Mountaineer
New member
Now that some very reasonably priced ribbon microphones are coming on the market, I decided to venture into experimenting with a ribbon. So, I sold a few condensers that I seldom used and ,after reading a few positive blurbs, I purchased a Cascade Fathead II ( $200 ) to try out on acoustic guitar and vocals. I used my only three preamps for testing, which included: Mackie Onyx ( Mackie 400F ), Focusrite TwinTrak, and a Grace 101. I had no idea how each of these would perform with a ribbon up-front and only hoped to have enough gain without an over abundance of noise.
I was greatly disappointed with testing I conducted through the Mackie Onyx pre's. Both acoustic guitar and vocals sounded dark and dull, so bad in fact, that I couldn't even get motivated to try some EQ techniques to improve it. You can't polish a turd. Instead, I moved on to the Grace 101, hoping what is generally my best pre wouldn't disappoint me. Unfortunately, it wasn't that much better. At this point, I figured I'd made a mistake with my purchase and was about to call my testing session quits and box up the mic for a quick return trip to the state of Washington. But, instead, while I was hooked up, I decided to try the TwinTrak.
What a difference! The Fathead II came to life! Over the next hour I recorded various acoustic guitar and vocal tracks that all sounded very smooth, airy, and natural with very little floor noise. I was wishing I had two of these to try them as a stereo pair into the TwinTrak. But, why did the Focusrite pre sound so much different .. so much better? With a little research, I discovered why ... Input Impedance!
While each of my preamps have roughly 60 dB of gain, the Mackie Onyx 400F has a fixed mic input impedance of 2400 ohms. The Grace 101 has a fixed mic input impedance of 1600 ohms. The Focusrite TwinTrak, on the other hand, has a variable input impedance knob which can vary mic input impedance from 50 to 3300 ohms. Out of curiosity, I looked at the specs of the Fathead a bit closer. They recommend 3000 ohms. After discovering this was the likely answer, I confirmed that backing off input impedance gave me negative results. This mic, and most likely ribbons in general, seem to love more input impedance. Again, out of curiosity, I looked at the specifications for the AEA Ribbon pre and found that it has over 80 dB of gain and an input impedance of 18,000 ohms!! I got my best results on acoustic guitar at the maximum setting of 3300 ohms and with the high-pass filter switch engaged to lower audible frequencies below 75 Hz. This mic has a response range from 18 Hz - 30 kHz and does a good job picking up the low end, something you probably don't want for an acoustic guitar you want to sit well in a mix.
Suffice it to say that I discovered a ribbon mic is a different animal. Preamp design, gain stage, and mic input impedance have a much greater affect on performance than any other mic I've ever used. You may want to keep this in mind should you decide to experiment with ribbons. I like the Fathead II, but haven't compared it to other ribbons at all. I now plan to order a second one. If you happen to have a Focusrite TwinTrak, I can say that it and the Fathead II are well matched in my opinion and I look forward to experimenting in stereo.
Regards,
Mountaineer
I was greatly disappointed with testing I conducted through the Mackie Onyx pre's. Both acoustic guitar and vocals sounded dark and dull, so bad in fact, that I couldn't even get motivated to try some EQ techniques to improve it. You can't polish a turd. Instead, I moved on to the Grace 101, hoping what is generally my best pre wouldn't disappoint me. Unfortunately, it wasn't that much better. At this point, I figured I'd made a mistake with my purchase and was about to call my testing session quits and box up the mic for a quick return trip to the state of Washington. But, instead, while I was hooked up, I decided to try the TwinTrak.
What a difference! The Fathead II came to life! Over the next hour I recorded various acoustic guitar and vocal tracks that all sounded very smooth, airy, and natural with very little floor noise. I was wishing I had two of these to try them as a stereo pair into the TwinTrak. But, why did the Focusrite pre sound so much different .. so much better? With a little research, I discovered why ... Input Impedance!
While each of my preamps have roughly 60 dB of gain, the Mackie Onyx 400F has a fixed mic input impedance of 2400 ohms. The Grace 101 has a fixed mic input impedance of 1600 ohms. The Focusrite TwinTrak, on the other hand, has a variable input impedance knob which can vary mic input impedance from 50 to 3300 ohms. Out of curiosity, I looked at the specs of the Fathead a bit closer. They recommend 3000 ohms. After discovering this was the likely answer, I confirmed that backing off input impedance gave me negative results. This mic, and most likely ribbons in general, seem to love more input impedance. Again, out of curiosity, I looked at the specifications for the AEA Ribbon pre and found that it has over 80 dB of gain and an input impedance of 18,000 ohms!! I got my best results on acoustic guitar at the maximum setting of 3300 ohms and with the high-pass filter switch engaged to lower audible frequencies below 75 Hz. This mic has a response range from 18 Hz - 30 kHz and does a good job picking up the low end, something you probably don't want for an acoustic guitar you want to sit well in a mix.
Suffice it to say that I discovered a ribbon mic is a different animal. Preamp design, gain stage, and mic input impedance have a much greater affect on performance than any other mic I've ever used. You may want to keep this in mind should you decide to experiment with ribbons. I like the Fathead II, but haven't compared it to other ribbons at all. I now plan to order a second one. If you happen to have a Focusrite TwinTrak, I can say that it and the Fathead II are well matched in my opinion and I look forward to experimenting in stereo.
Regards,
Mountaineer
