Ribbon Mics Useful?

[sloop]

Since we had the poll on condensers. How many of you use ribbon mics?

I have a couple of vintage mics that have saved my butt more than once when we couldn't "find" the sound we were wanting.

One is an old Altec 639B birdcage, the other is a Shure figure 8(can't remember the model--300???).

That old Altec can really perform on vocals and Saxophone, the Shure works great on acoustic stuff.

 

[muttley]

I have 2 RCA DX 77's, they are great when recording into digital medium. Makes it sound as if the recording was done in analogue.



da MUTT

 

[Flatpicker]

I have 2 RCA DX 77's...

You lucky *dog*!

 

[muttley]

They were thrown away by the music dept. where I work. Not one thing wrong with'em working wise, a few cosmetic flaws big time though.



da MUTT

 

[eeldip]

interesting poll. so far, you either havent tried them, or you cant live without them.

i have an AE friend who works at a nice studio, and he considers them useful special effect mics... but doesnt go apeshit over them. i think this is because he has such a nice signal path and storage medium (2" tape).

HOWEVER, i would consider a ribbon to be a high priority purchase for home recordists going to disk, as i am another believer that they sound really amazing on digital. why:

great high end, super smooth, almost impossible to get something harsh in the 8k region (which i find troublesome in digital)

very articulate mids. lots of digital recordings sound to me like they have lots of extended highs and lows, but nothing in the middle. ribbons give you a great midrange sound.

easy to mix with. ribbons have a sonic footprint that make them very easy to mix in with other types of mics. they stick out, even at a low volume... and add a great texture to a mix.

 

[Michael Jones]

I have one RCA 77DX. I think its great for vocals!
Takes a LOT of CLEAN gain to drive one though. So unless you have a nice pre amp to drive it, you're going to miss the "point".

 

[Dr.Grace]

There's a new ribbon mic from AEA, the R84, that's getting a lot of praise from pros. I haven't tried it myself, but I've been impressed with some tracks made with it by Lynn Fuston, posted in a very informative thread on the 3dB forum:

http://www.3daudioinc.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000458

It's relatively inexpensive for a ribbon mic, at about $1K.

Don

 

[Dave S.]

Great for brass! I use a Royer R122.
Dave

 

[cominginsecond]

Anyone used the Oktava ribbon mic they have at GC? That’s the only ribbon in my price range.

 

[eeldip]

you can get a used beyer m260 for about $200.

i think it is a better entry level ribbon

 

[Fletcher]

I have a couple of vintage mics that have saved my butt more than once when we couldn't "find" the sound we were wanting.

One is an old Altec 639B birdcage

If I remember correctly... the 639b has two transduction elements... one ribbon, the other dynamic.

 

[faithful]

R84

I've had an R84 for a few months now and it is MUCH more than just a "special effect" mic. I find myself picking it over my U195 more and more. I've even considered selling my U195 in order to fund another R84 but they compliment each other so well in sound it's really tough to make that move.

Definitely take a look at one. Don't count it out without a listen. Also look at some of the talk around the forums like 3D, Recpit, GS, etc. Listen to the clips on 3D too. Yes, they are mp3 but they do a pretty good job of representing the mic.

Just my opinion.

Jason A.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Beyer M160.... very useful on guitar amps, brass...

 

[Beezoboy]

I agree I have a Beyer M-260 and 2 old Shure Unidyne 330 ribbons. I got to hear a couple Royer SF1's as drum overheads yesterday that are very smooth. Ribbons certainly have a larger than life sound on acoustic instruments and can be very smooth for voices.

Remember those Nat King Cole and and some other famous recordings are done with ribbons.

As I type this I am actually recording a girl doing acoustic and voice, and in a few minutes we will be doing vocal takes with my Shure 330. They sound great, maybe I'll post a few. They'll definately be going in the clinic. She wants to hear some feed back on her songs.

So YES ribbons are very very nice tools and can work better than a condenser when you just want smoooooooooooth.

Beez

 

[maestro_dmc]

I have a beautiful old Shure Model 300 that I'd love to use, but it seems to be really noisy.

I was told I need a cleaner mic pre than my Bellari single channel, but it sounds the same, even on a higher end Tascam desk than a friend of mine owns.

I think I may have damaged it at one point by putting phantom power on it, but I don't know if that would make it noisy?

 

[chessparov]

Another possibility is the Electro-Voice EV 666 dynamic.

Said to sound remarkably close to a RCA 77DX run through a
tube pre. Prices are starting to go up on this one apparently.
Usually under $200 used, one just sold for $475 on e-bay!

Chris

 

[sloop]

Re: Re: Ribbon Mics Useful?

If I remember correctly... the 639b has two transduction elements... one ribbon, the other dynamic.

Correct, it has a dome transducer on the bottom and a BIG ribbon. You have a 6 position selector on the back so you can adjust the manner in which they work.

 

[mixmkr]

I use a Beyer M160 on guitar amps...was pretty good on snare when I used to mic a lot of them...

Also, I have been trying to use it as of late on my banjo, and it seems fairly decent so far.

Needs a good clean preamp that can boost this low level mic up to "usable" levels if you are recording something fairly quiet.

 

[AGCurry]

I go to my ribbons first, and I have some nice ones.

 

[qbert1]

Anyone used the Oktava ribbon mic they have at GC? That’s the only ribbon in my price range.

I got one and performed the Lundhal transformer modification from the Tape Op article. It was pretty interesting. It's not a RCA now, but it's definitely more useable. Clearer overall and a lot less tubby, but definitely not the workhorse studio mic one would hope for. BTW, it’s GREAT on trumpet!!!

Also, has anyone heard the Royer demo CD? I just got mine and I think I might be missing something. While I was blown away by Royer mics on some sources (like the orchestral, live band, and choral recordings), I was surprised that the R121 was not my choice on a few of things that I'm told it should be a shoe-in for.

For instance, towards the end of the CD Steve Albini demonstrated and compared the R121 to a Coles on an alto saxophone. There's no way I'd pick the Royer over the Coles based on that display - I'm a bit surprised they included it in a promo CD. Also, I thought the 57 on distorted guitar sounded more usable than the Royer.

That doesn't seem right!?!

I'm going to listen to it for a third time cause based on the hype in the forums, I should be able to hear the "legendary Royer quality" better. Any one else hear this CD?...maybe it's time to clean the ears...