Royer R-122 ribbon for recording acoustic guitar...

first the caveats and disclaimers. I've never used the 122 but based on experience with 121s and general opinion concerning Royer's build quality and consistency I can see where a 122 could be an excellent choice for a wide variety of rooms, instruments content etc.

The 'buts'

Royer was not trying to replicate sound or performance of vintage ribbons. If your goal is for less money trying to achieve a specific vintage sound (e.g. L5 via RCA 44a) then R122 would probably create a bit of a struggle. The Royer (121) is speced with 2.5 micron ribbon while the ribbon mic I use consistently uses a 1.8 micron . . . theoretically the Royer magnets (design and manufacture) should support the lighter ribbons . . . (lighter ribbons and poor magnet design can increase artifacts from extraneous field flux, etc.) and (the humble opinion thing) the lighter ribbons do make a difference and my current difficulty with the Royer (121) is that I'm . . . thrifty . . . enough that it would be difficult to shell out $1k on a new mic and then turn around and spend a couple of hundred to have the ribbon replaced (and this is not a criticism of the Royer . . .no matter what it sounds like . . . merely subjective response)

the idea of the 122 is interesting and I keep meaning to check one out . . . gut instinct is that, at it's price point, one of the potential goals . . . getting more consistent response out of broader range of mic pres might not actually be improved. Without pretending to be Mic designer or expert my experience suggests that good ribbon mics are even more susceptible to alteration of response based on 'loading' response to specific transformers (I could probably phrase that better) While I've found ribbons to be more responsive to both environmental and electric variables (then equivalent condensers) this is a component of their charm. Even when using a mic pre that is straight wire + gain anti-color like many based on 2520 opamp ribbons response tends to be less consistent (then equivalent, etc.) Building a pre-pre amp into the mic probably supports a mic pre with a lower gain curve (less gain from mic pre) and can mitigate some self noise issues from both mic and pre-amp . . . but improving that transparency comes at a cost of some of the unique (daily) variety of the basic mic style. For similar price you can achieve consistency and transparency from a pair of SDCs (for only, perhaps, a third more, you can cover a whole lot of bases with pairs based on both C1 & K84 capsules). Immediate, pre audition, reaction is that while I would expect the R122 to pair well with something like the API 3124 that it might be just as difficult (for slightly different reasons) to find adequate pairings of mic & pre amp as with any other ribbon . . . and the pre-pre amp is going to limit (at least marginally) some of the anticipated ribbon variety.

which means? if results one gets from 122 are exactly what one wants then it is exactly the right mic for that individual. My tendency, as a studio strategy, would be to start with R121 and if and when I could afford it audition the R122

Very generally speaking ribbons, as a rule, don't shine in the near field . . . (doesn't mean you can't use them in the near field) . . . with regard to transparent reproduction of an instrument. Any adequate ribbon is going to be more dependent on the room then equivalent condensers. If default room pushes you into near field recording I would not, as a rule, recommend, ribbon as default workhorse. (That said I have used ribbon mics to record acoustic guitar in absolutely atrocious rooms, at times even when I had access to some perfectly reasonable SDC near field solutions . . . can't stress enough that by time you've moved to point of spending $1k per mic (unless one is simply independently wealthy, in which case you just fly to LA or Nsh and spend a week auditioning specific mics) it helps to match specific mic to specific expectations. While R122 would not be 'the' perfect mic for me it might be for someone)
 
...Anyone ever try this? How'd it go? Thanks.


Tom

I've not used the Royer 122 but have (and do) use ribbions on both acoustic & electric guitars. Ribbons work just fine but like everything else, they work better for some instances then others; depends on the song.

Try it. Try angling the back of the 122 up at the guitar. The front will pick up the reflections off the floor especially if you have a hardwood floor.
 
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