[LAU] Cheap ribbon mics

[Gene Heskett]

On Friday 25 January 2013 21:01:37 Bob van der Poel did opine:
Message additions Copyright Friday 25 January 2013 by Gene Heskett

> Anyone used one of cheap ribbon mics I see on feabay for well under
> $100? Yeah, probably get what you pay for ... but I don't have 2 to 4
> grand just to play with one. I'm doing some in-home recording of a
> tenor sax and I've heard that ribbons are really good for this.
> Comments appreciated.

For a big buck, its worth the experiment Bob.  One huge caveat though.

Don't ever walk up to a ribbon mic & blow into it to see if its live.  A 
perfectly innocent little puff of air can and has stretched the ribbon by a 
1/4" or more in the old RCA M-77's.  They are a cast iron bitch to put a 
new ribbon in them because most folks don't have the non-magnetic phosphor 
bronze screwdrivers you need to work inside the magnetic field of one of 
those mikes.

BTDT, several times in my early career in electronic servicing back in the 
'50's.

One thing the typical ribbon will do is make a close miking setup a lot 
more realistic by putting a solid foundation under the sound of the sax.  
Its a sound I like.

Cheers, Gene
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