Artur - the maker of the DIYAC RM-5 ribbon mic suggested exactly the same - that I should try the Tascam first and if it's no good, then he recommended:
FetHead - tritonaudio
I knew there was another device people went on about. Yeah the fethead essentially does the same thing as the cloudlifter by boosting the signal.
What I'm confused about is what phantom power exactly is. Would using the mic with the Tascam require the use of phantom power.....? There is a switch on there, which allows phantom power to be switched on or off......
Can I use the mic with the Tascam interface without using phantom power?
Please excuse my ignorance
Right, long story short, all condenser mics and
some (and i mean you could count them on two hands) dynamic and ribbon mic's require a voltage through them to make them work. The easiest way to get this power to them is to send it along the same mic cable that carries the signal so a lot of preamps have a "+48v" or "Phantom Power" switch which turns the power on and sends if down the cable.
Now, ribbon mic's, as we've said, are notoriously fragile. One thing they really do not like is phantom power going through them as it
can put tension on the ribbon and, in the worst case scenario, can actually cause the ribbon to snap. However, nowadays ribbon mic's are slightly more robust than they once were and the main issue is if you plug a ribbon mic into a preamp when the phantom power is already turned on. If the mic is plugged in and
then you turn the phantom power on, the mic
should be ok, but to be on the safe side it's just best not to use phantom power with a ribbon mic.
Now, looking at the Tascam, by the looks of it the switch turns on phantom power to both mic preamps at the same time. If you were just using the one ribbon mic then there'd be no problem in simply making sure the phantom power is turned off and plugging the mic in. However, it could cause an issue if you wanted to plug in a ribbon mic
and and condenser mic at the same time. The condenser mic
needs phantom power to work, whereas the ribbon mic really does not like phantom power. If this situation occurs, then you have a couple of choices. Either, as i said, just make sure the ribbon mic is plugged before you turn the phantom power on, or, to play it safe, you
could pick up a separate phantom power box just to use on the condenser mic and leave the switch on the tascam well alone. Or just use the ribbon mic on it's own.
With all that in mind, now to clear up the final thing and, in part, undo everything i've just said; The Fethead also
needs phantom power to work, and also acts as a buffer between the mic and the preamp so the phantom power doesn't reach the mic. This would mean, if you wanted to use a ribbon mic with the Fethead via the tascam, you would need the phantom power switch turned on to power the Fethead. However, as i said earlier, the best practice would still be to plug in the mic first and then turn on the phantom power.
*Sigh* Well, so much for keeping a long story short (sorry), but i hope that covers all the bases
I'm a