AEA R84 is what everybody claims...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bodhisan
  • Start date Start date
Flatpicker said:
Not a problem here - passive ribbons like this one have no self noise to speak of.
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Tim,

Probably in this particular situation the self-noise of the mic is the last thing to worry about, but for sake of "historical correctness" :) ....
Yes, the ribbon mics, as any other mics, have self-noise, which becomes worse with their wrong impedance loading.
I cannot stress enough importance of the impedance matching with ribbons. The input impedance of most (esp. budget) pres are way to low to make the ribbons to work "right" and sound their best. It just RUINS the sound. If you want to hear the "real" ribbon sound, beside of high gain and very low noise, the pre MUST have an input impedance selector. This will prevent bass loss, will sound more "natural", and also, the mic will have higher output.
 
The VTB-1 has an impedence switch, and whether it was the right one or not, we found the undepressed switch (making it 200 ohms instead of 50 -- or 2,000 instead of 500) boosted the db by quite a bit, also making it brighter. When I first recorded with it, I was told it should use the lower impedence switch (50 ohm), as should I use it, too, with dynamics. Was I told incorrectly, or maybe I twisted around what I heard? Anyway, the 200 ohm switch definitely works best with the R84 ribbon, but it wasn't the setting I used when I first got this mike and tested it. This is a good point and one I forgot to include!
 
Marik said:
..Probably in this particular situation the self-noise of the mic is the last thing to worry about, but for sake of "historical correctness" :) ....
Yes, the ribbon mics, as any other mics, have self-noise...
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I knew you were going to say that, which is why I said no noise "to speak of". ;)

BTW, didn't Harvey really like the VTB-1 with his RCA ribbon?
 
Bodhisan said:
When I first recorded with it, I was told it should use the lower impedence switch (50 ohm), as should I use it, too, with dynamics. Was I told incorrectly...
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You were told correctly. The switch probably puts a couple of resisters in series with the ribbon's output transformer to load it correctly. This does correct the frequency response, but unfortunately it also attenuates the signal a bit.
 
Yes, Harvey said if anything he'd keep the VTB-1 just for his RCA ribbon. BUT, so are you saying that even though I get a stronger signal and brighter tone with the 200 ohm switch out, I should still use the 50 ohm switch in? I don't have the best ears, so maybe there's something I'm missing by getting a stronger signal.
 
I don't know the answer to that since I've never played with a VTB1 or the AEA. I'm afraid you'll have to use your ears and compare similar recorded samples with the gain set to compensate for the different levels - one with the switch in and the other with the switch out.
 
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