FLEA 47 - U47 clones to original - comparison test published in Swedish magazines Musikermagasinet and Monitor

Workshop at Technical University Graz/Austria "Tonmeister"

Photos copyright: Christian Komp, AES students section Graz

Mario Reithofer
TSAMM - professional audio solutions

Flea 47 w/ F7 capsule - Vincent Castaldo, The Tone Factory, Las Vegas

I received my first FLEA 47 in January 2009, my second followed a few months later. I first used the Flea 47 on female vocals with an artist named Sarah Thiele whom I was doing a record with called "Built Like The Sun".

On first listen it was apparent to both of us this was the magical sound we've been searching for. Before the FLEA 47 we tried several newer high-end vocal mics as well as a few vintage mics, none of which made us that terribly excited about the vocal tone.

After trying a bunch of mic pre/ compressor combinations the chain we ended up using for most of the record was the Flea 47 (in omni), Shadow Hills mono gamma (in discrete mode) and the -ADL Fairchild 670 compressor. Pure Heaven! For a few songs where we needed a bit more aggressive sound we used a vintage Neve 1081 and vintage blackface 1176 with no eq in both cases.

The Flea 47 has impressed every artist I've used it on since and I recently used it on Denny Laine's new record "Valley of Dreams". As a matched pair they sound amazing on piano, drum overheads, room mics as well as guitar amps and acoustic guitars. The Flea 47 definitely classed up my productions in the greatest way and I'm hoping for a pair of their FLEA 12s in the near future. Great job Guys!

Vinnie Castaldo
www.thetonefactory.com

Sarah Thiele website

FLEA Model A - test of this mic published in Swedish magazines Musikermagasinet and Monitor

FLEA 47 - Masi Isohanni and Pasi Kauppinen, Studio 57, Finland

Why do you sell these babys? we would keep all to our self !!
We did compare Flea47 to orginal Telefunken U47 and Flea47 did sound even better !
You get the new mic with classic look and sound, we really wanna have more your mics !
Thanks again:

Masi Isohanni and Pasi Kauppinen
www.studio57.fi

Swedish magazine STUDIO recommends FLEA47

Flea 47 sound very well, mainly on acoustic instruments and vocals.
Sound is soft as a silk for ears, open and rich with many dimensions and nuances.
Basic and low register is its the most powerful sign!"

... there will be added more extracts from test review soon

FLEA 47, FLEA 12 - Emmanuel Villani, Studio Madrigal

Flea 47 is really impressive, I used it on vocal recordings with a Pyramix station, one pre-amplifier Milenia and a Mytek converter.
When I used it for the first time, once the material was plugged, and after having let it warm up for 12h, I couldn't believe my ears. The voice keeps all its warmth thanks to a good presence in the medium register and the transparence is almost perfect. Dynamic is respected in such a level that we have the impression that the singer is in front of us. The softness and beauty of the different tones recorded show all the capacity of this microphone in restoring a non-agressive sound, in a wide detailed and precise way.
At the moment of the final mixing, the only correction done was on effects, reverberation, delay and compression, no other changes were made.
Flea 12 is rich and fruity, and the presence of sharp and low-pitched tones makes this microphone unique. He goes where Flea 47 doesn't go very as smoothly as itself. I've made a test with a voice that needed to be changed for the production joining Flea 47 and Flea 12. I must confess that the result was astonishing. When the sound is perfectly recorded, it is very easy to work and change the elements.
I am very happy to have real microphones!

Emmanuel Villani

These microphones are like works of art

Peter Freedman Rode Microphones

FLEA 49 - Hudson Fair, Atelier HudSonic, Chicago

The microphone performed spectacularly with great body and tone!
I used it on the soprano and mezzo-soprano soloists in a performance of the Verdi Requiem.

Everyone commented on the excellent tone and very even pick up of the FLEA 49. The singing was quite loud and the mic added a beautiful sparkle-y quality to the voices. Thank you for sending us this fantastic mic!
Best from Chicago,

Hudson Fair

FLEA 47 - Alessandro Brunori, recording sessions of his new album, Italy 2008

Your mic has behaved like the true champion it is: we have been both really impressed with what we have heard. The recorded vocals sound beautiful, the voice has charchter, the mic handled gracefully a very aggressive performance with a nice, warm and dynamic valve beahviour and after the recording, just a small compression made the vocal sit in the mix with authority and presence.
Thumbs up: this is the studio mic I had been waiting for all of my life.

