Care of Ribbon & Tube Mics?

nuemes

nuemes

Be Here Now
Now that a bunch of us are getting ribbon & tube mics for the first time through the group buy, can anyone who's had a few years of experience with them advise the best way to use & store them?

For example:
1. Tube mics are best used upside-down to keep heat from the tube affecting the capsule
2. Ribbons are best stored right-side up to avoid ribbon to sag
3. Ribbons (at least those from the group buy) can be damaged if phantom power is turned on.

Anything else you recommend?
 
nuemes said:
Now that a bunch of us are getting ribbon & tube mics for the first time through the group buy, can anyone who's had a few years of experience with them advise the best way to use & store them?

For example:
1. Tube mics are best used upside-down to keep heat from the tube affecting the capsule
2. Ribbons are best stored right-side up to avoid ribbon to sag
3. Ribbons (at least those from the group buy) can be damaged if phantom power is turned on.

Anything else you recommend?
Click to expand...

1 and 2 ain't quite right. A tube inside the mic acts like a heater, so using it upright in humid conditions can actually help drive moisture away from the capsule.

Ribbons should be used right side up for a while, then used upside down for an equal period of time to prevent ribbon sag. It's really only true for long ribbon mics. Shorter ribbons don't sag as much.
 
I got this reply from Karma mics about vertical storage of their K6 ribbon mic:

"As it is recommended, it is not necessary. Storing it horizontally will not
cause ribbon sag alone it has to do with conditions in of the storage as
well. Just make sure if stored non vertical that you keep the case in a
comfortable room temp setting."

Paj
8^)
 
Paj said:
I got this reply from Karma mics about vertical storage of their K6 ribbon mic:

"As it is recommended, it is not necessary. Storing it horizontally will not
cause ribbon sag alone it has to do with conditions in of the storage as
well. Just make sure if stored non vertical that you keep the case in a
comfortable room temp setting."

Paj
8^)
Click to expand...

And how many years have Karma ribbon mics been around to allow the Karma folks to know whether this is true or not?
 
Harvey: I'm posting Karma about the ribbon spec.

Sdelsolray: I have no idea! I'm just passing the info along. I think that I read something similar to the Karma response on the Naked Eye (Crowley&Tripp) site. I tend towards the traditional (stored upright) view myself.

Paj
8^)
 
Some of the new ribbon mics use a different single vertical crease to achieve more rigidity, like this:

________________________
|\______________________/|
|/______________________\|

as opposed to the older corrugated ribbon:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

That might eliminate the problem of usage and storage positions. If it's a long, thin corrugated ribbon, I'd follow my earlier advice.
 
If you leave a condenser mic out (meaning on the stand) for any length of time while not in use you should cover it with a plastic bag to keep dust from settling on the capsule.
 
Just to keep the poop rollin',

This is from the Crowley & Tripp site:

http://microphonium.blogspot.com/2006/12/myth-of-ribbon-microphone-exposed-part.html

The Saggy Baggy Ribbon Myths - Things may droop over time, also with ribbons?

Myth: "Ribbon mics should be stored vertically".
Fact: No. The weight of a typical "large ribbon" is around 0.0018 grams, and a thin ribbon is about 1/4 that. If that is enough to cause sagging, then something is very wrong. Ribbon microphones of any vintage can be used and stored in any position.
.
.
.
Myth: "Crowley and Tripp uses a vertical storage box to prevent ribbon sagging."
Fact: We did this so you can see it and because we thought it looked better and was more convenient, and that it might cause the user to grab it from the mic locker more often rather than laying flat in the dark recesses of the cabinet. You can lay the box down on its side, turn it upside down - it doesn't matter at all because gravity has only the most minute influence on the ribbon.

Now, no choking on those giblets . . .

Paj
8^)

P.S.: I still agree with Harvey---it can't hurt.
 
When I had my Beyer 260 ribbon mic redone by Stephen Sank, I brought it directly to his house, on my way to an AES show in Los Angeles, and I watched him cut, corrugate, and install the ribbon in my mic. It was a fascinating experience.

Yes, the ribbon is incredibly thin and light, but when he finished putting the corrugated bends in it, and picked up the 3" piece of ribbon, it sagged in the middle.

Now, he only used about 1" of the ribbon in the mic, so there wasn't a sag apparent, but that was a short ribbon mic, not a long ribbon mic, like some of the RCA and AEA mics.

Maybe these guys are right, but Stephen uses original RCA old ribbon material, an original RCA corrugating machine, and the damn stuff sagged in the middle when it was finished. He tightens it in the mic to take out the sag, but I can see where years of people blowing into a mic and even moving it around would cause the ribbon to stretch and sag over time.
 
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