Royer Ribbons on Tour with Muse

Engineer / producer Marc Carolan finds Royer R-122 Live ideal for guitar

Dublin, Ireland . When you've spent the better part of a decade as FOH

engineer for British rockers Muse-not to mention working with The Cure and

Snow Patrol-you develop a second sense for knowing what it takes to properly

capture and mix instruments and voices so that each artist conveys their

signature sound. Welcome to engineer / producer Marc "MC" Carolan's world.

In the case of lead vocalist, guitarist, and keyboards virtuoso Matthew

Bellamy's guitar cabinet, the microphone of choice for acquiring all the

subtleties of his playing is none other than the R-122 Live Active Ribbon

Microphone from Royer Labs.

Originally introduced to Royer Labs microphones during one of his various

studio endeavors, Carolan reports the R-122 Live is a robust performer that

can handle high SPL sources without the acoustic anomalies served up by some

microphones. As for miking Matthew Bellamy's guitar cabinet, Carolan

reports, "Between myself, Adam Taylor (monitor engineer) and Jason Baskin

(guitar tech), we came up with an optimum placement of about 4 inches from

the cone and about 2 inches off center. While his cabinet produces extreme

SPL's, it also delivers a wide range of tones and feels. The Royer R-122

Live is the only mic that can handle all of this. I like the fact that

there's no artificial high end boost as is found with other manufacturer's

microphones. The R-122 Live remains true to delivering the tonality Matt is

trying to achieve." Presently, Carolan has two R-122 Live ribbon

microphones, with one mic dedicated to Bellamy's guitar sound and the other

as a backup.

When he's not on tour, Carolan usually finds himself entrenched in a variety

of studio projects and, here too, he considers his Royer ribbons essential

tools of the trade. When using the R-122 Live in the studio," Carolan says,

"I find myself experimenting with a variety of microphone positions. The

figure 8 polar pattern and the nulls that are an integral part of the mic's

sonic signature provide tremendous flexibility. The amount of isolation from

other sound sources that these mics can achieve with careful positioning is

really impressive."

"Obviously, its sound is the most important aspect of the microphone,"

Carolan continues. "The R-122 LIve doesn't try to impose a character of its

own on the source. Rather, the mic reproduces the source in a very

satisfying manner-especially when things get loud. Its response means the

ear is not assaulted with any hi-end nastiness."

In addition to his use of the Royer R-122 Live, Carolan recently began

working with a pair of Royer Labs' R-101 passive ribbon microphones. I'm

still experimenting with them," he says, "but so far, they have proven to be

very versatile microphones. I see a lot of possibilities for the R-101."

Whether on tour or in the studio, much of Carolan's time is spent in mission

critical environments and, as such, quality customer service is essential.

On that note, Carolan is very complimentary of Royer Labs. "Royer Lab's

support services are excellent," he reports. "Not only do they provide

answers, but they're great about providing background information, which

helps me use their products more effectively."

Carolan has become a true fan of the Royer Labs R-122 Live-especially for

use on guitars. He left us with this parting thought, "In all honesty, the

Royer R-122 Live is the only guitar mic I need with Muse. All the complexity

of Matt's sound ends up being reproduced by that one mic-and it sounds

massive."

For more information about Marc Carolan, visit him online at

http://www.facebook.com/marc.carolan and check out his studio at

http://www.facebook.com/suitestudio.

About the R-122 Live Active Ribbon Microphone

The Royer R-122 Live is the world's first phantom powered, active ribbon

microphone designed for live sound applications. It exhibits a flat

frequency response and a well-balanced, panoramic soundfield with the

ability to withstand 135 dB SPL-making it an ideal tool for drum and guitar

amp miking, as well as vocals and a variety of quieter instruments.

About Royer Labs

Located in Burbank, California, Royer Labs' microphones are a staple of

leading recording and broadcast facilities. Additional information on the

new Live Series and all Royer microphones can be found at www.royerlabs.com.