Alex

FLEA 47, FLEA 12, pair of FLEA 50 - Image et Son, Switzerland

We could test all the mics on the grand piano this morning in many possible configurations and I could say, we are extremely happy with the result! After warming up the mics and the power supplies during the last night, it was quickly evident that your stuff did a great job! There is an emotion while hearing to the FLEA's, fortunately they did not sound at all as modern microphones did, they are very warm, present, detailed, beautiful and never aggressive in any register. All this, combined together with the build quality, which is amazing, makes us very found of your conception about how those mics should sound. The FLEA 50's are very warm, rich and musical (just gorgeous!), we loved the FLEA 12 also very much (beautiful, signing and transparent), as well as the FLEA 47 ( full, detailed and very present in the middle range).

For me the main characteristics of the FLEA's are: warmth, fullness, presence, detail, relief and the most important - musicality, they makes music and tell a story. Mr. Gaberel says he never heard such a wonderful result from a modern microphone manufacturer while trying to rebuild an old mic (and he already tested more or less everything on the market, believe me ...). The modern mics we have sound great for sure, but they are different, precise but less moving for my taste in general, that's why it's extremely important for us to have such a tools as the FLEA's. We have demonstrated the four FLEA's during a recording session as well afterwards, many people was charmed and impressed by their sonic qualities.

On the grand piano the FLEA's 50 sounds amazing, on the violin we preferred the FLEA 12 but we are convinced that every set-up is a combination between a microphone, instrument and player. The musician himself influence very much the final result by the way he produce the sound. Once again, thank you very much for your wonderful work!!!

George Vassilev and Jean-Claude Gaberel

U47, M49 parts, hardware - Matthias Flache, Germany

I received the mic parts last week. Thank you!
This is the first time I hold the work you (Flea) do in my hands and I have to make you a big compliment.
The quality and the exact and detailed work is really impressing.
Great job !!!

Matthias

Attack of the Clones - KR magazine, February 2007, France

The Flea 47 and Flea 12 were compared to other prestigious microphone
in the Studio of Philippe Labroue in Paris.

Five persons were there during the session:

Philippe Labroue (sound engineer)
Francois Staman (electronic engineer at AETA Audio System)
Alain Le Kim (Film director, mainly documentaries)
Alexis Bock (from audiovisual facilities "Dubbing Brothers" in Paris)
Christophe from Audio Addict (french distributor for FLExible Audio)

The microphones selected for the test were:

Neumann U-67
Neumann U47fet
Neumann U87 (circa 1974)
Neumann 497 (with a genuine K47 capsule)
Neumann KM 84
Sanken CU 41 (double capsule condenser mic)
Crowley and Tripp Studio Vocalist ribbon mic

Extracts from Philippe Labroue's review:

"The manufacturer of the Flea 12 and 47 are true instrument makers and they have achieved near perfect copies of the original AKG C12 and Neumann U47, that were currently in use during the 50's, 60's and 70's in most recording studios. "The shape and the weight of the Flea microphones are almost identical to the originals (as I recall them) et the accessories (power supply, suspension, connectors) are also reproduced very faithfully. I must add that the connections and wires are newly manufactured... "The Flea 12 was the most revealing microphone at both ends of the frequency range. High frequency beyond 10kHz was extraordinary, offering a unique definition for a large diameter capsule. As for bottom response, the vibrations of the city of Paris could be heard, meaning the Microphone was operative below 50Hz. No excess, no agressiveness, a rich presence of the harmonics: the sound of the voice was beautiful... "As for the Flea 47, we found exactly the qualities of the tube Neumann U47 microphone: clarity, presence boost and punch... The precision at the high end is just what is needed for all sorts of production, be it voice, foley effects for movie production, or music. "I think it will not be necessary to EQ this microphone, it will give its best with no corrections... "The advantage, as I perceive it, would be set in the 4 to 8kHz and in the perfect clarity at 1 to 1,5 kHz... "These are new microphones, therefore, as for all capsules, I think that in time their color will change, depending of their use, but also the aging of the components; however the sound can improve, given the fact that the manufacturing looks precise and durable."

Extracts from Alain Le Kim's review:

"The Flea 12 goes higher than the other microphones, with an exceptionnal accuracy and sweetness, but the Flea 47 has the punch and the presence that no other of his prestigious contenders could match. These new comers in the high end microphone market are truly exceptionnal works of art. Accuracy of sonic restitution and manufacturing quality define these beautiful tools. The care in the finish, at all levels, can be heard in the fullness of their sound. I must stop this flow of compliments at the risk of being seen as biased. Well I am! It does not mean that the Neumann U67, U47fet, U87 and even KM84, were not performing well. The level was simply extremely high!"

