally frame, sputter, tune, and fix to the backplate, which we also wholly manufacture.

The tube in the Oliver is a JAN 5784WB Raytheon.

Sonic Characteristics

The BeesNeez Oliver is a no-nonsense multi-pattern tube microphone that immediately becomes recognizable with its peers of yesteryear, such as the Neumann U47 and the Gefell UM57. The Oliver has a well-distinguished warm and rich sound, gentle highs, boosted mids, and a linear bottom end. It will sit very well in a mix and will do most of the post-production work for you.

Build Quality

The Oliver body tube is made from a single piece of cold-formed 380 grade brass tube. We love using the 380 grade brass tube in this particular microphone because the high copper content in the 380 tube provides excellent rejection and shielding. After machining the body, it is sent to a local powder coater for completion. The base, like the body tube, is made from 380 grade brass. However, this time it’s a solid brass round that we cut and form in our very own 8-axis CNC turning center. The head grille is integrated in the body tube, by cutting windows into the body tube.

What’s Included:

▶  Oliver Condenser Microphone
▶  Suspension Shock Mount
▶  BeesNeez Studio Series Power Supply
▶  7 Pin Microphone Cable (6m)

Specifications

Capsule Type BeesNeez K7 Microphone Capsule [K47]
Frequency Range / Sensitivity Omnidirectional (11mV/Pa: 20 – 17,000Hz)
Cardioid (20 mV/Pa: 20 – 17,000Hz)
Bi-directional (14mV/Pa: 20-17,000Hz)
Polar Pattern 9 – Switchable from omni- to bi- directional
Impedance 200 ohms
SPL Max SPL: 120 dB
Tube Type JAN 5784WB Raytheon
Power Requirements 120V/240V