BeesNeez Microphones Studio Series Arabella

[mics]

BeesNeez Microphones Studio Series Arabella

Introducing the Arabella, USD$1350.00 Lifetime warranty (2 years on the EF12 Tube) and a money back guarantee.

The Arabella is the latest in the BeesNeez Microphones “Studio Series”, featuring a K47b Hand made Capsule, Telefunken EF12 Tube, huge Cinemag 2461NICO transformer, Multiple Patterns (9), 10db Pad and top end roll off.

This mic has been designed from the ground up not to be a clone microphone. It does share lineage with a few classics namely the Neumann U47 and M49 and has been designed to take the best of each and combine them together to make an extremely versatile microphone.

The best word to describe the sound of the Arabella is “HUGE”!

The three main components as with any microphone that create the sound are the Capsule (k47b) the Tube (Telefunken EF12) and the Microphone Output Transformer (Cinemag 2461NICO). This combination of components creates the thick and rich tone that so many modern day studio’s are chasing, this is the “Arabella”.

The Arabella Ships with Road Case, Power Supply, Elastic Suspension Mount and Lead.

[elmolemon]

Sounds interesting!

I'd like to see some pics..

[jinksdingo]

I read a bit about it on the Jade thread I think. And there were pix of it there.
Looks awesome Ben. I gotta have one.
I'm selling my Ping Karsten Orange Dot Club Set on the fleebay tonigjht.
What else have I got that I rarely use?

[synchu]

Samples, please

I've forgotten how to listen to the pics, not that I ever knew

I am still much impressed by James, so another package might be flying in from Oz soon.

Niki

[robd]

I was thinking about getting a Jade sometime in the next few months, especially since the exchange rate is working in my favor right now, and now this shows up.

Anyway, since I've got the opportunity to ask the guy who designed them, I would mostly be using whatever mic I got to record acoustic instruments. Fiddles, flutes, accordions, and who knows what else. Do you think the James or the Arabella would be better for this? (Or, since it's likely to be a few months anyway, should I wait for the other one you mentioned on the other thread?)

Thanks,
-Rob

[mics]

I'll be posting some samples in a few days if all goes well.

cheers

[mics]

Hi All, just to let you know, i am heading to sydney this week thurs-sat for a shootout of the mics. If any of you want to hook up and listen to the mics let me know.

Cheers.

[Astromann]

Hi Guys
Just in the meantime...here is Ben singing thru the Arabella.(and thru a JLM 99V)
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/attac...abella-ben.aif

There is no EQ or compression , it's just flat...so you can hear the mic.
Its in .aif format (sorry about that) but it should play on most players on the PC ...if you have Wavelab that has a better sound than a lot of media players.

Comparisons to the Jade etc... are here (also flat and in wave file)
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/attac...-jade-flat.wav

Comparisons to the Telefunken AK 47 are here (Flat and in wave file)
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/attac...-ak47-flat.wav

Cheers

[MSR74]

Hi Ben,

I originally posted this question under the Jade site, but wanted to repost here simply because it seems more appropriate.

What is the life of the EF12 tube? I know these a hard to come by and pretty rare, but I am wondering about any future need to replace it. Also can another tube be substitued in the future? Thanks.

mick

P.S. I will be getting in touch with you in a few weeks about ordering the Arabella.

[mics]

As many of you already know, i spent last friday in the studio doing a mic shootout. the line up was as follows BeesNeez Arabella, Jade and James, Neumann U47, Wagner U47w and Nuemann M49b

Follow the link for the shootout!

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/360260-mic-shootout-beesneez-wagner-neumann.html

[Docmattic]

Hey man,

you told me to ask you some questions about Ben's mics. I plan to use th emic for hiphop vocals. Ben recommended that i use purchase the james. From the singing demos i have heard, i think the james has more presence in the lower end when compared to the jade. When i heard your demos talking through the jade it blew me away...even the low end. i didnt appreciate the singing demos that much but when i heard your talking sample...wow. So sticking with the same impressions i got from the singing has the james still got a tight more present high end?