Francois Staman wrote:

"These dream machines have taken us into another world, where feelings, hidden impressions, and all the emotion conveyed by a voice can be expressed with exceptionnal luminosity, precision, clarity and resolution... "Just like well processed photography, when all the shades of grey can reveal a whole atmosphere."

Alexis Bock said :

"Among all the microphones tested, I have a preference for the Flea 12, for its very controlled restitution of the space and air..."
That's about it!!

FLEA 47 - Eric M.Gast, CEO, FM For Music, LLC, New York

Dear Milos, I just wanted to send you a quick letter to let you know how pleased I am with your microphone. The projects I have used it on since Ive received it are:

- Peter Gabriel - Growing Up Live DVD

- Rachel Z Trio (feat. Rachel Z, Tony Levin
and Bobbie Rae) Everlasting

- Thomas Mesters upcoming release

- Several voiceover sessions

I really like the clarity and the top-end. The newer diaphragm has a slight high-end curve to it, which is very similar to what I usually do EQ-wise to U47s, which is why I chose it. It sounds great on acoustic guitars, and I even used it on percussion the other day and it sounded terrific.Im very interested in the demoing the FLEA 12 as we spoke about, and I look forward to speaking to you about it in the near future.

Sincerely yours,

Eric M. Gast

FLEA 47 Magnum - Mr. Tetsu Sano, famous Japan Jazz singer

No need for words !

FLEA 47 - Sugar Spector, CEO Tone Flake Records, Japan

Dear Mr Milos, Your mic is what I wanted for many many years. A classic dressed as famous 47 but the sounds are exceeding any of those vintage tube mics. I actually own many of vintage tube mics. My usual setting is hooking up to perfect maintained Neve 1073 then Digidesign Protools. The result was what I never thought before ...... FLEA 47 was the best vocal track I have ever heard!

Then I try Uke Hawaiian music. When I play in to FLEA 47 and hearing monitors, I felt the sounds are bit hard than other mics. But when I play back, a magic happen. FLEA 47 sounds so real and emotional!!

I understand that FLEA 47 do not need high frequency boost equalizing after recording in mix. Think carefully about EQ. If you boost high when you are recording or mixing process. You will boost unwanted analog system noise made by preamps, by mixing console. Also phase form will have critical metamorphose. With FLEA47, you really don't need to do that!! So, when I recorded Uke, all subtones are perfect in detail and can hear my Uke like I hear just beside of it. I would try in near future your FLEA 47 tuned with VF14 M7 and UF14 K47 also. My dream now is not buying a forbidden cost "VINTAGE" tube mics, but buying all FLEA mics!!! I don't interest anymore for those aged vinatge mics now. I agree in some situation they are still the best choice for someone, but not for me. I don't found a word how to say my respect and thanks to you Mr Milos. Hope I can buy all your mics one day!

FLEA 47 - in Onkyo House Recording Studio, Japan (during recording session of Mrs. Yano)

Onkyo House is one of the most famous music studios in Japan.
It is located in center of Tokyo-Ginza.
(Ginzas land price is the highest price in the world).
The building has 8 stories. And, the studio has 4 big recording studios.
It is really modern style studio.

The owner of this studio is a big publishing company named HEIBON-SHA.
The piano at the photos is Mrs. Yanos favourite Bosendorfer.

FLEA 47, FLEA 12 - Bobo Kantor, composer, producer, Barrandov Studios Praha, Czech Republic

I´ve used microphone Flea 47 for recording a movie soundtrack with the Prague Philharmonic orchestra as the main AB stereo pair. I was surprised by the compact sound of the orchestra and the sound fidelity of every instrument.

This mic is excellent for male voices and acoustic instruments, especially acoustic guitar. Mic Flea 12, which I use for recording of voice and acoustic instruments, has convinced me about its quality during the micking of a chinese opera singer, Feng-j�g. Mic Flea 12 has unbelievable dynamic range.

FLEA 47 - Miro Siran, sound engineer, producer, Slovakia

Excellent. It truly transfers all frequencies soft brilliant trebles, clearly defined smooth middle range and beautiful full bass. In application of this mic for singing or as ambient etc., additional usage of equaliser becomes useless.

Famous Slovak tenor Martin Babjak,
studio session at The State Opera in Banska Bystrica

FLEA 47, FLEA 12, FLEA Fester - The Dead Horses: (studio sessions June, 2004)

"We used FLEA Fester for micking all distorted guitar tracks and were very surprised by wide, full and ambient sound we got from the recording. This was what we had been looking for for ages. FLEA Fester mic provided us with wide range of options to choose from for our recording. FLEA Fester is a great contribution to the overall sound".

