A few general questions about ribbons

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Brackish

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1. Do you find them generally better for female vocals or
for male vocals?

2. On a mediocre voice, would a ribbon or a condenser
be more likely to "make it sound better"?

3. On a sibilant voice, would a ribbon help more than
a condenser to downplay the sibilance?
 
Nice

:p Girls look nice with hair ribbons :p
 
Brackish said:
1. Do you find them generally better for female vocals or
for male vocals?
Click to expand...

Male, mainly because I wanna sound like Elvis.

2. On a mediocre voice, would a ribbon or a condenser
be more likely to "make it sound better"?
Click to expand...

Hmmm. That's a toughie. Depends on the nature of the mediocrity. The right condenser could be pretty good at disguise, whereas all a ribbon will get you is some nice promixity effect. But again, that could be just the ticket :confused:

3. On a sibilant voice, would a ribbon help more than
a condenser to downplay the sibilance?
Click to expand...

Generally, yes.
 
1. Do you find them generally better for female vocals or
for male vocals?

I find them different flavors. If you're looking at a ribbon for vocals then I suggest trying out the AEA R92. If you're looking for looking for one for dialog, then you should consider the sE R1.

2. On a mediocre voice, would a ribbon or a condenser
be more likely to "make it sound better"?

I don't know. I usually find mediocre voices get more help from mic pres and compressors than from the mic.

3. On a sibilant voice, would a ribbon help more than
a condenser to downplay the sibilance?

As a general rule, yes, a ribbon or a regular dynamic mic should bring out less sibilance on a population of singers. However, here in the real world it's all about matching each individual voice to a particular mic.
 
Brackish said:
Don't know why you sent me there -- didn't
see any topics about ribbons.
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I've never tried a ribbon but some condensor mics are very colorful in sound and can candy coat a not so great voice. I know from experience. I don't have any experience with nice pre's so I have nothing to say there.

I also have a sibilance problem and found that working on how I sing my esses helps quite a bit. It takes some practice. Also be aware that if you are monitoring thru speakers or headphones that have hyped frequencies in your sibilance range, your sibilance problem can seem alot worse than it really is.
 
Ribbon resources

http://www.coutant.org/

http://www.prodigy-pro.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=256

http://www.prodigy-pro.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=256


Here is one of the links from the above list. How to replace the ribbon element in a ribbon mic (with helpful hints from Dave Royer ): http://www.lkmusic.co.nz/ribbonfix.htm

Ribbon mic dissection pictures: http://www.prodigy-pro.com/forum/vie...mpian&start=15

Do you want to get ribbon material to re-ribbon mics yourself? Here is where to get it: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=362221

Do you want a new transformer for your vintage ribbon mic? http://www.sowter.co.uk/acatalog/SOW...E_INPUT_3.html


http://home.comcast.net/~markfuksman/BBC_ribbon_info.pdf
 
Brackish said:
1. Do you find them generally better for female vocals or
for male vocals?

2. On a mediocre voice, would a ribbon or a condenser
be more likely to "make it sound better"?

3. On a sibilant voice, would a ribbon help more than
a condenser to downplay the sibilance?
Click to expand...
1 Yes

2. It will sound mediocre on eithre.

3. I find less sibbilance on my ribbon, but most folks looking at the mic to reduce sibilance are looking in the wrong place. Technique and processing are how you reduce sibilance.
 
Originally Posted by Brackish
1. Do you find them generally better for female vocals or
for male vocals?

I agree with Innovations; the answer is "yes."

2. On a mediocre voice, would a ribbon or a condenser
be more likely to "make it sound better"?

Mediocre is mediocre. However, if a voice needs more fizz/sparkle, a condensor may be a better choice. If it is strident or harsh, the ribbon may be better.

3. On a sibilant voice, would a ribbon help more than
a condenser to downplay the sibilance?

Yes. I would sooner choose a mic which reduced sibilance than use a de-esser.
 
AGCurry said:
Originally Posted by Brackish
1. Do you find them generally better for female vocals or
for male vocals?

I agree with Innovations; the answer is "yes."
Click to expand...


So, you're saying they're equally good on male
and female vocals?
 
SRR said:
They are saying it depends on the singer more, then the gender.
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Actually, what I'm saying is this:

Before the mid fifties, the most common mics in use for vocals were ribbon mics. Examples abound of wonderful-sounding records from those years, with both male and female voices. Many recordists use them to this day, obviously.

Thousands of examples exist also of wonderful-sounding records using condensor mics, again, from both male and female voices.

It's kind of like an artist's paint brushes. He may have many brushes; he chooses one of them at a given time based not on what color he's using, but on the desired effect he wants to create with texture and thickness.

That doesn't mean he NEEDs all those brushes. But they're nice to have; and chances are he'd rather have two good ones than a lot of mediocre ones.
 
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