Anybody have any experience with these Ribbons?

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soundvile

soundvile

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I was contemplating the purchase of one of these ribbon mics after one of my next clients... Does anyone have any experience or anything to say about any one in particular?

Electro-Harmonix EH-R1 Ribbon Mic

Nady RSM5 Ribbon Mic

Nady RSM 4

Why ribbons? I've been exposed to a few great recordings that use them, felt pretty good, also in need of some options to "standard" large diaphragm condensers... something like that, anyway ;)

haha that electroharmonix one is almost swaying me with the construction/look! The nady rsm5, however seems to have more application flexibility judging by the descriptions, but I aint relying on musicians "friend" to give me completely adequate info... I read that the rsm4 is awesome on vocal nuances and intimacy, but the question there would be- can it be used on other things? cabs? overhead implementation for drums? room?

My applications, on that note, will vary from vocals, cabs, ambiance stuff... pretty wide usage so nothing in particular would be appropriate to say, just any notes, use experiences, samples, or just experienced help on what may be better. not sure if I left out any really important info ._.

I'll be running it into a digital firewire mixer pre probably, but I do, however have a (cheap) tube pre I can put in the chain if it would make a diff, I was wondering about that in the case of mics like these, too.

thanks.

[r]
 
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I have the Nady RSM2 and an unbranded version of the RSM4. These mics are mady by Ningbo Alctron in China and are rebranded by various companies. They are both solid performers and definitely worth having around. I prefer the RSM2 on my voice to the RSM4, but both are usable. I have used the RSM4 as a drum overhead and really love it for that purpose. The RSM2 is a little bulky/heavy to try to get above the kit, although it makes a good room mic. Both are pretty good on guitar cabs, too.

As for preamps, you really want something with a lot of clean, quiet gain, and variable input impedance, if possible. Most ribbons need a fair bit of juice for vocals and acoustic instruments. I've used the Studio Projects VTB1 and Rane MS1b with my ribbons and they both work well.
 
I picked up the unbadged RSM 4 a while back from the group buy effort. Solid mic. I've used it on guitar cabs and acoustic guitar. It's a solid perfomer...it helps too that I got it at less than half the listed price. I also would recommend a clean mic pre with this mic. I've put it infront of a DMP3 which delivers plenty of drive. If you have a pre with variable/selectable input impedance, even more sweet.
 
soundvile said:
I was contemplating the purchase of one of these ribbon mics after one of my next clients... Does anyone have any experience or anything to say about any one in particular?

Electro-Harmonix EH-R1 Ribbon Mic

thanks.

[r]
Click to expand...

A guy I work with has a pair of the EH ribbons... they are rebranded Oktavas, and he said they're a bit honky, and fairly heavy (weight-wise). FWIW.
 
alright, awesome feedback.... I'm not to keen on how to go about getting these unbadged versions/why/why not to get them/what's different, etc.... would that be an even cheaper alternative???
 
Basically, most if not all the mics you listed are made by the same chineese manufacturer. A while back one of the members on this board made contact with the manufacturer and worked out a sizeable one time purchase. He took our orders and went direct to the factory.

What we recieved were these mics and some others which hadn't yet even been released to the distributors. The mics we received had no "badges". The pricing was rediculous and we got to be some of the first to sample the new stuff. Unfortunately, when the likes of NADY and others found out, they were none to happy so, it seems unlikely that another group buy will happen again soon and if it does, not likely we'll enjoy the same price break. I hope it's not true but that's the scuttle.

I have seen some of the "unbadged" versions on ebay from time to time. You might poke around there before you make your purchase. Good luck!
 
punkin said:
I have seen some of the "unbadged" versions on ebay from time to time. You might poke around there before you make your purchase. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Also, some other companies sell them a lot cheaper than Nady. Look up the Apex APEX205 and APEX210.

I -think- that the APEX205 is a shrunk version of the RSM-2, albeit with a smaller body, and that the APEX210 is the same as the RSM-2 but with a different grille shape. I'm not certain about either of them, though.

I don't know of anyone who sells anything like the RSM-4 or RSM-5 cheaper, though. It's too bad. They're nice looking mics, but I'm not convinced they're worth 3-4 times the price of an Apex APEX205....
 
I picked up a couple of the dual ribbon units during that group buy. I have to say, I actually like the RSM 4 better.
 
I'm getting that gut feeling the rsm-4 IS going to be the one, the fact that lots of people like it aside... I'm going to check ebay for some deals also though, since I didn't know about the whole unbadged phenomenon - since ebay is the more likely way I'll be aquiring one, haha. thanks, I'm a little surprised I got this many people who've used them!
 
Oh wow, I just noticed I live right next door to the Cascade company!
 
undermind said:
Oh wow, I just noticed I live right next door to the Cascade company!
Click to expand...
I may be heading up there at some point. Do you know if they actually have a store where you can go buy them, or is it just their factory?
 
ohhh goodness that cascade mic is looking mighty fine for a price like that and reviews to back it up...

Haha how DO you just notice something like that, that definitely made me laugh.

Anyone ever check out the CAD Trion 7000 or 8000
 
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