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Post by ninworks on May 7, 2020 8:13:30 GMT -5
All of their mics are on sale right now. I'm going to buy a ribbon mic. That's one of the few things I don't have in my locker.
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Post by ninworks on May 8, 2020 6:50:00 GMT -5
NMD. New Mic Day. I bought a Royer R121 ribbon mic from Sweetwater yesterday. I didn't have a ribbon of any kind and felt like I needed to have one in my assortment. That is the cheapest I have ever seen one of those for sale, even though still expensive, so, I thought it would be a good time to get one. It should arrive within the next week.
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Post by rickyguitar on May 9, 2020 19:59:49 GMT -5
Cool. Just dont let horn players near it, but I am guessing you already knew that.
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Post by ninworks on May 10, 2020 5:20:48 GMT -5
Cool. Just dont let horn players near it, but I am guessing you already knew that. Yup. I knew that. I have done extensive research on dozens of different microphones. Most of them I'll never be able to afford but, I have a few high dollar mics. This one fits into the lower end of the expensive mics. It actually arrived yesterday. According to UPS it wasn't supposed to be delivered until next Wednesday. Gotta love that! |
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Post by Auf Kiltre on May 10, 2020 9:19:39 GMT -5
Yikes, even discounted that's a pricey mic. Where do you see a ribbon mic fitting into the duties of studio work? I never fully understood their niche over say, a good condenser.
As much as I'd love more mics I think it would be a case of diminished returns without a serious upgrade in the front end of my recording chain. Right now I have a variety of options from Shure to Sennheiser to Oktava to Rode to Studio Projects. All decent lower end mics that ultimately plug into a USB interface (Eleven Rack, Mbox, etc.).
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Post by ninworks on May 10, 2020 11:49:59 GMT -5
Yikes, even discounted that's a pricey mic. Where do you see a ribbon mic fitting into the duties of studio work? I never fully understood their niche over say, a good condenser. Yes, they are not inexpensive. Still less than a high quality new guitar though. They are supposed to be great for recording guitar amps. Nice fat bottom end without getting boomy. Usually used as a second mic paired with another dynamic mic like a Shure SM57 or a Senheiser MD421. They also are supposed to work well with many other things including vocals. This has a +1dB to -2dB curve throughout its frequency spectrum so, it's very flat. Capable of 135dB SPL. I have heard they work well on acoustic guitar as well. They're supposed to take EQ very well since they are so flat. Not much in the way of resonances at particular frequencies like most mics do. Particularly condensers. It is classified as a dynamic mic. It doesn't need phantom power. I have a very good selection of mics. This is another color that I didn't have to paint with. I'm excited to use and familiarize myself with it. I've never used a ribbon mic before but done tons of research on them. They have a very low output so it requires a mic pre amp capable of about 60dB of gain in order for them to work well. Applying that much gain to a so-so mic pre could get very noisy. I have a Focusrite 18i20 interface with built in mic pres and an analog Focusrite ISA428 mic pre with built in digital converters so they should work very well. Ribbon mics are also very low impedance. You need a mic pre that has the capability of optomizing that low impedance. The ISA428 has a number of input impedance settings to select from. I plugged it into the mic pre on my Eleven Rack yesterday and it wouldn't match up to that low of a level. The Eleven Rack mic pre was incapable of adding enough gain for the mic to operate correctly. The 18i20 mic pres had enough gain to work but has no external impedance selection capability. That can also color the sound. So, I have a couple different pre amp options to add to the coloration of the sound. |
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Post by Auf Kiltre on May 10, 2020 13:24:55 GMT -5
Thanks for the lowdown. I did have a handheld Beyer years back that I thought was a ribbon mic. It was fairly expensive and to my ear a sonic dud, probably because I didn't know how to use it or blew it up mic'ing a drum kit.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 11, 2020 18:20:33 GMT -5
Ribbons can be blown if placed too close to a loud guitar speaker. They need room to breathe.
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Post by ninworks on May 12, 2020 6:52:03 GMT -5
Ribbons can be blown if placed too close to a loud guitar speaker. They need room to breathe. It depends upon the particular ribbon mic. Even then they are placed at an angle in relation to the speaker cone so the ribbon does not receive the full blast force from the sound wave all at once. They can also be used to record kick drum but are never placed inside it or, directly in front of the hole in the front drum head. The same angle-of-incidence positioning of the mic applies. |
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Post by oldfartbassplayrwalt on May 18, 2020 20:41:07 GMT -5
"It doesn't need phantom power."
won't phantom power destroy a ribbon mic?
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Post by ninworks on May 19, 2020 4:18:24 GMT -5
"It doesn't need phantom power." won't phantom power destroy a ribbon mic? It depends upon the particular mic. In general, yes. It's best to play it safe and make sure phantom power is turned off. Some ribbons actually need phantom power since they have built in electronics. The Royer R-122 is one of those. |
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