Sank DX mod

[PlugHead]

Just to let y'all know:

Had a Beyer M160 come back from Stephen Sank with the DX mod: did a quick test with it against 3 other ribbons - stock M160, Royer R-121, Coles 4038...

1) it has top end! tho the output is a bit lower than the stock M160, if used on something with a bit of SPL, you should be fine

2) it has bottom! lots of bass presence, but sounds soft(er) in the mids than any other ribbon - maybe not a good thing on gtr cab, or other "mid" centric needs

3) broadcast voice sound - I have to say it shines on voice, and works OK on dobro, possibly for acoustic guitar, tho the bottom is a bit large 'cept for solo instruments.

Overall, it's a bit noisier than the others: mic's preamp has to work a bit harder than with the stock ribbon, but it is a nice sonic difference thsn the 3 others we ran through...

All in all, worth the 190 bucks!

[mpr3]

So you had two m160s, but only had one modified? I have two that are not factory matched but their responses are very close. I was thinking about doing this mod on both of them, so I am wondering how come you split up the pair?

Also IYO, did the mod make the 160 more unique sounding than the other ribbons or closer to one in particular?

Thanks.

[PlugHead]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mpr3
[B]So you had two m160s, but only had one modified? I have two that are not factory matched but their responses are very close. I was thinking about doing this mod on both of them, so I am wondering how come you split up the pair?

Thanks. [QUOTE][B]

First of all, one of the M160's NEEDED to be re-ribboned - that was the main reason for the mod. They are not matched pairs - very different years, so I think trying to match them might be more hassle than it's worth (with stock Beyer ribbon elements). Also, the orig. M160 has a flavour of it's own - not a lot of top, but great on instruments like alto sax, piano, and sometimes kit/percussion, as well as other horns: this was a test to see what the difference was between the stock mic, and Sank's mod, and whether his is a viable mic mod that'll see the light of day in the studio...hopefully regularly

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mpr3
[B]Also IYO, did the mod make the 160 more unique sounding than the other ribbons or closer to one in particular?[B]

Actually, I was very surprised - the DX mod gives a lot more top than I expected - was actually quite a bit brighter than the Royer and stock M160, but closer to the coles, but with way softer mids: i classify it as a happy face EQ curve - soft mids, and still the bigg bottom, but brighter top than the other ribbon mics. However, it was tested on analog equipment (obviously with the pre's - HARDY M1'S for all mics ) - returned on the Trident console to listen. As stated in the earlier post, it had air, but might have been masked a bit with the extra gain needed, and on non-digital equipment. Nonetheless, it DEFINITELY adds a very different flavour from the other ribbons in the locker.

All in all tho, a very useful "new" face to an old mic!

[Nutmeg II.]

Originally posted by PlugHead
... 2) it has bottom! lots of bass presence, but sounds soft(er) in the mids than any other ribbon - maybe not a good thing on gtr cab, or other "mid" centric needs...

Pair it up with a sm57 on a e.gtr job!

[PlugHead]

Originally posted by Nutmeg II.
Pair it up with a sm57 on a e.gtr job!

I think it's going to come out often to see whether or not it's up for the task - Stephen Sank didn't send a freq. plot, nor any indication what type of SPL it can handle: i would be a bit leery of putting it in front of a screaming cab until knowing what it can handle - I would assume up to a fairly high level, but then again, what the hell do i know - I'm guessing