Favorite mic for steel

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 28 Nov 2020 2:42 pm

Nothing to do with steel guitar, but to do with ribbons - I just unearthed an old tape of a TV show back in '81 with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra who played a lot of Glenn Miller (although this is Stan Kenton).

I used 4038 ribbons (within the Beeb we called them PGSs) on the trumpets. They were not normal in a TV studio but the players recognised them and knew not to show respect but to work them close. You can't do that with a condenser.

https://soundcloud.com/user-917146569/s ... nce-200881

David Mitchell · Post by **David Mitchell** » 29 Nov 2020 5:07 am

I like singing through ribbons like the old RCA DX77, 44 mics or even the Beyer bandstand mics. I got a honky sounding voice and they smooth it out like velvet.

Bill Terry · Post by **Bill Terry** » 29 Nov 2020 6:18 am

I'm in the market for a good ribbon mic at the moment. I did a session last year where the engineer used a Royer 121 on my amp, and I really liked how it tamed my 'skronky' right hand technique. The Royer 121 is a pretty big hit on a poor boy's budget, and I'm wondering if anyone has tried any lower priced ribbons with any success? i.e. MXL, Golden Age, etc.

I listened to some demos of the new Royer D-10 (demos made by Royer) and I didn't really like how it sounded, seemed a bit harsh for a ribbon to my ears. I'm sort of interested in this Bumble Bee kit that gets great reviews (RM-6)..

https://www.bumblebeepro.com/diy-kit-ma ... ly-manual/

... and John Macy speaks highly of the Shiny Box ribbons, but he had a transformer swap done, not sure how that affects the price, maybe he'll see this. BTW, Shiny Box seems to be 'out of stock' on most of their models at the moment. Maybe they're real popular.

FWIW, if you search for 'build your own ribbon mic' on YouTube you'll get several hits.. not for me, too much 'mechanical' stuff to build, but interesting. They're certainly not complicated (the passive ones) but I wonder how good they could really sound??

Forgot to mention: I dig that recording Ian! it sort of embodies what I like about ribbons, the horns are really smooth, even on those big hits.. Very cool.

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 29 Nov 2020 7:30 am

When I first got the Shiny Box’s (with Cinemag trannies) we put them up with our Royer 121’s and let clients decide what they liked better and they picked the SB about 90% of the time. We have a ton of ribbons from original RCA’s to AEA’s and also have half a dozen Cascade Fat Heads that get used a lot. Justin Weaver, a guitar player in Nashville that does a lot of recording for me in Nashville uses the sE VR2 active ribbon (about 500$) and I’m so impressed with the sound I’m getting a couple. That said: I still live the 421 best for steel...

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 29 Nov 2020 10:47 am

I've been reading all the reviews and I'm getting the impression that the Royer is about the cheapest one worth buying!
It's possible the MXL R40 might be ok for certain things but you don't seem to be able to get them over here at the moment.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 29 Nov 2020 1:02 pm

I checked out the Se VR2 also and was very impressed. Would be my first choice for a sorta affordable ribbon.

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 2 Dec 2020 2:31 pm

But don’t be shy of mics priced less than the Roger’s either. I pull a pair of my Shiny Box’s way more often than our Royer’s much of the time. Another favorite here is the AEA R92 at about 800$-excellent proximity ribbon mic. We do lots of 25+ player big bands and use the Cascade’s on horns and they are great, too. The Royer is also wonderful!!