electro harmonix ribbon mic

H

Hiwatt Bob

New member
entry level ribbon mic

i'm in the market for an entry level ribbon mic. right now i'm most considering the EH, however there's also the nady. what are your opinions?

or am i better off not getting one at all?

thanks in advance.

edit: also, how much juice will i need from my pre's to power one of these? i've got a JoeMeek VC6Q and a GT Brick--both are around 55 to 60 dB.
 
Last edited:
...I did some research before purchasing my Nady RSM2...the EH (same as the Oktava) did not get as much positive response as the Nady...I'm very satisfied with mine, great on female vocals, or any thin/reedy voice...also great on sax...you can checkout Shinybox mics also:
http://www.shinybox.com
...these ribbon mics do EAT gain!...so expect to crank up the gain knob on your mic pre's...mine works fine with my Brick...a bit better with my Amek 9098..definately a great mic for under $200...Good Luck!.
 
Last edited:
thanks kidvybes.

i changed the title to "entry level" because i think the line of questioning is going to expand beyond the EH/octava mic.

those shiny box ones look really cool, similar to the RSM. i see that shiny box has different models using different transformers (lundahl and cinemag)--how much of a difference do the transformers make in the sound/quality? and how do the shiny box mics compare to the RSM (cost/benefit)?

thanks again.
 
The Shinybox, Apex 210, Nady and many other companies (incluiding Tape Op I think...) are rebadging stock Chineese ribbon mics. (I think Alan called it an AVL or something...)

Anyway, Shinybox offers the best price from what I've seen so far, the optional transformer thing and a different model. Plus, that guy will service the mics.

The Apex 210's that I have are absolutely massive and around the weight of a Gibson Les Paul Standard. An ideal mic stand would be heavy, designed for a studio and would have counterweights on the boom. The smaller Shinybox would likely be easier to position without challenging gravity too much.

I was actually ready to buy an Oktava ML-52 before I got the Apex mics (at half the price). I'm happy with them even though they eat lots of gain.


sl
 
Hiwatt Bob said:
will my pre's with 55-60 dB be sufficient for this type of mic?
Click to expand...

55 dB is on the low side. When I use most of my ribbon mics, I start at 60 and adjust appropriately up or down.
 
I'm really enjoying the Nady ribbon. It's proving to be a very cool vocal mic and also works well on guitar amps. As for the gain, it's not so much an issue on the amps, but can be on vocals or acoustic guitar. I recorded a vocal yesterday, using the Studio Projects VTB-1 pre. I had the input (+60dB) and output (+12dB) gains turned all the way up (total +72dB) to get a pretty strong signal in cubase (thankfully it's a quiet pre). The song is here if you want to hear what it sounded like on my voice.
 
I am really interested in those Shiny Box versions, that have been modded. Plus I like the fact that they can be serviced here. Anyone have any experience with them?
 
scrubs--nice work. it sounds great.

but i'm doubting now that i have the pre's i'll need. the brick is pretty quiet, but only goes up to 55. the meek goes a bit higher--but gets a little noisy at those high of levels, at least with my other mics it does.

damn. i want that sound too...i just can't justify spending money on another pre. :mad:

unless i'm missing something... :confused:
 
Last edited:
ok, thanks for your help. i called up Jon at shinybox--he said that 60 dB should be fine, even 55 dB would be fine for louder signal sources. so i went ahead and ordered a 23 and a 46. :cool:

they're only a bit more than the nady--and they come with the nice "shiny" box.

thanks again guys.
 
kidvybes--that VTB looks pretty cool, how do you like it?

i guess these shinyboxes are the same as the nady, so if the brick works for you, i'm thinking it should work for me.
 
Hiwatt Bob said:
kidvybes--that VTB looks pretty cool, how do you like it?

i guess these shinyboxes are the same as the nady, so if the brick works for you, i'm thinking it should work for me.
Click to expand...

...the Brick works on the Nady, but only on full tilt...when I record a vocalist with a softer or higher pitch voice I generally use my Amek...I do have the VTB-1 also, and that does have a bit more gain than the Brick...I would definately recommend the VTB-1 as another pre option (considering it's down to $99. now)...it's a very nice pre with usable "tube" saturation (up to about 12 o'clock on the tube gain) although it's a starved-tube design...that's barely more than a tank-o-gas these days!...but the combo of the VTB-1 and the "Shiny" ribbon mics is a real bargain...go for it...
 
it's definitely something i'm thinking about, the VTB that is. we'll see how it goes with the 2 i have. but $99 is pretty much a steal.
 
Hiwatt Bob said:
they're only a bit more than the nady--and they come with the nice "shiny" box.

thanks again guys.
Click to expand...

Yeah...Jon was nice enough to hook me up with one of his "shiny" hard cases for my Nady (since Nady didn't offer one)...If I had to do it over again, I gladly purchase one of his ribbon mics...highly recommended!
 
Hiwatt Bob said:
ok, thanks for your help. i called up Jon at shinybox--he said that 60 dB should be fine, even 55 dB would be fine for louder signal sources. so i went ahead and ordered a 23 and a 46. :cool:

they're only a bit more than the nady--and they come with the nice "shiny" box.

thanks again guys.
Click to expand...
Let us know what your think of them after you get a chance to use them a bit. I am wanting to try out a ribbon mic and am leaning towards one those modded shiny box 23s.
 
i'm just getting the normal versions (w/o the upgraded transformers). from the soundclips it was hard to distinguish a big difference between the stock and upgraded ones.

but i'll be sure to post a review as soon as i get a chance to mess with them.
 
ShinyBox 46L on the way!!

I have a ShinyBox 46L (with the Lundahl output transformer mod) due to be delivered tomorrow!! :D

...However, I won't get a chance to thoroughly put it through it's paces for a while, as my 3-month-old boy is keeping me way too busy to let me do ANYTHING audio related. :rolleyes:

-mr moon
 
Hiwatt Bob said:
i'm just getting the normal versions (w/o the upgraded transformers). from the soundclips it was hard to distinguish a big difference between the stock and upgraded ones.

but i'll be sure to post a review as soon as i get a chance to mess with them.
Click to expand...
I wasn't so much thinking of big differences in sound, but with the greater sensitivity and lower gain needed for those...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top