Ribbon mic for vocals?

[blue4u]

Hey all! Great contributions here. This is fast becoming a favorite forum!

I'm looking for a ribbon mic to use primarily on vocals (mostly male). It should be dark, silky, smooth, etc. Typical ribbon qualities. No hyped high frequencies. A relatively flat eq curve with a touch of color. Something with a unique character but in a subtle way if that makes any sense?

Something in the $300 to $500 range (used) is ideal. Suggestions, comments, opinions, experiences?

You guys rock!

Thx in advance,
Rich

 

[vicenzajay]

Perhaps...

A Karma Audio K-6?

I really enjoy mine...of course, I mainly use it for my wife's vocals - but it definitely fits the bill of dark and silky...within your price range as well, I think.

Jay

 

[dgatwood]

Any ribbon you could get has those qualities. I've never heard a ribbon with a hyped high end, and I question whether such a thing is even possible.

What you want to avoid with ribbons are words like "dead", "dull", or "lifeless"---in other words, avoid any non-phantom Chinese ribbon with a stock transformer....

As for suggestions... well, Beyer makes some that are well suited for that task if you're looking for something handheld. If you're okay with big, I'd consider either A. buying the Karma K-6 or B. buying a cheap <$100 Apex (send it back and try again if you find that the ribbon is sagging) and swapping out the transformer with a Lundahl LL2912. If you can solder wires back onto a mic cable, you can do that mod...

 

[Guitarer]

+1 to the K-6. I absolutely love mine.

 

[pohaku]

Beyer M500

Originally designed as a vocal mic.

 

[billisa]

Have you seen the Cascade FatHead II? The reviews seem very positive on a number of sources.

 

[Somnium7]

Oktava also has some affordable ribbons:
http://www.frontendaudio.com/Ribbon_Microphones_s/28.htm

I was reading some posts in rec.pro.audio where folks were saying that changing the transformer on these Oktava ribbons is a huge improvement.

I recently bought something very similar to the Avant Cr-14:
http://www.frontendaudio.com/Avant_Electronics_CR_14_Ribbon_Microphone_p/9682.htm
I find it very useful and natural for vocals. I'm about to mod it with a transformer but right out of the box it does a decent job.

 

[bigtoe]

Beyer M500

Originally designed as a vocal mic.

agreed...but it is a peaky SOB. not the most ribbony ribbon...all due respect to you...the mighty pohaku...it can rule on the vocal.

to me, the sm7 is the best ribbon mic for 300-500...and it's not a ribbon.

Mike

 

[mixsit]

It should be dark, silky, smooth, etc. Typical ribbon qualities. No hyped high frequencies. A relatively flat eq curve with a touch of color. Something with a unique character but in a subtle way if that makes any sense?

Any ribbon you could get has those qualities. I've never heard a ribbon with a hyped high end, and I question whether such a thing is even possible.

What you want to avoid with ribbons are words like "dead", "dull", or "lifeless"---in other words, avoid any non-phantom Chinese ribbon with a stock transformer....

Just to add another bit to the pile- I tried the 'Fathead to go against/with the R121, and later the 'Vinjet and like them both (considering their pricing makes them not much pain I want to see if the slightly flatter (don't want the low mid bump) and more extended high end on the Vinjet as sort of a base from which to 'eq in' vocal final tones. So far I've only had one shot on a male fairly 'rough' vocal but I bailed on it. Too forward high mid, not enough sparkle, cold feet on the 'eq on the way in' thing (back to a 4047 -bing. I'll go again another time. The extra bit of top is there though- the thing sounds broad and wonderful back a bit, acoustic guits' and kit for example.
Of the three the R121 still has the most presence' out of the box though. That rise is right were it shows on the plots -it's not way up there, but effective.

 

[lpdeluxe]

I use a beyerdynamic M130. I just recently acquired a Grace 101 HG preamp (High Gain) to use with it. They go for $650 new, but you might find one for less, used.

 

[pohaku]

agreed...but it is a peaky SOB. not the most ribbony ribbon...all due respect to you...the mighty pohaku...it can rule on the vocal.

to me, the sm7 is the best ribbon mic for 300-500...and it's not a ribbon.

Mike

Certainly true about the SM7 - my favorite vocal mic.

The Beyer M500 does have a bit of a presence peak compared to other ribbons, but it can sound absolutely great on the right voices. At least I like it better than the M160 and M260 for vocals. If you don't have the opportunity to try out the mics, the SM7 is the safest bet.

 

[bigtoe]

amen on the sm7 and the M500 on the right vocal. that is a sweet mic.

i've never used a 160 on anything more than assisting way back when...but i wouldn't mind seeing what they sounded like on vocals. you can find those used for that price range. i remember seeing a picture of 'the velvet fog' in front of one of those.

Mike

 

[blue4u]

Yeah, the SM7 gets a lot of love as a great male vocal mic. My ears tell me it's a very clean mic that has a way of smoothing over sibilance and annoying high end frequencies. Not sure it has that magical "silky" tone like a ribbon though. Has that been other's experiences of it? I might describe it as rich and smooth but not necessarily ribbon-like. Maybe there are ways of using it that make it more like a ribbon?

Can anyone here recommend a good mic pre for use with the SM7? I bet a nice tube pre could do it wonders! Do share

Thanks again,
Rich

 

[antichef]

TnC ACM-4 modded with a Lundahl transformer with the internal windscreen removed and a pop filter (merely to protect the ribbons)

I have been able to use the SM7b with:
1) MOTU Traveler (before and after Black Lion Audio mod)
2) MAudio DMP3
3) ART Digital MPA (with better 12AX7 tubes than it shipped with)

It sounds great with all of those -- the sound I got with the ART was amazing. All these pres have more than enough gain, particularly if you're recording to a computer (where low gain tracking is actually more desirable than scraping the headroom ceiling).

 

[blue4u]

I had my eye on that ART MPA before. I wouldn't have considered it but it keeps getting rave reviews. What do you like about it? Also, what 12AX7 tubes did you swap out with?

Thx,
Rich

 

[antichef]

I'm just using groove tubes - matching them is important to me for stereo reasons, and although I've got some old GEs, Sylvanias, and stuff that may sound better, I'm not sure I can match them.

I think the main advantage of the MPA in this price range is the variable input impedance - good for ribbons [nod to the topic of this thread - but you're the OP, so we're cool ] and also a higher impedance setting fattened up the SM7b without adding appreciable noise.

The Digital MPA has its own A/D converter and a bunch of digital outs - here's where I've had to wrestle with it. The analog outs work great, but I do get some noise (could just be my settings or unit or what's on the other end of the cable - haven't spent too much time with that). The digital outs (especially the coax S/PDIF, for some reason) can be as quiet as can be, but I have clock-sync problems -- finally, I found that I can terminate the clock-through, use an external clock (the Black Lion Audio microclock, in my case) and stay with the 2x rates (either 88.2 or 96 khz) and it's awesome. For ribbon mics for vocals.

 

[Somnium7]

TnC ACM-4 modded with a Lundahl transformer with the internal windscreen removed and a pop filter (merely to protect the ribbons)

This is what I was hinting at in my earlier post but didn't want to mention a "brand name" at the same time as a GB mic.

I believe this model can be found from at least two "brand name" sources. PM antichef or me for more details should you become interested in this model and we'll happily fill you in instead of pointing you to a 80+ page thread...