PRODUCT REVIEW: BeesNeez Jade condenser mic

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.

Tags: This article has no tags