Recording - October 2016 - 38

...where we bring you follow-up articles
with application hints and upgrade news
about gear already reviewed in Recording

&

Soundelux U195 Condenser Microphone
by Paul Vnuk Jr.

Back in the February 2011 issue of Recording,
we took a look at the Bock 195 large-diaphragm
condenser microphone. This was a new Bock
Audio branding of the original Soundelux U195,
which was designed by audio engineer and microphone designer David Bock. Now, five years later,
David has launched a new company, Soundelux
USA, and I have the pleasure of reintroducing
readers to both Soundelux and the U195. (For further details concerning the U195-195-U195 evolution, see the sidebar on page 40.)
Hello again
The U195 is a large-diaphragm cardioid pattern FET (solid state) microphone. It is an early
example of the hybrid/globally-sourced trend.
The capsule is made overseas to David Bock's
specs, while the rest of the components are handassembled at Bock Audio/Soundelux USA HQ in
Southern California. Designwise it was originally
David's take on a Neumann U87 circuit, with
David making up for a few of what he felt were
deficiencies in the original design, such as the filter circuit.
Visually its 2.04" x 7.7" body is simple and
classy with a black matte finish on a brass body
with a large satin-finish nickel head basket. It is
emblazoned on the front with the Soundelux USA
logo and model number etched in white. Note
that the Soundelux logo has been redesigned
and is a blending of both the original Soundelux
logo and the newer Bock badge. I point this out
because both companies, Soundelux and Bock
Audio, will now coexist side-by-side with different models and price points.
On the inside
The capsule is a 1" K67-style center-terminated design
which uses a dual diaphragm, although the rear diaphragm
is electronically inactive. It uses a low noise Class-A FET circuit married to a large, heavy custom-wound 8.5:1 ratio
Cinemag transformer.
Some specs: frequency range of 10 Hz to 20 kHz, sensitivity 14 mV/Pa, equivalent noise 23 dB unweighted / 12 dB Aweighted. Signal-to-noise Ratio 71 dB unweighted / 82 dB Aweighted, maximum SPL handling of 125 dB @ 0.5% THD,
50 Ω impedance, and 115 dB dynamic range.
Normal and Fat
Around back of the mic are a trio of recessed function
switches, for which you will need a small screw driver or similar tool. They are: Pad (10 dB), Mode (Fat / Norm) and Low
Cut (10 dB at 20 Hz).
The Fat / Norm switch is the U195's secret sauce. When
set to Norm(al), the mic is essentially flat from 100 Hz to 1
kHz with a small peak at 5 kHz and larger 5-6 dB boost
around 10 kHz. In this mode it exhibits a modern FET sound
with a nice open high end lift.
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RECORDING OCTOBER 2016

When Fat is selected, the low end is boosted
about 4-5 dB from 400 Hz down to 10 Hz. This
gives the mic an increased low-end weight and
presence, and while the high end stays the same,
this low-end boost gives a feel of thickness, punch,
and even a touch of vintage warmth, all without
sacrificing the upper-end clarity.
In use
I found it interesting to revisit my original Bock
195 review from five years back, as it shows how
my tastes and perceptions have changed. I found
the older 195 to be "natural and honest in an ever
so romantic way," and I used the analogy of video
tape vs. film, where video tape is more real but film
is how we wish and perceive reality to be. I also
found it to excel on almost every instrument source
from acoustic instruments to drums to brass, but at
the time found it to be singer/style-specific on
vocals. I liked its Fat-enabled weight on voiceovers
and found it to be one heck of a room mic.
While I still agree with my original assessment of
the U195's instrumental versatility, I would now also
include vocals on that list for the new model, and
expand a bit on my favored uses and findings.
The U195 makes a great drum mic all around.
It excels in Normal mode when used on spaced
drum overheads for capturing the kit and the cymbals in a nice natural way, minus harshness or
bite. Even more so, I liked the mics in Fat mode
set up in a 4-mic Glyn Johns setup (see the photo).
Here, the low boost helps give more weight to the
kick and toms and a thicker presence to the cymbals. Often, even in minimal mic setups, we start with the
kick and snare and then blend in the overhead/room
mics. With the U195, I found my work flow to be the
opposite. The pair captured the kit so well as one instrument that the kick and snare mic were only needed for reinforcement and added definition!
Also in Fat mode, the U195 is quite nice on outer kick. It's not
as classic, punchy, and "FET sounding" as Bock's own IFET
(reviewed December 2013), but it is a touch more
extended/open in the lows, i.e. just as useful but different in tone.
On male vocals, I really liked the combination of Fat mode
with the low cut engaged, through a tube preamp and compressor to "tape"-in this case a Chandler REDD.47 and
RS124. The Fat-ness gives a great boost to the chest resonance
and proximity effect, while the gentle low cut clears out mud. I
liked this setting just as well on voiceovers.
As its predecessor was, the U195 is a clear winner on
acoustic guitar. It offers multiple tonal choices, based not only
on placement between the 12th fret and sound hole positions,
but also thanks to the Norm / Fat and Low Cut options.
I also used a pair of U195s-one in Normal mode, the other
in Fat-to track an entire song, alongside a few other modern
solid-state mics, just to see how the U195 would stack if it
were a studio's only mic. I found it to offer a very 87-ish top
end. It stacks well with itself, and engaging the Fat mode adds
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - October 2016
