Ribbon for Vocals

[PHILANDDON]

Hey I believe I came across a bluegrasser with the handle High Lonesome who recommended a certain "budget" ribbon mic. Did some searches and couldn't find it again. Anyone know what he might have recommended:

It wasn't AEA, Royer, or beyerdynamic.

THANKS.

 

[reshp1]

When I hear budget ribbon, I think NADY

 

[Warhead]

As far as I know the Nady mic is being made by another Chinese company who is now selling it to anyone who can buy a quantity. I think one of the names was American Eagle? I believe they're the same mic but you might want to check that out as I believe the same mic is sold under many names now.

War

 

[lansingxcore]

As far as I know the Nady mic is being made by another Chinese company who is now selling it to anyone who can buy a quantity. I think one of the names was American Eagle? I believe they're the same mic but you might want to check that out as I believe the same mic is sold under many names now.

War

is that to say that it's being made in a different factory then the original? i would think there might be quality variations between the two factories.. i'm just glad that i have two and they sound great and closely matched.

 

[scrubs]

is that to say that it's being made in a different factory then the original? i would think there might be quality variations between the two factories.. i'm just glad that i have two and they sound great and closely matched.

No, I think he's saying that the factory making the mic for Nady probably holds rights to the design and will stamp anyone's name on it who pays for it. Thus, the influx of all these ribbon mics with the exact same bodies (& probably components), but slightly different paintjobs.

 

[mattamatta]

Let's get some HR brand mics and sell em to all the n00bs who ask what the best mic is.

All proceeds will go to buying 200 sm57's for jamfests.

 

[JPS]

Let's get some HR brand mics and sell em to all the n00bs who ask what the best mic is.

All proceeds will go to buying 200 sm57's for jamfests.

Hey, I like that idea! Let's have a logo design competition!

But, unfortunately, I just bought one of those cheap Nady mics...
... and it's getting here today!!

 

[artCROSS]

Yeah, there are some going on eBay with some other name stamped on them. Although, I've heard that the mic actually sounds good, though have not heard it in person.

 

[AGCurry]

"American Eagle." That's a good one. Why don't we just outsource our government to China while we're at it?

I believe the same mic is also sold by Pacific Pro Audio (PPA) under a different badge.

 

[mshilarious]

Let's get some HR brand mics and sell em to all the n00bs who ask what the best mic is.

Some guy did that over at the Lab. I think they got 'em for about $100 per.

 

[Warhead]

"American Eagle." That's a good one. Why don't we just outsource our government to China while we're at it?

I believe the same mic is also sold by Pacific Pro Audio (PPA) under a different badge.

I've seen ads for it and they look the same.

War

 

[snow lizard]

I've recently purchased an Apex 210 ribbon mic that looks very similar to the Nady. The grille is shaped differently, and the yoke has radiused corners rather than the 45 degree corners. The can that the cable runs into looks identical.

This product came out a couple of months before the Nady, but the description and appearance are similar. Probably from the same factory.

Common specs:

long element ribbon mic
30 to 18000 Hz
165 dB Max. SPL for 1% THD @ 1kHz

The Apex also comes with a well made vertical aluminum flight case to prevent the ribbon from sagging when in storage.

I'm thinking the SPL spec is, uh, a bit optomistic...

If you remove the can from the bottom of the mic, you can see that it has a coarse wire mesh grille on the outside, a fine wire mesh grille behind that, a silk sock behind that, and a series of metal plates with larger holes drilled in them, and what looks like metal pop filter screens attached before you get anywhere near the ribbon. It's a huge mic that weighs almost as much as a Gibson Les Paul. Almost. I'm thinking all of these screens are what contribute to the overblown SPL rating.

I still haven't used it much, but it sounds very good. Unfortunately, I don't have any other ribbon mics to compare it to. Considering I can get 2 of these for less money than an Oktava ML 52, plus the case is heavy duty, I'm happy.

It'd be nice to read about comparisons of these Chineese mics to other well known ribbon mics.


sl

 

[AllOrNothinEnt]

Was it an ElectroHarmix ribbon?

