Stellar RM-3 inbound - any opinions on this mic?

D

Deaj

New member
Hello all,

I've just recently purchased my first ribbon mic, a CAD Trion 7000. Prior to receiving this mic I'd never had occasion to record with one. I was quite surprised with just how great this mic sounds on guitar cabinets! I picked up the 7000 cheap - under $100 so the risk was minimal. Mine appears to have well tensioned ribbons with just the slightest sag on each (have not done any frequency testing yet - I may eventually out of curiosity).

On to the subject of this post: I wanted to give one of the Chinese single ribbon mics a go (one using the Cascade Fathead type ribbon motor) and found a new Stellar RM-3 (the Royer 121 look-alike). I should have it in hand by weeks end. I wasn't able to find much about these mics here so I thought I'd check to see if anyone is using them. Any opinions on this mic?

Thanks
 
The Royer look-alike is probably identical to the group buy mics from a couple years back.
 
Deaj said:
I'm afraid I'm not familiar. Any feedback about these mics (group buy mics)? Thanks! :)
Click to expand...

Other than the high rate of incorrectly corrugated ribbons that sag really badly? :D

They're okay mics, but they wouldn't be my first choice unless you're specifically trying to imitate the Royer sound. In the not-so-long ribbon category, I much prefer the lollipop style (Nady RSM-4, for example). The solid metal grille in the RSM-3-style mics has a negative impact on the sound, IMHO.
 
They come up on E-bay every once in a while.
I searched around the reviews at one point and have pretty well decided to buy one down the road.
I'm in the middle of upgrading my live gear though so it will be a while.
Let me know how it goes for you.
 
Thanks for the information! :)

I received my Stellar RM-3 yesterday afternoon. I pulled the ribbon motor and found the ribbon sagging heavily (no surprise, I was expecting this from comments all over the net re: chinese ribbon mics). There wasn't as much ribbon to work with as I would have liked but certainly enough to properly tension it. I put it back together and gave it a quick test in front of one of my guitar amps - sounds very good! Smooth and warm with more midrange and a bit less 'sheen' on the top as the CAD Trion 7000 ribbon mic. Both of these low cost ribbon mics sound great so far - they're voiced quite differently. I expect I'll get plenty of use out of both. The RM-3 was a real bargain at $100. Overall I'm very pleased with the purchase and the mic.
 
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