Ribbon microphones are the most natural mics that you can use to capture the sound of an instrument, a voice, and even the ambience of a room. On top of that, the TG Microphone gives you two voicings, A and B. Mode A is ideal for tracking vocals, while mode B is more capable at handling the higher SPLs of guitar amps and drums. This very rare, but if it happens, the mic will need to be repaired. This is due, in part, to the extremely thin ribbon material that is suspended in the magnetic gap. To learn more about our cookie policy, please check our Privacy Policy. From the tweakiest techniques to the biggest ideas, our experts work hard to constantly supply inSync with a steady stream of helpful, in-depth demos, reviews, how-tos, news, and interviews. Simply put, lower frequencies affect ribbon mics more than high frequencies, resulting in a smooth roll-off with decreased output at high frequencies where the waveforms are proportionately shorter. Other than that, our ribbons require no special treatment. It’s as simple as that. With our 20 years of experience working with the RCA44s and the newfound demand for new ribbon mics, we decided to release an updated reproduction of this classic design called the R44C. We all... NEWS: Royer Labs has been given a GRAMMY award for their outstanding ribbon mics! This magnetic field dance produces the alternating current that is then transmitted down the microphone … Far-field mics, like the active N8 and passive R88, are designed to work at greater distances for the pick up of room sounds and to give instruments, like drum kits, more ambience. Avoid dropping the mic, keep it covered when not in use and protect it from direct blasts of air. Position it very close to the source and far enough away from the rear wall, and you’ll get pure stereo with little ambience. Unless designed otherwise, all ribbon mics are naturally bidirectional, giving them a figure-8 polar pattern. With this in mind, it’s easy to understand why the extremely delicate aluminum ribbon must be handled with care and protected from blasts of wind or plosives. In fact, most AEA microphones share the same ribbon used in the RCA 44 series. One of the great misconceptions about ribbons is that they are fragile and delicate to use. Most ribbon microphones are passive devices — meaning that they have no onboard active electronics or preamplification. From the beginning, ribbon mics inherently had figure-of-8 pickup patterns, meaning they received sound from both the front and back sides. For woodwinds such as sax, clarinet, and oboe, the smooth, natural sound of ribbon mics lets you capture the tonal sweet spot without picking up mechanical noise from the keys and pads while producing a signal that usually needs no further processing. A ribbon mic is actually a type of dynamic microphone. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Most people aren’t aware just how thin that ribbon is. We tune all of our ribbons to 16.5 Hz, the same frequency that RCA used on their 44BX mics. The AEA R84 Ribbon Microphone is an outstanding general-purpose microphone, ideally suited for solo and... Mastering for Vinyl: An Audio Engineers Guide, Choosing the Best Thunderbolt Audio Interface on Any Budget, How to Metal Scream Without Hurting Your Voice. From the mid-1930s until the mid-70s, most recordings and broadcasts were made using ribbon microphones. The big advantage is that active ribbon mics are more consistent with a range of preamps with different input impedances and typically have stronger output levels than passive ribbons. It’s little wonder so many guitarists love them! Ribbon microphones are the most natural mics that you can use to capture the sound of an instrument, a voice, and even the ambience of a room. You can always move away from the mic, too, which will minimize the proximity effect’s low-frequency boost. The reason for this is that sound waves arriving from the side of the thin ribbon element won’t cause it to move at all, since the pressure on both sides of the ribbon is identical.