Ribbon Mics for the Rest of Us
Like a lot of young recording engineers and those with some sort of home-recording set up, I’ve heard a lot about the amazing qualities of ribbon microphones over the last few years. I’d been told that these were the “holy grail” of microphones, that they could reproduce both high and low frequencies with a naturalness unattainable by typical condenser mics, that they could sound both sharp and focused while being smooth and vintage, and that I would be impressed with the latest offerings by companies like Royer, AEA and Coles. I finally went online to see what all the fuss was about, only to find out that I couldn’t possibly afford one without selling a kidney.
Then, out of the blue, came a scattering of affordable new ribbons by budget mic manufacturers in the faraway reaches of Asia and Eastern Europe. I know lots of you, like me, bought some of these microphones in the past. And I’m sure many of you, like me, were underwhelmed. Most of these mics are dark, murky and damn near inaudible. Still, I haven’t dismissed the validity of the virtues of ribbons. I’ve simply chalked it up to the adage “you get what you pay for” and I’ve gone about merrily using my condenser mics for recording vocals, acoustic guitars and drum overheads.
A few years ago, though, a few industrious entrepreneurs started companies that once again went to Asia and Eastern Europe and took advantage of the cheap labor costs and the new designs of modern ribbons, and they’re responsible for today’s new “reasonably” priced offerings. Having used some of these reasonably priced new mics for some time now, I can say, unequivocally, that all the hype is real. Ribbon mics offer a realism and multi-dimensional sound that you have to hear to believe. I also find that, at the mix stage, the sounds they record respond much better to EQ and compression leaving me with sonic options I never had before.
Let me be clear, not all of the new ribbons are amazing. Some are more useful as paperweights. And when I say “reasonably” priced I mean under $1,000, though there are a couple as low as $199. Some of these new gems include offerings by Cascade and Shinybox out of Washington state, Crowley and Tripp out of Massachusetts, Sontronics in England and SE Electronics in China (yeah, that China). And since we’re talking about China, that’s where many of the parts that both Shinybox and Cascade use in their ribbons come from (though they’re meticulously assembled in Washington State.) And one more thing, those parts are also very high quality, so let’s put an end to dismissing all gear with a “made in China” label as inferior.
Before I go on about some of my favorite mics and their uses, let me attempt to describe what these things are. A ribbon mic is a type of dynamic microphone, like a Shure SM 57. Unlike an SM 57, which uses a coil of wire wrapped around a “cap-like” diaphragm suspended over a magnet, ribbons use a very thin strip of aluminum or nanofilm placed between the poles of a magnet. These mics respond to the air velocity of the sound wave by means of electromagnetic induction, as opposed to dynamics, that respond to pressure variations. Most but not all, are bi-directional (figure eight), which simply means they pick up sound equally from both the front and back. Additionally, the word on these mics is that they were once too quiet, rather fragile (it doesn’t take much to break a piece of aluminum many times thinner than a chewing gum wrapper) and running electric current through them (48v phantom power) would fry the ribbon.
All of the above used to be true of most ribbon mics but not anymore. Several modern designs are wired to ignore phantom power and can handle sound pressure levels up to 135 dB or more. There are also new, though more expensive, designs called “active ribbons” that actually feature a built in preamp (powered by 48v phantom) to substantially boost their output. My favorite newer designs are the stereo mics (two ribbons, stacked one on top of the other, facing 90° apart) and the cardioid & hypercardioid models.
Here is my disclaimer: this article is not intended to present all of the good, inexpensive ribbon mics available. I haven’t heard all of them. The microphones I mention hereafter are models I either own (and paid for) or have used extensively, and of course, this is just my opinion.
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Author's biography:
Jim Moreland was introduced to the music business from the day he was born by his passionate parents: Dick Moreland former disc jockey, program director, and A&R guru, along with his mother Patricia Moreland; former independent one-stop record owner and NARM president. Jim’s love for music soon followed – drummer, sales and marketing rep. for several labels - and now his own studio Live Oak Recording. Jim has been able to craft his skills into a very reputable following in So Cal, where he's no stranger to the stage as a drummer for many local bands. His studio work has been praised by many who seek straight forward recording sessions that bring out the best in everyone.