I plan to stack the vocals somewhat i think that might have been why ben didnt recomend the arabella.. and maybee it has a little to much to stack the highs. (ben also reccomended a high pass in the james.)

my vocal chain is JLM baby animal (one 99v and 1:4 channel; one oep and 1;4 channel.) to a jlm mac compressor>black lion audio sparrow converter.

anyway mate, im interested in hearing your oppinion

cheers

Doc

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by Docmattic

Hey man,

you told me to ask you some questions about Ben's mics. I plan to use th emic for hiphop vocals. Ben recommended that i use purchase the james.
I plan to stack the vocals somewhat i think that might have been why ben didnt recomend the arabella.. and maybee it has a little to much to stack the highs. (ben also reccomended a high pass in the james.)
.

anyway mate, im interested in hearing your oppinion

cheers

Doc

Hey Doc-

Not astroman but I have a Jade and a pearlman tm1 re built into an arabella. I often record blues/jazz and I think the arabella will shine where you want a huge showcase vocal-where the dynamics are very there and it has huge voltage capacity. The Jade is a more polished and dense-also is a bit mid push brighter-but I also noticed that on very quiet notes-the Jade has the capacity to lift intimate stuff.

On jazz blues where I use the arabella/tm1 as main vocal- I will not stack, will just be too much with the Arabella, and I think I will use the Jade for harmonies-probably using a different pre amp as well- to give space for the Arabella.

Can I add that if the James is like the Jade-it will be flexible-there is a high cut- but more than that I found that the sound of the Jade juiced by an ADL600 was bright in the mids/modern/edgy, but juiced with a sebatron vmp took on more the tone of the arabella. These mikes seem to really react more to different colour pre amps than any of my other mikes that I have experienced-buggered if I know why.

Hope this helps-sure is a good time buying mikes-especially in Oz.

GJ
Newcstle/OZ

[Docmattic]

well that will go well with my 2 channells of pre. completely different sounding so thats good! Hearing the arabella, it may be too thick for vocal stacking, not that i stack heavy. Only one track of stacks for each ear.

[Astromann]

Originally Posted by asagaai

Hey Doc-

Not astroman but I have a Jade and a pearlman tm1 re built into an arabella. I often record blues/jazz and I think the arabella will shine where you want a huge showcase vocal-where the dynamics are very there and it has huge voltage capacity. The Jade is a more polished and dense-also is a bit mid push brighter-but I also noticed that on very quiet notes-the Jade has the capacity to lift intimate stuff.

On jazz blues where I use the arabella/tm1 as main vocal- I will not stack, will just be too much with the Arabella, and I think I will use the Jade for harmonies-probably using a different pre amp as well- to give space for the Arabella.

Can I add that if the James is like the Jade-it will be flexible-there is a high cut- but more than that I found that the sound of the Jade juiced by an ADL600 was bright in the mids/modern/edgy, but juiced with a sebatron vmp took on more the tone of the Arabella. These mikes seem to really react more to different color pre amps than any of my other mikes that I have experienced-buggered if I know why.

Hope this helps-sure is a good time buying mikes-especially in Oz.

GJ
Newcstle/OZ

I think GJ has probably answered most of this.
All I can really add is that all of Bens mics take EQ...both plus and minus amazingly well.
When I first got my custom 12 ax7 mic...it was dark...darker than a u47...very flat...almost rolled off from 5khz upwards...I freaked out and rang Ben.
He said "What do you think" I said mate I think its terrible with a capital T.
I can be very direct at times...(usually regret it later) he was pretty cool...so we lowered all the levels on the JLM 99 V (over the phone) and took out the pad...and it sounded a bit better...still dark tho...but a lot nicer.
So later that night I put some UAD 1081 EQ on it, to brighten it...well that was the turning point...it sounded F$$##!!G BEAUTIFULL even with about 12 db of 10 or 15k on it...it still sounded nice and organic.
So I rang Ben and said cool it sounds awesome...I was wrong!!
Anyway I still wanted more top end...although I was tempted to keep it the way it was...he changed the capsule only and it was exactly what I wanted...you can hear it here
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/attac...jade-river.mp3
There is practically no EQ at all , and no time at all on the mix to try and make things sound better.
Now I like the Arabella the best of his mics...but they are all good.
I honestly think any of his mics would stack up against anything (regardless of price)...now that will piss a lot of people off I know...but hey, thats life.
As far as james versus Arabella goes...they are all good, but I have a leaning to the Arabella, cause it's so beautifully balanced in all areas...and I tend to go for that...as I said you can add or take out frequencies easily.
I am posting a high singing (me uuugggh!!) Arabella clip here soon...just so some can hear wht the mic sounds like on a less intimate vocal.
Cheers

[Docmattic]

thanks for you reply

you say the arabella's 'characteristics' is that its very well balenced...what are the characteristics of james?