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=27485&Category=Microphones

 

[musical5]

I've recently purchased an Apex 210 ribbon mic that looks very similar to the Nady. The grille is shaped differently, and the yoke has radiused corners rather than the 45 degree corners. The can that the cable runs into looks identical.

This product came out a couple of months before the Nady, but the description and appearance are similar. Probably from the same factory.

Common specs:

long element ribbon mic
30 to 18000 Hz
165 dB Max. SPL for 1% THD @ 1kHz

The Apex also comes with a well made vertical aluminum flight case to prevent the ribbon from sagging when in storage.

I'm thinking the SPL spec is, uh, a bit optomistic...

If you remove the can from the bottom of the mic, you can see that it has a coarse wire mesh grille on the outside, a fine wire mesh grille behind that, a silk sock behind that, and a series of metal plates with larger holes drilled in them, and what looks like metal pop filter screens attached before you get anywhere near the ribbon. It's a huge mic that weighs almost as much as a Gibson Les Paul. Almost. I'm thinking all of these screens are what contribute to the overblown SPL rating.

I still haven't used it much, but it sounds very good. Unfortunately, I don't have any other ribbon mics to compare it to. Considering I can get 2 of these for less money than an Oktava ML 52, plus the case is heavy duty, I'm happy.

It'd be nice to read about comparisons of these Chineese mics to other wlad to seeell known ribbon mics.


sl

Lizard,

Nice to have you here. Im glad to see that first time posters are'nt shying away from recommending the latest and greatest Chinese mics. Hmmm.

 

[snow lizard]

Lizard,

Nice to have you here. Im glad to see that first time posters are'nt shying away from recommending the latest and greatest Chinese mics. Hmmm.

Thanks. It's nice to be here - there's some good articles on this forum.

As for recommending mics, I'm more inclined to want to comment on these Chineese ribbon things in that I have one and my initial impression is that it doesn't suck. I've also had a chance to look inside the thing. I'd recommend the case for the mic in a heartbeat, but this is the only ribbon I've ever had. I've got limited recording experience, and I do home recordings on a DAW so I'm not really qualified to recommend anything.

Still, it would be nice to read a review of this mic or its obviously similar variations like the Nady on a forum like this by people that have used the Coles, AEA, RCA, Royer, Beyerdynamic and other better known mics to see if it's even close to what other ribbons sound like. I've got 4 MXL condensers, an RE20, a couple of 441's and a big pile of Shures, and this el-cheap-o ribbon mic doesn't sound like any of the other ones, but it sounds good.

Is it a ripoff? Does the quality vary too much from unit to unit? Do other ribbon mics smoke this one off the planet? These are things I'd like to know if anyone's in a position to compare with the real thing.

It's definitely a budget ribbon mic - I'm not sure if it's the one Phil & Don were looking for.


sl

 

[lansingxcore]

although i haven't put them head to head, i have experience with both the nady rsm-2 and the beyerdynamic m500. their output is about the same. they both sound sweet on electric guitar cabs. and my two rsm-2's sound very similiar to each other, and are closely matched in output.

 

[AGCurry]

Still, it would be nice to read a review of this mic or its obviously similar variations like the Nady on a forum like this by people that have used the Coles, AEA, RCA, Royer, Beyerdynamic and other better known mics to see if it's even close to what other ribbons sound like. I've got 4 MXL condensers, an RE20, a couple of 441's and a big pile of Shures, and this el-cheap-o ribbon mic doesn't sound like any of the other ones, but it sounds good.

Is it a ripoff? Does the quality vary too much from unit to unit? Do other ribbon mics smoke this one off the planet? These are things I'd like to know if anyone's in a position to compare with the real thing.
sl

If it sounds good, it IS good.

Could it sound better? I'm sure it could. For how much more $$? I haven't tried these mics because I've spent a lot more money on several expensive ribbon mics. Maybe I don't want to try these "el cheapos" because I'll like them as much as my AEA R84s...