SE Electronics R1 - How much mic preamp gain?

R

rj-skelton

New member
The SE Electronics R1 ribbon mic has been discontinued for some time now and the prices (at least here in the UK) are a fraction of what they were when the mic was still being manufactured.

I'm tempted to buy one but my concern is this; according to the spec sheet on the Focusrite website, my Focusrite Clarett 8Pre has 57db of available gain, and I'm wondering if this is enough for the relatively low output from a ribbon mic?

The mic review on Sound On Sound (https://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov06/articles/ser1.htm) recommends at least 60db of gain. I'm just wondering if someone who owns this particular mic or someone who is experienced with ribbon mics could give me some advice.

Thanks
 
SE Electronics R1 - 2 mV/Pa
Shure SM57 - 1.6mv/Pa

The R1 is slightly hotter than an SM57 if you've ever pushed an SM57 through your Clarett. I've got a FetHead inline preamp I use with an MXL R144 (1.6mv/Pa) and it works well. The FetHead or Cloudlifter also gives isolation from phantom power if you're using it for other mics at the same time which helps protect the ribbon from accidental phantom voltage being applied. FetHead is a few less $$ than a Cloudlifter, but the Cloudlifter seems to be recommended more.

If you're recording loud sources perhaps not a problem(?)

SE Electronics R1 | RecordingHacks.com
 
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I think I'll go for it. At the price its a steal for what its worth. If I need to get another preamp later down the line then so be it. Thanks for the input.
 
I dont know why interface designs cant get some more gain in there, or at least 2 mic pre's to have 80db...if they could do that there wouldnt be all this talk of preamp white noise/noisy preamps etc...when 9 of 10 times its because of SM57 and all the 2mv/pa mics.....

or recommend condensors at 15mV/pa or better...
 
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