Ribbon mic for under $350.00?

  • Thread starter Thread starter needledrop
  • Start date Start date
N

needledrop

New member
I'm looking to get a vintage sound for a female vocal. i heard a ribbon mic could do the trick. I'm on a budget so , is there anything worth buying for under $350.00?
 
needledrop said:
I'm looking to get a vintage sound for a female vocal. i heard a ribbon mic could do the trick. I'm on a budget so , is there anything worth buying for under $350.00?
Click to expand...


Ribbons tend to cost in the thousands, rather than the hundreds. If you could find a used Beyerdynamic ribbon (M130, M160), that would be a good idea.

Nady just came out with a ribbon mic that has received very positive reviews and is super cheap, but many are wary of the Nady brand.

If you are just doing some tracking, you might try to rent a ribbon mic instead of buying.
 
Ask me next week. I just ordered a Nady. We'll see what I think of it....

On a related note, does anyone have any good advice for a pop filter? I own some some foam windscreens, but I figure I should do something a little better when it comes to a ribbon mic. Thoughts?
 
needledrop said:
I'm on a budget so , is there anything worth buying for under $350.00?
Click to expand...

What kind of pre do you have?--ribbon mics require at least 70db of very low noise gain, otherwise they are practically useless.
Rumours, soon high output ribbons (with sensitivity comparable to good condensers) will hit the market. I'd wait and see.
 
Thanks for the info.
DGAT Please get back to me on that Nady, let me know what u think.
sborgovini@earthlink.net

Marik,
I'm using a Presonus Eureka and a Joe Meek VCQ1.
Think they'll do?
Thanks for the heads up on the high output ones.
Anything else you can tell me about them?

Needledrop
 
There was a recent thread about that Nady ribbon mic - do a search or check the mic forum.
 
needledrop said:
Marik,
I'm using a Presonus Eureka and a Joe Meek VCQ1.
Think they'll do?
Click to expand...

The Presonus has about 50-55db gain, IIRC, so I doubt it'd work. I am not familiar with this Joe Meek. Probably Alan Hyatt could chime in and fill with more details.
 
hi there,

i tested my new thomann ribbons yesterday, we recorded a western guitar and cranked the preamps (emu 1802) up.
the mics sounded really nice, there was just a very loud humming in the backround, guess it was the pre or what do you guys think?
 
Alexi said:
hi there,
there was just a very loud humming in the backround, guess it was the pre or what do you guys think?
Click to expand...

Most likely the mic itself. Sounds like a poor humbucking motor circuit, or unpotted trafo. If your room has lotsa EMI field, the use of ribbons might be problematic.
 
I got to throw the Oktava ML52 in the ring, only because you mentioned vintage. There's something about this mic's sound, in a lowfi/older beatles recording sort of way, that says vintage to me. Very dark, perhaps a bit overly warm with early top end roll off. You could pick one up - if you can find one - and perform the modification mentioned in the recent Tape Op all for around 300. Check Full Compass for the mic and kandkaudio.com for the transformer. I did it and got a pretty cool mic that will get some use. Good luck.
 
In that price range for a vintage sound you should also consider the MXL V69 ME tube mic. It has a dark and colored sound. Very classic and retro. Best mic you'll find in that price range for that type of application.
 
I have the thomann Rb500 ribbon, too. There's no hum on mine. Sensitivity is a little better than on most other ribbons, probagly because the ribbon is pretty large (2 inch). Depending on how loud the source is 50-60 dB gain will do. Approximately 10 dB more than an SM58 on the same source. As others have reported, the sound is very nice. Lots of bass. A variable low cut is a nice thing to have on your preamp. And of course it should be low noise in high gain settings. Two preamps that went nicely with it were a Siemens V272 (modded for variable gain) and a (slightly modded) Behringer Ultragain 2000, a fairly old model (no tube or other fancy stuff). I also tried an ART DMP II, but it was fairly noisy with the ribbon (it's not noisy with other mics). I suspect because of the variable impedance circuity.
 
Ribbon mic

You might be able to pick up a Shure 315 bi-directional for that. You will need a good pre-amp. They have a very nice sound.
 
I have several ribbon mics - Beyer 160, 500, 260, Shure 330, SM33, AEA R84 and R44 - and my Aardvark Q10 has plenty of gain for all of them.
 
Yum.... Nady Quality Control....

Well, I got the Nady mic. There was a 3/8" washer bouncing around inside the mic head. Needless to say, I'm asking for a replacement from the seller, or failing that, from Nady. I'd expect the ribbon to be thoroughly trashed.

That's the kind of expensive mistake that should result in multiple quality control people getting canned.... There's no excuse for a product leaving the factory with... extra parts....
 
I also have the t.bone ribbon. I'm really, really impressed with the sound. It is pure silk. You have to cut the bass a bit though...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Shure 330 Ribbon Mic
Replies
16
Views
2K
Csb@12
C
A
Earthworks PM40 and AEA R88 mk2 for piano.
Replies
3
Views
679
amc252
A
rob aylestone
Another 'awkward' chinese mic - and something new?
2
Replies
20
Views
3K
rob aylestone
rob aylestone
CoolCat
Chandler Limited TG L
Replies
8
Views
682
CoolCat
CoolCat
L
Studio Monitors Suggestions
Replies
3
Views
396
Papanate
Papanate
Back
Top