 |
Tangle-Free Ribbons
Recording music is a craft with many mysteries, and with the possible
exceptions of multi-band compression, room modes and how to get your lead
guitarist to turn down, the most enigmatic of these would have to be the
ribbon microphone.
The reasons for this inscrutability can be directly attributed to the fact
that few home recordists have ever used one, much less owned one. Even more
to the point, the “standard” models of ribbon mics (from companies like
Coles, Royer and RCA) have always been and continue to be a bit
(ahem)…pricey.
This is certainly been a major contributing factor in my own studio’s not
owning one, although I have been able to use them and/or hear them in use at
other studios. I have also been fortunate enough to have been loaned the
Royer 121, a Beyerdynamic M 160 and a vintage RCA 44-B for extended periods,
so I at least had a general familiarity with them. Enough to generate an
insatiable (if unrequited) lust for them, anyway.
Adding to the idiosyncratic nature of the beast are its inherent frailties
and high risk for damage. Ribbon mics utilize a very thin corrugated
aluminum ribbon suspended between the poles of a strong magnet. This element
is so fragile that just blowing on it can break the ribbon; inadvertently
applying phantom power can also ruin the mic. Even walking across the studio
floor too quickly can cause failure in some models!
So why are ribbon mics regarded so highly by experienced recording engineers
and producers? The sound baby, the sound.
Smooth, un-hyped and natural are but three of the adjectives frequently used
to describe the sonic character of ribbon microphones. These mics generally
pick up sound in a Figure 8 pattern, meaning they “hear” what’s directly in
front and in back of them in fairly equal measure, while rejecting sounds
coming in from 90 degrees right or left. This makes them very adept at
capturing the source and the room in which they were recorded. Additionally,
these mics exhibit a pronounced proximity effect, wherein lower frequencies
are exaggerated when coming in close to the mic. Careful placement of
vocalists or instruments with regard to this phenomenon can result in a
rich, magical presence…find some old Bing Crosby recordings for a great
example of this.
Modern ribbons are coming back into favor due to their more robust design,
making them suitable for high sound pressure level applications like drums
and guitar amps. Some companies are introducing phantom powered designs, and
perhaps even most importantly for some of us, several affordable models have
made their way into the marketplace. Of course, as with most things, you get
what you pay for, and the low-cost versions have been decidedly low-rent.
Until now, that is…
Recently we looked at a great mic (the CV-12 tube condenser) from Avantone (avantelectronics.com),
and when I saw the CR-14 Dual Ribbon ($259) I quickly requested a pair for
review. Concurrently, I had also purchased a pair from Cascade (cascademicrophones.com),
the Fat Head II ($199 ea, Stereo Pair Package $399). It was time to dive
headlong into Ribbonland.
This will not be a comparative “shootout” between these two models. Rather,
we’ll use them to illustrate what sorts of results can be achieved using
them.
The dual-ribbon designed Avantone CR-14 comes in a sturdy padded aluminum
case, containing a proprietary clamp-style shockmount and a velvet-lined
wooden box which houses the mic. The rectangular retro-futurist design sort
of makes it look like a really nice electric shaver, with the companies
ubiquitous cabernet red body and jet-black grill giving a look that’s both
sexy and all business at the same time.
Conversely, the Cascade Fat Head II have little black (or silver, your
choice) cylindrical bodies with well…big, fat chrome lollipop heads where
the ribbon is housed. I ordered the Stereo Pair Package with the Blumlein-Stereo
Adaptor Bar, which allows you to set them up in x/y, spaced pair or mid-side
configurations. All of these, along with their shock mounts come housed in
an attractive aluminum case as well.
While these type of mics are notorious for having exceptionally low output
levels, I was pleasantly surprised at the healthy amount of level they
provided.
My first session using them was on a small drum kit for my son Drew Andrews
forthcoming solo album. I set the Fat Heads up spaced two feet apart and
perpendicular to the floor, about 5 feet high and turned inward at 45 degree
angles. This gave a very realistic three-dimensional sound with no
additional eq necessary. I wanted to bring the snare forward a bit more, so
I placed one of the Avantones about a foot and a half or so away from the
snare, being careful to center the high hat on the null point and just above
rim high. WOW!! Did I love what I heard back. The snare sounded as if I had
mic’ed both the top and the bottom AND it added a bit of room. It was like
that one mic sounded like three perfectly placed ones. A bit later, we
decided to go for an even more “vintage” sound and added the other Avantone
as a room mic about 12 feet back and 8 feet high. A gorgeous, complex sound
with only four mics!
Miking a loud amp with a CR-14 about three feet away produced a gnarly,
burred “brown” tone which sounded great when mixed with a standard SM57, and
even better when I pulled it back to six feet, letting even more of the room
“speak”. Additional experiments miking the back of the amp with the other
CR-14 yielded equally excellent results.
The band Tapwater stopped by between tour stops to record a live acoustic
record in two days. A CR-14 was used to capture the upright bass with
stunning results. For one, the mic is rated down to 40hz, but I had tons of
signal down 20hz!! I ended up having to very gently roll off the lows
starting at around 240 and ended up with a very balanced sound, the whole
band was playing and singing all the parts live, so I was amazed to solo up
the bass track and hear not only the bassist’s vocals plain as day, but also
the accordion which was 20 feet away and partially isolated in a room! That
is to say that the mics pickup pattern in this instance was more akin to
omni directional than figure 8. The accordion was close mic’ed with the Fat
Head II and the results were in a word, perfect.
On the recent Allied Gardens project, Peter Bolland, Michael Tiernan &
myself also recorded live, utilizing the Fat Heads and CR-14s on our
acoustic guitars, banjo & percussion. The Fat Heads were a bit brighter and
shimmery, which lifted up me and Peter’s somewhat darker guitar tones, while
Michael’s typically bright tone was reigned in a bit by the CR-14’s darker,
more muscular color.
Subsequent sessions found both the Avantone and Cascade models excelling at
capturing trumpet, saxophone, backing vocals and violin with uniformly
striking results.
While both manufacturers have made excellent products, each has their own
distinct character. The Avantone CR-14 is a bit deeper and darker and
captures a lot of the room. I found it to be a bit more “vintage” sounding,
like a Coles. Whereas the Cascade Fat Head II seemed a bit brighter and more
directional, giving it a more modern edge, similar to the Royer models.
Whatever your preference, those of us who have been waiting for the
opportunity to add the wonderful hues of ribbon mics to their palette,
rejoice!
Sven-Erik Seaholm is an award-winning independent producer with well over
200 recording credits, as well as a
singer and
songwriter. |
|
