speaking of cheap ribbons

[mobobog]

what about this

 

http://www.frontendaudio.com/Avant_Electronics_CR_14_Ribbon_Microphone_p/9682.htm

 

Have you ever tried avant microphones?

[mobobog]

it LOOKS great

 

http://www.frontendaudio.com/Avant_Electronics_CK_7_Large_Capsule_Multi_Pattern_p/9685.htm

[UstadKhanAli]

There are so many cheap ribbons now. I wish I could hear a few of them. I was looking at the Shinybox 46MXC, which if memory serves was somewhere around $400.

 

Then, at the link that you provided, they have also have a beyerdynamic M130 for $600.

 

The cheap ribbons are really enticing. In the past few months, I've probably started more "cheap-ass ribbon mic" threads as anyone. But I still haven't purchased one. I just don't want to end up wasting money when I could have gotten a rock-solid ribbon mic for a few hundred more.

 

That said, the Shinybox is supposed to be well-made. I know nothing about the Avantone. The ad copy sure makes it sound enticing though.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Originally posted by mobobog what about this http://www.frontendaudio.com/Avant_Electronics_CR_14_Ribbon_Microphone_p/9682.htm Have you ever tried avant microphones?

 

I reviewed the Avantone Mixcubes (Auratone-esque speakers) recently in EQ. Although Avant is located about 15 minutes away from my studio, I've never been over there. They contacted me recently regarding their new mikes, and invited me to come by and check them out. I'll probably swing over there just after New Years and see what they've got... who knows? Maybe we can get a review happening for either HC or EQ.

[mobobog]

it would be great to have you opinion on those mics... a pro review would be fantastic, how about a cheap ribbons shootout for a pro review?

 

The freq response chart for the condensers looks like a mountains landscape, but i cant see the vertical scale... so it doesnt mean a thing.

[UstadKhanAli]

I think Electronic Musician did a shootout of ribbon mics from a while back, but there have been so many new contenders that certainly another go at it would be welcome. Obviously, there's a giant buzz about all these cheap new ribbon mics on the market, so it's inevitable that someone's going to do a shootout of these sooner than later.

[mobobog]

 

Originally posted by UstadKhanAli I think Electronic Musician did a shootout of ribbon mics from a while back, but there have been so many new contenders that certainly another go at it would be welcome. Obviously, there's a giant buzz about all these cheap new ribbon mics on the market, so it's inevitable that someone's going to do a shootout of these sooner than later.

 

 

The other one that catches my attention is this

 

http://www.cascademicrophones.com/cascade_FAT_HEAD_II.html

 

but just for what i have read. Why is it that you

havent tried them, arent they stocked in music stores?

[mobobog]

I Mean all this ribbons you have been looking at

[mobobog]

Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe I reviewed the Avantone Mixcubes (Auratone-esque speakers) recently in EQ. Although Avant is located about 15 minutes away from my studio, I've never been over there. They contacted me recently regarding their new mikes, and invited me to come by and check them out. I'll probably swing over there just after New Years and see what they've got... who knows? Maybe we can get a review happening for either HC or EQ.

 

So they are made in the USA... i thought they were chinese made when I looked at the prices.

[UstadKhanAli]

Yeah, the Cascade and the Shinybox are not stocked in stores. The Cascade Fathead caught my eye when I saw it in a favorable TapeOp review. But for various reasons, I am favoring the Beyerdynamic and the Shinybox at the moment - subject to change. I started a post about the Cascade Fathead here a little while back, with people generally responding that it's better to hold out for a quality ribbon mic such as the Coles or the Royer (I would love to have a Royer 121). If I get a Royer, I'm gonna have to start doing a lot more recording sessions, though!!

[mobobog]

They are expensive hu? But Bruce Swedien loves them...they should be good.

 

I have heard the beyer are great for the money, and sweetwater has a bundle of a figure 8 and an hypercardiod for $1000. 2 for less than a royer.

