Ribbon Mic's: Are They Worth The Price And Hassle?

The Owl · #1 02-05-2007, 09:36 AM

Just curious what you folks think of ribbon mic's in general and what are the pros and cons?

From what little I know thus far, I DO know they can capture amazing detail very smoothly, but at the same time, are RIDICULOUSLY fragile and expensive, and with the lone exception of a new Royer ribbon, to plug them into phantom power is 100% fatal to the mic.

So anyway, can y'all educate me further on this subject?

BR Audio · #2 02-05-2007, 09:43 AM

Older ribbon mics are definetely delicate things. The newer mics that came out in the last few years are very stable and reliable. Not to mention expensive.

Royer 121 has proven to me to be an amazing tool. I use it all the time in guitar cabs, horns, acoustic guitar and etc.

The deal with these mics is that they are not a jack of all trades. They can be very picky with what they sound good at.

If you have a mic collection, I would say get one of the royers for sure. If you are looking for that one-good-allaround mic. I'd look else where.

The AEA stuff is great too.

Hope it helps
Gil

Richard Lindsey · #3 02-05-2007, 09:49 AM

I haven't tried them out, but I do know that some ribbon mics have come out that actually aren't all that expensive (though I think the usual warnings about phantom power etc. still apply for the most part). One of the new CAD Trions is a ribbon. Oktava makes one. Karma Microphones makes one. I dunno how these compare with the classics of the past, but at least these are at price points where you don't have to remortgage your house to try them.

chrisp2u · #4 02-05-2007, 10:00 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribbon_mic

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Owl

Just curious what you folks think of ribbon mic's in general and what are the pros and cons?

From what little I know thus far, I DO know they can capture amazing detail very smoothly, but at the same time, are RIDICULOUSLY fragile

^ Well, most better and higher-quality studio mics, particularly of the condensor and ribbon variety, should be handled with a bit more care than your typical dynamic stage mics. If you take proper precations and tend to take good care of your stuff, and probably not let anyone borrow them there shouldn't be any issue. Use pop filter/wind screens for stuff like vocals and never blow directly into them... just like condensors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Owl

and expensive, and with the lone exception of a new Royer ribbon,

^ There seem to be a slew of chinese ribbons poppping up more recently... and some of them are getting decent reviews. The Cascade Fathead is supposed to be halfway decent (now a fathead II as well)... also some CAD's and shinybox that get decent reviews for cheaper mics (http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php?t=101661).

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Owl

to plug them into phantom power is 100% fatal to the mic.

^ I always thought this was the case as well, but have read where people say that it always isn't the case... depends on how the XLR is wired or if something is faulty in the wiring. Some older mics can be wired differently. I've seen a couple ribbons introduced recently that actually use phantom power.

I'd say head over to http://www.gearslutz.com and search around... tons of good info there on anything recording related, as well as ribbons

agreatheight · #5 02-05-2007, 10:12 AM

They do sound absolutely fantastic, but most recording engineers leave the ribbons as last acquisitions for their microphone collections. There are lots of mics you'd likely want / need to get first. I think I could spend 20 grand EASY before really considering a ribbon, even a budget model. YMMV.

hyperlitem · #6 02-05-2007, 01:00 PM

Ribbons seem to be gaining alot of popularity lately. Like everyone said above they are not a super useful mic. Unless you have quite a mic collection they are not the go to mic. They do certain things amazing, such as room mics or mid side mics. If you were gonna get one the royer 121 or 122 would be the one to get imo. The cheaper ones are very bad from what ive tried. Also be aware the most mic pres will not give enough gain for a ribbon. AEA and grace designs are bothing making ribbon mic pres now which would be a nessecity unless you were gonna be mostly tracking guitar cabs.

supermonkey · #7 02-07-2007, 01:27 PM

This is very helpful. I am looking at adding to my mic array, and was trying to figure out whether a ribbon was worth looking at.

Thanks, all!

Snarf · #8 02-07-2007, 02:59 PM

Meh, only get a ribbon mic if you're recording strings or want a lo-fi sound. They've got a lot of natural harmonic distortion and generally sound muffled unless used for very specific applications, most of which you probably won't get into if you're a hobbyist with a project studio.

bassturtle · #9 02-07-2007, 03:35 PM

I used a shinybox ribbon about a month ago to record an upright part on his album. I really liked it. They're cheap and there are tons of mods that can be done to them to dress 'em up a bit.

As I build my mic collection up, one of those is definately on the list.

bassturtle · #10 02-07-2007, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snarf

Meh, only get a ribbon mic if you're recording strings or want a lo-fi sound. They've got a lot of natural harmonic distortion and generally sound muffled unless used for very specific applications, most of which you probably won't get into if you're a hobbyist with a project studio.

I would argue that they sound warm...not muffled.

The Owl · #11 02-10-2007, 10:09 AM

Thanks everyone!! At this point, I've decided a ribbon mic is not really that essential to what I'm doing right now anyway, I mean, what can a ribbon do that a good condenser can't? Until some situation arises where I absolutely HAVE to have one, I'll take a pass on that type.

deaf pea · #12 02-10-2007, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Owl

...what can a ribbon do that a good condenser can't?

trumpet

With a condensor mic the trumpet invariably sounds small and "pinched", but with a good ribbon mic it'l sound warm, fat and/or HUGE!

BTW, a good, flat response cardiod dynamic mic (EV PL-20 or RE-20 comes to mind) WOULD sound better on trumpet than that condenser, too . . . but the ribbon is still the BEST choice.

el_Kabong · #13 02-13-2007, 05:29 AM

What about a beyer m160? It's not particlarly fragile or expensive and phantom power won't kill it. Sounds pretty good too.

LiamCohl · #14 02-17-2007, 04:34 PM

I used one of the royer sf-24 phantom powered stereo ribbon mics last summer, I spent a lot of time playing with it, and at times if it was set in the right place and angle in a doorway, listening through headphones you could hear peoples conversations clearly in other rooms down the hall, around corners, and on top of that sensitivity, it just the best sounding mic I have ever heard as far as its ability to place a listener right in the room, as soon as I can afford one for myself it will be used on every live recording I do, and what a great way to be able to record a jam session easily!

gravitybass · #15 02-19-2007, 03:32 PM

I agree with Gil. I also have a Royer 121 and have used it with much success on guitars and some vocals. It's a must have for electric guitars. I always pair it with a 57 with both at the cone and get amazing results. The ribbon fills in nicely where the 57 can't and makes the track sound very huge. I use a pair for drum overheads and for certain vocals it could be a fit. It's really nice on acoustic guitars too although I prefer my Neumann condenser most of the time. Also have a Coles ribbon. It's not as versatile as the Royer, and a bit more fragile, but it can sound very cool on guitars.