Cascade

[Chrisc_o]

Cascade C77

Anyone using the Cascade C77?

Cascade C77

....among others.

[Puffer Fish]

Cascade ribbon mics are a variation on all the same ribbon mic options coming out of China. Also look to the MXL, Nady and APEX ribbon mics for similar good deals in ribbon mic alternatives. I have a pair of APEX 205 ribbon mics where I did mods to them (re-tensioned the ribbons, inner mesh removal and replaced stock trannies with Lundahls) and then a pair of Nady RSM-5 mics where I simply replaced the transformers with Cinemags and did nothing else at this point. The results of the mods were very satisfying. BTW---the APEX 205, like the Cascade Victor and Vinjet have a longer ribbon while the Nady RSM-5 and the Cascade Fathead have a shorter ribbon.

I was able to pick up my Nady RSM-5 mics for around $80 each and then spent probably around $50 for each of the transformers from Cinemag. The APEX 205 mics I picked up for around $100 each and the Lundahl transformers were around $75 each. The prices are from my faulty memory and are a few years old, so do your own follow-up research if these prices seem attractive to you.

Also, do yourself a favor and check out this fellow Gearslutz' web site: DIY Ribbon Microphone Design - Ribbon Replacement Techniques He makes and sells a ribbon mic as well as a whole bunch of ribbon mic parts.

I thoroughly enjoy having the ribbon mics in the locker to use on different recording projects. I think I will always have a pair of ribbon mics for as long as I do studio work. They are worth owning. They are the very best sound on rhythm electric guitar! I use them on drum OH when I want to tame the high frequencies. They work well for certain vocalists. The ribbon mics often are used in conjunction with another mic on various instruments.

[drBill]

My preferences :

Short ribbons for E Gtr's - especially distorted ones.
Long ribbons for pretty much everything else.

Fathead and X-15 are short.
Apex 205 is long. Cascade has some other long ribbons as well.

The Apex 205 that M. Joly modded for me is one of my favorite all time mics. definitely a desert island mic for me. As of late, I've been using it exclusively over my KM84's on ac guitars, mandolin, dobro, uke, etc. Really a beautiful and natural sound that can be EQ'd like crazy without the EQ fizz you'll get from a condenser.

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by drBill

My preferences :

Short ribbons for E Gtr's - especially distorted ones.
Long ribbons for pretty much everything else.

Fathead and X-15 are short.
Apex 205 is long. Cascade has some other long ribbons as well.

The Apex 205 that M. Joly modded for me is one of my favorite all time mics. definitely a desert island mic for me. As of late, I've been using it exclusively over my KM84's on ac guitars, mandolin, dobro, uke, etc. Really a beautiful and natural sound that can be EQ'd like crazy without the EQ fizz you'll get from a condenser.

Quite an endorsement! I concur though: I prefer the my APEX 205 mics (longer ribbon) over the Nady RSM-5 mics (shorter ribbon) for most situations. If I had to choose one of them to keep and lose the rest, I would choose the 205 for sure.

If you have the $$$, by all means have someone mod your chinese ribbon mic. There are a few people doing this, including Mr. Joly at Oktavamod. He has a very good reputation and I often see folks selling their used Russian or Chinese mics that were modded with a notation that the mic received Joly mods. That has got to be a good thing for resale value.

If you have an adventurous spirit, feel confident in your abilities and are DIY minded, then I humbly suggest that a person do the mods themselves. The stock ribbon material is too thick, the interior mesh removal makes the signal more clear to my ears and replacing the stock transformer reduces harsh qualities to the signal and generally provides a more pleasing frequency response--again, at least to my ears. And for me, the effort was not all that difficult but was very rewarding in the results.

[drBill]

Originally Posted by Puffer Fish

And for me, the effort was not all that difficult but was very rewarding in the results.

Did you make and corrugate your own ribbon material?

[PeterAshmore]

Originally Posted by Puffer Fish

Also, do yourself a favor and check out this fellow Gearslutz' web site: DIY Ribbon Microphone Design - Ribbon Replacement Techniques He makes and sells a ribbon mic as well as a whole bunch of ribbon mic parts.

Really great read! Thanks! Do you own or have you heard one of his microphones? The price and look is great! How do they sound though?

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by drBill

Did you make and corrugate your own ribbon material?

Not yet. And yes, that is the big hole in my DIY efforts with the ribbon mics to date. That project suffers from too many projects and so little time. I am REALLY looking forward to swapping out the ribbon material sometime in the near future. I might keep the one set of ribbon mics I have stock on the ribbon material and the other set change it out to exaggerate the differences even more between the two sets of mics.

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by PeterAshmore

Really great read! Thanks! Do you own or have you heard one of his microphones? The price and look is great! How do they sound though?

This is one of the times I pass along information that I do not have first hand knowledge on. But having worked on some ribbon mics myself, his information reads as spot on. Plus he freely shares his research, so the least I can do is help promote a person who is trying to help the DIY cause.

I do not know, but I fully expect his mics to sound pretty great--better than my modded ones, as he is using better (thinner) ribbon material. I am not sure which transformer he is dropping in his mics. I am a fan of the Cinemag transformers for a number of reasons, not least of which is they have been great to work with and customer service really resonates with me.

[drBill]

Originally Posted by Puffer Fish

That project suffers from too many projects and so little time.

I hear that! I just finished my 2 51x 500 series racks and had to get a buddy to do the PS. Just not enough time in a day. Look forward to loading it up and rockin'.

BTW, IMO, Joly really knows his ribbon stuff. He makes his own ribbons with some proprietary stretching protocol that really works. Whatever it is, I like. Those mics are awesome. Good luck with your projects!

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by drBill

I hear that! I just finished my 2 51x 500 series racks and had to get a buddy to do the PS. Just not enough time in a day. Look forward to loading it up and rockin'.

BTW, IMO, Joly really knows his ribbon stuff. He makes his own ribbons with some proprietary stretching protocol that really works. Whatever it is, I like. Those mics are awesome. Good luck with your projects!

Thanks, I am currently in the middle of messing around with a THAT1512-based series of preamps. I have been working with input and output transformers and switching them in and out of the signal path. The further I get into the project, the more ideas I have to try different things out, so the project keeps getting longer and longer. It also keeps me from etching real boards because I come up with new ideas to include on the circuit. I SHOULD have built it out on a bread board first so I could have swapped things in and out more easily, but it was such a simple circuit, why would I do THAT??? Sheesh.

Stretching the ribbon material... hmm, that sounds like a very interesting concept. I do not know enough about metallurgy to really have any idea what that would be doing to the tensile strength of the aluminum, but I am guessing stretching the material makes it more elastic. Very interesting, indeed! I do want to get back into the ribbon mics and mess around with a couple ideas I had which might be serious duds, or they might have value. We'll see, some day...

[PeterAshmore]

This is great stuff guys. I think I'll take a shot at these mics. I figure it's always nice to support an audio DIY guy and from looking at his site and reading reviews, I don't think I'll regret it. Thanks a lot and good luck with your builds!

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by PeterAshmore

This is great stuff guys. I think I'll take a shot at these mics. I figure it's always nice to support an audio DIY guy and from looking at his site and reading reviews, I don't think I'll regret it. Thanks a lot and good luck with your builds!

Do report back with what you find as a follow up to this thread. I think it would be helpful for anyone else searching as you have been searching to give this thread a sort of conclusion, you know?

And in retrospect, I am indeed glad I suggested you check out DIY Audio Components and the mics he is building since you are in Ireland and he is a European seller--maybe shipping will be easier for you. Maybe the exchange rate will work in your favor... or at least I HOPE so! Good luck!