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mpr3 · 27th August 2003

I just had a chance to use all three (R84, R121/122 and SF12) in a few different scenarios. Here are my thoughts on each:

The R84 is a great mic. It has a very natural/smooth sound and of the 40 plus mics we auditioned on the drums, the R84 was the closest sounding to the Royers, but it definetely had it a bit more hype in certain areas (not bad at all). The most notable difference between the two was in the bottom end. The R84 seemed to be slightly rolled off (HPF) when compared to the 121's. Also, the R84 was a truer figure-8 of the two and thus picked up more room sound. We ended up using the R84s for spaced overheads and while mixing they were a chief source of 'room'.

The 121/122 (we had pairs of both) were what we have come to expect from Royer, very flat response with practically no hype from 20hz to 20k. They sounded dark compared to most others, but after extensive A/B comparisons in a digital environment (Sony Board and Euphonix R1 Recorder) our ears and our guts prefered the Royers (and R84s) over the crop of brighter condensers/dynamics. The Royer stood out on electric guitar as sounding the most authentic of the bunch.

The 122 had a tad brighter sound (in the upper mids) than the 121 which made the 121 sound a bit nasally when A/Bing the two. The difference was MUCH smaller than we were expecting and it took us a while to focus in on the difference, but it was present.

The SF12 was just plan sick. I have never heard one mic deliver such a complete kit in my life. We used this dead center between the R84s and slightly higher than them as we needed to maintain equi-distance to the snare for all three overheads mics. I was impressed to hear that the SF12 was not swamped with cymbals, but instead had excellent tom imaging and added a very positive something to the overall snare sound. I want.

I learned that ribbons are very important in today's digital world. I think the Royer's would make a great first ribbon pair since they are most versatile (bright/dark sides) and very flat, but you cannot go wrong with the R84s or SF12 or even the m160s.

27th August 2003	#3
mpr3 Gear addict Joined: Jun 2003 Location: San Clemente, CA Posts: 338	I just had a chance to use all three (R84, R121/122 and SF12) in a few different scenarios. Here are my thoughts on each: The R84 is a great mic. It has a very natural/smooth sound and of the 40 plus mics we auditioned on the drums, the R84 was the closest sounding to the Royers, but it definetely had it a bit more hype in certain areas (not bad at all). The most notable difference between the two was in the bottom end. The R84 seemed to be slightly rolled off (HPF) when compared to the 121's. Also, the R84 was a truer figure-8 of the two and thus picked up more room sound. We ended up using the R84s for spaced overheads and while mixing they were a chief source of 'room'. The 121/122 (we had pairs of both) were what we have come to expect from Royer, very flat response with practically no hype from 20hz to 20k. They sounded dark compared to most others, but after extensive A/B comparisons in a digital environment (Sony Board and Euphonix R1 Recorder) our ears and our guts prefered the Royers (and R84s) over the crop of brighter condensers/dynamics. The Royer stood out on electric guitar as sounding the most authentic of the bunch. The 122 had a tad brighter sound (in the upper mids) than the 121 which made the 121 sound a bit nasally when A/Bing the two. The difference was MUCH smaller than we were expecting and it took us a while to focus in on the difference, but it was present. The SF12 was just plan sick. I have never heard one mic deliver such a complete kit in my life. We used this dead center between the R84s and slightly higher than them as we needed to maintain equi-distance to the snare for all three overheads mics. I was impressed to hear that the SF12 was not swamped with cymbals, but instead had excellent tom imaging and added a very positive something to the overall snare sound. I want. I learned that ribbons are very important in today's digital world. I think the Royer's would make a great first ribbon pair since they are most versatile (bright/dark sides) and very flat, but you cannot go wrong with the R84s or SF12 or even the m160s.