"After singing into FLEA 12, I could really hear what my voice really sounds like from the other side. I felt like I was sitting in the recording room with myself. It transfers all the frequencies of my voice, which is the thing I could not achieve with mics I previously used. FLEA 12 is a high value piece of work".

Tucho

FLEA 47 Magnum, FLEA Fester - Palo Chodelka, guitar player, composer, (Liquid Boogie Roll), Slovakia

I've used the FLEA microphones for miking of guitars. Not only for acoustic but distortion sound as well.
We placed FLEA 47 Magnum and Fester in the front of speaker and .. it was surprise.
Backlights and solos, both had unbelievable huge, clear and readable sound.
After these sessions I can say the only one: I am satisfied, so much!"

FLEA 47 Magnum - Test

Budu se soustredit predevsim na celkovy dojem a konecne hodnoceni.

Po 15 letech nahravani na lampove mikrofony je velmi prijemne, kdyz muzete pracovat s mikrofonem opravdu robustni konstrukce, ktery ma vsechny prednosti, ktere ocekavate a nespatril svetlo sveta jiz nekolik let pred vami.

To znamena, ze se na nej muzete plne spolehnout. Zadny ubytek vyssich kmitoctu, nizsi citlivost, zvyseny sum ci brum a podobne pruvodni jevy, ktere prudi temer kazdeho zvukare, ktery si neumi predstavit nahravani bez svych milacku s 3x pretocenym tachometrem v podobe vynikajicich AKG C12, Neumann U47, U57 ci lehce vychodni sady Neumann CMV 563.

V prubehu poslednich let jsem to to resil v konecne podobe kombinaci noveho Neumanna TLM103 a kvalitnich lampovych predzesilovacu a kompresoru. S touto kombinaci jsem velmi spokojeny, ale musite mit znacne technicke i teoreticke znalosti, za druhe jasnou predstavu o vyslednem zvuku a orientovat se v ruznych kombinacich zapojeni. Neustale kontrolovat urovne signalu vsech komponentu, aby jste dosahli dobre prokresleneho a tepleho zvuku, ktere nikdy nebudou shodne u jinych zpevaku.

Mikrofon FLEA jsem testoval asi mesic u tri ruznych projektu. Zkousel jsem take natacet soucasne na TLM103 a pouzitim ruznych komponentu docilit shodne barvy zvuku s FLEA. Musel jsem take nahradit nektere pasaze po uprave textu v dobe, kdy jsem jiz fleu nemel k dispozici. Zkousel jsem take natacet akustickou kytaru, el. kytaru, 12-ti strunou kytaru, foukaci harmoniku.

Snazil jsem se vse natacet stereo v kombinaci s mym osvedcenym retezcem nebo i pouze zamenou mikrofonu. Protoze vim, jak obtizne je podat objektivni hodnoceni v prevazne subjektivnich podminkach, a ze i seriozni testy mnohdy neprinesou blizsi predstavu, tak se vse snazim blize popsat.

Muj dojem je brilantni zvuk, ktery se az vyjimecne prosadi v celkovem mixu. Zdvih asi od 5 kHz se da jen velmi obtizne napodobit jako kdyby byl dynamicky zavisly. Zobrazeni prubehu stopy prozrazuje skoro lehkou kompresi, ktera vsak neni slysitelna, ale vysledny zvuk je silnejsi nez by jste ocekavali. Dalsim postrehem je velmi verny prenos v rozsahu nekolika oktav. U TLM103 jsem v porovnani postrehl, ze jsou nektere tony v hlase ruznych zpevaku, ktere jakoby rezonuji. To se u FLEA mikrofonu neobjevilo, ale muze to byt take zpusobeno komplikovanejsim zaznamovym retezcem za TLM103. Po kombinaci pri stereo zaznamu akustickych kytar s Fleouse mi jiz zacalo styskat. V soucasna dobe micham porizeny zaznam a jsem s vysledkem nadmiru spokojeny. Jako nezaujaty nazor povazuji take , ze pri michani jsem zpevakum nabizel ruzne stopy a temer vzdy se jim prednostne libili stopy porizene s FLEA mikrofonem.

Na uplny zaver chci dodat ,ze bych se nebal s timto mikrofonem sverit zaznam i mene zkusenemu technikovi, protoze s Fleou nemusi temer nic hlidat. Cenovy rozdil oproti Neumann TLM 103 v kombinaci s lampovymi preampy a kompresory neni prakticky zadny. Zpracovani je nebojim se rict exkluzivni s durazem na tradicni technologie a materialy. Je to jako by jste si posunem v case mohli odskocit koupit do povalecnych let jeden z nejlepsich mikrofonu tohoto sveta.

Some reviews of FLEA microphones customers ...