I heard your vocal when you spoke through the Jade, thick and juicy...in the singing samples however the james sounds naturally more present in the lowes than the jade... is this right? Does the james refect this in speech aswell?

im just tring to get an idea...

[Astromann]

Originally Posted by Docmattic

thanks for you reply

you say the arabella's 'characteristics' is that its very well balenced...what are the characteristics of james?

I heard your vocal when you spoke through the Jade, thick and juicy...in the singing samples however the james sounds naturally more present in the lowes than the jade... is this right? Does the james refect this in speech aswell?

im just tring to get an idea...

The James is probably a bit more airy in the top than the Arabella.
The jade seems to have more of an upper mid boost than the James...both are airy in that sense...as far as the low end I am not sure ( Ben could definityely answer this better than I could)
All of them however have balls in the low end and I think maybe yes the James has perhaps more balls in the low end than the Jade...but the Jade is not lacking, whereas most other mics (under $3000) would be.
The speaking samples will show that...I spoke at exactly the same distnce from all of them.
On another note...the Arabella has an openess about it...somewhere in the mids, that I have rarely heard in any mic, you dont notice it that much at first, but I have A/B'd it a lot, its very open and yet well balanced thru the frequencies.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Astro

[Astromann]

OK here is the higher singing track thru the Arabella.
My voice was scratchy on that day and it was just an idea I wanted to get down quickly for a song...so some of the phrasing is pretty rough.
But I did it anyway...its a good idea of what the Arabella is like when the vocal is a bit scratchy and not necessarily intimate and using proximity...like all the vocals on the shootout.
On a side note...there is only 1 db of 8k EQ on it...and a tiny bit on the master buss.
I had to use a 320 kbps mp3 as the wave was too big.
Hope this helps.
Best to listen in Wavelab or something like that...the real players and Media players are crap (LOL!!)
Now I am going to get some work done!!

[Docmattic]

Thanks mate, i'll probably be looking at the james by the soudn of it then, i'll listen to all samples though and make up my mind. if i can be convinced to buy the arabella i might, if its worth the price difference. I plan to keep the mic for a long time and with the arabella, those telfunken tubes are going to get harder and harder to get.

[Astromann]

Originally Posted by Docmattic

Thanks mate, i'll probably be looking at the james by the soudn of it then, i'll listen to all samples though and make up my mind. if i can be convinced to buy the arabella i might, if its worth the price difference. I plan to keep the mic for a long time and with the arabella, those telfunken tubes are going to get harder and harder to get.

Hey Howzit Docmattic
Yeah that is very a cool mic...I wish I was rich, I would buy some more as well (I am an obsessive collector...much to my wifes dismay) ...but I need other things...(like clothes LOL!!)
Cheers
Astro

[mics]

Hi Folks,

I have some great news!

As of the 1st of July, BeesNeez will no longer use any OEM bodies. All BeesNeez Microphone shells will now too be made in Australia, We also have a great new badge. This means that BeesNeez Microphones are now all Australian made.

Due to the Unstable USD, we will also be pricing the Microphones in AUD as of July 1. The pricing will be Jade AUD1259, James AUD1399 and Arabella AUD2150.

All orders placed this week will be sold at the current pricing in USD.

Cheers

[Astromann]

Hi Guys just posted some guitar cab recordings using one of Bens Custom Mics...here
Whats the word on beez neez mics

Cheers
Astro

[mics]

Just a picture of the NEW ARABELLA. All Australian made body.

[voiceactor]

Very nice! I may have to get one of those. Might fit my voice well.

I like the color.

[mics]

Hi All,

Just a quick note to let you all know that we are releasing the Arabella in a GT (glass Tube) format in our Studios series.

The Arabella GT is every bit as wonderful as the Arabella and is priced at $1350AUD ($1172.00USD based on today's exchange rate).

We are accepting orders now on a first come first shipped basis. We start shipping in 5 weeks time.

Thanks again

[indie]

Does it look the same?

[mics]

Originally Posted by indie

Does it look the same?

Sure does but of course with the new badge.

cheers

[Docmattic]

Originally Posted by indie

Does it look the same?

I believe it will be the old oem body's with the new badge.

[indie]

Can you post a picture of the GT?

[indie]

Just to clarify - the GT is the brown body like the original Arabella?

[mics]

Originally Posted by indie

Just to clarify - the GT is the brown body like the original Arabella?

Hi, it is not powder coated, just nickle. However in saying that you could have it powder coated very easily.