[mobobog]

look at this

 

http://www.3daudioinc.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/40?osCsid=5b308e5fde86f64da9b3b71d93428766

[MikeRivers]

I have a CAD Trion 7000 ribbon mic in here for review. It doesn't have much top end, and the low end was kind of flabby until I loaded it down pretty good. With the Mackie 800R set for 500 ohms, it sounded pretty good.

 

Sensitivity is kind of low. I have a preamp with about 75 dB of gain, and with the CAD ribbon about 6 feet away from my Martin D-18 I got about the best Lester Flatt bluegrass rhythm guitar I've heard from it yet. I think it would be a good budget voiceover mic.

 

Like the Avant, it's a dual ribbon motor assembly. I'm not sure what the Avant does with the two ribbons, quite possibly puts them in series to get more output. The CAD has one ribbon at really low tension to hype the low end (which is what I thought it didn't need) It has a pretty good null, too, better than I would have expected with the two parallel ribbons about half an inch apart. The null was good enough so that I could put one on my voice and one on my guitar and, at a working distance of about a foot, could get good enough isolation so that I could punch in either one without the leakage into the other being noticeable.

 

Like most modern ribbon mics, it sounds a little different on both sides. This may be an artifact of manuracturing - there's nothing inside that would make the acoustical path between the two sides. But like other manufactuers, they make the best of it and call it a feature - two sounds from one mic.

 

The parts are built in China, but CAD says they test and tune them at the factory in the US. The solid state condenser mic in that series sounds awfully good as well. The tube condenser mic in the series kind of sounds the way I think people expect a tube mic to sound. How's that for a nice way to say "There's nothing really wrong with it but I don't know why I'd want one with all the other good mics out there."

[mobobog]

Another one that looks cool

 

http://www.karmaaudio.com/6.html

 

Does anybody know something about karma mics?

[UstadKhanAli]

Originally posted by mobobog They are expensive hu? But Bruce Swedien loves them...they should be good.

 

Yes, he just bought one. He loves it, and so do several other people whose opinions I trust. And I've heard some recordings with it and it's just an incredible mic.

 

When I first got a four-track cassette machine and was just getting into recording. I already knew Bruce Swedien's name. I loved his recordings and what he had to say. I read this old magazine called R/E/P (which was a wonderful magazine) and read an interview about how he approaches music and recording and really thought the guy sounded incredible. I remember thinking, "This guy sounds so right on, so passionate about music, so tuned into creating this sonic world..."

 

I mention this in this thread mostly because I just thought about his opinions, but partially because if I put it in one of the threads that he participates in, I'll get accused of "ass kissing".

[Phil O'Keefe]

Originally posted by mobobog They are expensive hu? But Bruce Swedien loves them...they should be good. I have heard the beyer are great for the money, and sweetwater has a bundle of a figure 8 and an hypercardiod for $1000. 2 for less than a royer.

 

The Beyer M160 is one of my favorite microphones for some tasks - it is very good on banjo, sax and even drum overheads. The M130 is a bi-directional mic, and the M160 a hypercardioid, so together they make a good pair for M-S stereo.

 

Royer ribbon microphones ARE incredible (I'd love to own a few), as are the AEA mikes (ditto). As far as the inexpensive ribbons, I really have not put any of them through their paces, but I do have some classic ribbons (Beyer, Shure, RCA) I can compare them to, and I've been meaning to check out some of the M.I.C. ribbons for some time now. Hopefully I'll be able to do so early this year.

[UstadKhanAli]

Lemme know if you do, Phil...mebbe I can help out.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Originally posted by UstadKhanAli Yes, he just bought one. He loves it, and so do several other people whose opinions I trust. And I've heard some recordings with it and it's just an incredible mic. When I first got a four-track cassette machine and was just getting into recording. I already knew Bruce Swedien's name. I loved his recordings and what he had to say. I read this old magazine called R/E/P (which was a wonderful magazine) and read an interview about how he approaches music and recording and really thought the guy sounded incredible. I remember thinking, "This guy sounds so right on, so passionate about music, so tuned into creating this sonic world..." I mention this in this thread mostly because I just thought about his opinions, but partially because if I put it in one of the threads that he participates in, I'll get accused of "ass kissing".

