Beyer Ribbon Mics

P

paresh

Member
Anyone know anything about Beyer dynamic M 500 N (C) ribbon mics? I've had them for over 30 yrs & that's all I've used. They sound very natural but don't know how they compare w today's ribbon or condenser mics. I just use them for vox/acoustic gtr at home. Thanks
 
dont know about the 500s, but I have a pair of m130/m160s and they sound phenomenal.

teddy
 
The M500 is a great mic. I like it more for vocals than instruments and it was designed as a performing vocal mic. It has a bit of a presence peak (at least compared to the other Beyer mics). Like all mics, it works better on some voices than others. They are discontinued and consequently are in demand. They run @ $230-300 on e-bay. The commemorative reissue (numbered and silver in a wood box) will bring a bit more. I like the M160, M260 and M130 better for instruments. Well worth picking up -- or hanging onto as the case may be. Worth re-ribboning if you get a dead one cheap.
 
ive used the 260 and the 500. great great mics there. think theres a guy with the last name sank that does reribboning on em.
 
mr.rich said:
ive used the 260 and the 500. great great mics there. think theres a guy with the last name sank that does reribboning on em.
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Stephen Sank will reribbon them for you, but he puts in an RCA ribbon that is quite a bit different from the original Beyer ribbon. If you want it to sound like the original, you'll probably have to go back to Beyer. If you don't mind if it sounds a bit different (more like an RCA ribbon), then the Sank rebuild will be a good choice. A friend has promised to give me his damaged one, and I'm planning to go with one of these two options.

I'm told that the Sank rebuild costs $125, while the Beyer rebuild costs $200.
 
I'd be a bit cautious about having Sank rebuild your mic at the moment. While he apparently has done fine work in the past, recently people on various audio boards have reported/complained about a significant lack of responsiveness from him. Do a google search on RAP and check around on prosoundweb.com forums before making a decision.

You could also try Wes Dooley at AEA and Clarence Kane.
 
Stephen redid my M260 while I watched, but that was about 4 years ago. You're right about Stephen being very shaky lately. Several people gave him a lot of money and are still waiting for their products to be returned - after a VERY long waiting period. I'd be very careful, unless you happen to live in Albuquerque.
 
Thanks Harvey. I had an e-mail correspondence with Stephen about 4 years ago about his work and he seemed to be a very nice guy. I had recently considered having him redo one of my M260s when all these issues popped up. Seemed very out of character for him. Wish I knew what was going on with him. It's a shame.
 
Thanks for the heads-up. That's too bad - when he does eventually get his work caught up and organized again, this kind of thing may haunt his reputation.
 
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