Ribbon Microphones

wheelema

wheelema

Boner-obo
I was looking at the AES web site re: microphones (http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/pages/Microphones.htm) and looked at the description of a ribbon microphone. I haven't noticed any of these for sale at ZZounds, etc., though I did find one for sale from Oktava (http://oktava.tula.net/eng/ml52_e.htm). If I were to guess why I haven't seen them for sale it would be that are too expensive for the little guys who shop ZZounds. Are they any good, and if so, what do they run? I can't afford a good large capacitor microphone for vocals, so I am sure I can't swing one of these, but it would still be fun to know.
 
I asked Taylor {soundroom} about those and he didnt seem to like them much..As far as the price goes on that mic I dont know.
The best Oktava ribbon {for cheap.. $408.00.. with shipping Sound Room} is the ML19 from what I know anyway..I have one and it is nice and smooth sounding. Beyer makes some really nice ribbons for short cash also $300.00 or so ..
Royers,Coles and vintage RCA's and some of the knockoffs can get real pricey..close to a $1000.00{Royer R121} and up from there..A fair Lar.Dya. condenser can be had for about $200.00..Marshall V67, Studio Projects C1, Akg C3000, Cad E100 and the new Audio Technica..And there are tons more to look at..
Good luck...

Don
P.S

the Cad and the Akg are not really in the truest sense of the word large diaphram.. 1" seems to be the starting piont for LD's.They are about 3/4" 's kinda "tweeners"..1/2" and under seem to be the the range of the small diaphram...Useless Information.. LOL.. and someone will correct if I am wrong..But they will do a good job for their price..
 
Actually, the C3000B is a true 1". The CAD E-100 has a 1/2" capsule; the E-200 has two of them back-to-back. I think the original C3000 had a 1" capsule with a 1/2" C1000 element right behind it that could be used to switch from cardioid to hypercardioid. The C3000B dispensed with the add-on capsule. I tried one in Mars, I though it sounded good on my voice, although I liked the AT3035 a bit better. Their setup really isn't optimum, though....they don't have levels matched and the mics are *right* in front of angled hard surfaces, which can do strange things.

tOdd
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I have had some limited experience with ribbon mics, specifically Royer. They have a great sound, but are extremely sensitive to anything with SPLs higher than voice or acoustic guitar.

Don't use them to mic any drums or bass instruments. It will destroy them.

We used them to mic a Sax at a distance of about 16 feet and it was beautiful. Great sound reproduction.
 
Re the fragility of ribbons.....

The Royer R-121 is recommended for kick drum micing and other applications that would be potentially harmful to a ribbon mic. Don't use an old RCA like this though, unless you like repair bills. But the R-121 is a really neat mic...I got a great vocal track working in close on an R-121. You still don't want to blow into it, but using a pop filter you can get good intimate vocals with this thing. And don't be bashful about letting horn players near it either. Most ribbons are quite fragile, but the R-121 is quite rugged for a ribbon. Take the same care you would with a fine condenser mic, and you should be OK. And if you kill the ribbon, it's field-replaceable in minutes.

http://www.royerlabs.com is their site.

Happy ribboning, ;)

TP
 
B3Nut said:
Re the fragility of ribbons.....

Don't use an old RCA like this though, unless you like repair bills.

TP
Click to expand...

A real myth, for the most part..
Take the BK5...designed to record gunshots at close range...
As long as you're carefull about woofing air into them, most ribbons can handle just about anything, like a Marshall stack or even a kick--the SK46 is a great kick mic...
 
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