 

Butt kisser!

 

There's a definite line between gratuitous brown-nosing and sincerely expressed apperciation of someone's work, or appreciation for them taking the time to "pass it on". In my experience, most famous or successful people are pretty adept at being able to quickly tell the difference. I don't think anyone is ever going to sincerely accuse you of being a ass-kisser Ken, and if they do, they don't know you as well as I do.

 

 

PS

RE/P was a GREAT magazine!

[Phil O'Keefe]

Originally posted by UstadKhanAli Lemme know if you do, Phil...mebbe I can help out.

 

Will do Ken - that would be fun!

 

Maybe we could get GearMike and a couple of others in on the fun...

[UstadKhanAli]

How's the gain on the beyers, Phil? I now have the mic preamps to drive low-gain ribbons, so I can now consider low-gain as well as high-gain ribbons.

 

Mobobog, there are some other cheap ribbons that utilize either a tube or use phantom power, interesting hybrid mics that weren't available all that long ago, to the best of my knowledge, and certainly not in the sub-$1000 range. This would be appropriate for mic preamps that don't have enough ooomph to drive low-gain ribbons.

[UstadKhanAli]

Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe Will do Ken - that would be fun! Maybe we could get GearMike and a couple of others in on the fun...

 

Yeah, he has a good ear and is a lot of fun!!

 

Say hi to Sandy for me.

[Phil O'Keefe]

How's the gain on the Beyers, Phil? I now have the mic preamps to drive low-gain ribbons, so I can now consider low-gain as well as high-gain ribbons.

 

Reasonably good, especially by non-preamp equipped ribbon mike standards, but as always, the amount of preamp gain you'll need depends largely on how loud the sound source is and how close your mic placement to the source is. For most tasks, I find I can get away with about 50 dB of gain from the preamp and still have decent levels to tape / disk.

[joel Oporto]

Ken, just wanted to let you know that the shiny box ribbons are made by a company called ningbo Alctron which also makes the nady ribbons, and a lot of other large diaphragm condenser mics for other american manufacturers.

I got my pair straight from their factory for $100 each including shipping.

 

However shiny box makes modifications on their ribbons, like changing the transformers etc as compared to the nadys.

[MikeRivers]

 

Originally posted by UstadKhanAli How's the gain on the beyers, Phil? I now have the mic preamps to drive low-gain ribbons, so I can now consider low-gain as well as high-gain ribbons.

The world needs more well designed preamps that have 75 dB or more of gain. Manufacturers of "popular" gear have pretty much limited them to 60 dB because they don't want to have a dB or few of EIN higher than the competition - they know that too many people choose gear from spec sheets before they look at the utility.

 

The TRP from AEA Assoicates looks like the real deal. I've been playing with the LMNOPre from Little Labs that works great with my low output Beyers, but at $1500 for a single channel preamp, even with the extra goodies that it has, it doesn't make sense to buy it in order to make a $200 mic usable.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

Originally posted by joel Oporto Ken, just wanted to let you know that the shiny box ribbons are made by a company called ningbo Alctron which also makes the nady ribbons, and a lot of other large diaphragm condenser mics for other american manufacturers. I got my pair straight from their factory for $100 each including shipping. However shiny box makes modifications on their ribbons, like changing the transformers etc as compared to the nadys.

 

 

Thanks. Yes, he swaps out the transformers, but doesn't Jon do something with the ribbons as well? I thought he said something about that, but can't find where he said it.

 

From the Shinybox Forums:

 

Another change is that I will no longer sell the stock 46MX, which was assembled for me by the factory. I will still offer a version of the microphone, but it will be in line with how the 46MXC and 46MXL microphones are made, in that each microphone is custom assembled by me.