Affordable Stereo Ribbon Mics?

[Chris Wilson]

If I were looking into a new pre specifically for ribbons, for under a grand, you can't beat the AEA ribbon pre.

The new Lavry Engineering MP-10 costs a little more but has a some very handy options for remote work. The digitally controlled gain really speeds things up when you're in a hurry. The MP-10 also has very good meters that help when setting levels in a hurry. Actually it seems like everything in remote work is done in a hurry.

Also, ribbons tend to have a 'large' sound and these preamps don't contribute additional size or character, which in this situation is a good thing.

I cannot recommend any stereo ribbons other than an SF-12 (because I haven't used any). SF-12's show up used occasionally though.

[idylldon]

Originally Posted by jnorman

are there any of the chinese stereo ribbon mics that you might suggest?

There is an SF12 clone called a Stellar RM-7 that can be found on ebay for $200.00. For a few hundred more, you can send it to Michael Joly and have the ribbons tweaked and upgraded transformers installed.

Brad McGowen posted this in a recent thread:

I'm glad someone mentioned this. My buddy and I bought one of the Stellar RM-7 stereo ribbons which is essentially the same mic as the Cascade X15. My friend sent his off to Michael Joly for upgrades...re-tension of the ribbons, new transformers, Evidence Audio wiring. We spent some time this weekend comparing it to the stock mic and my Royer SF12 on drum overheads and front of kit. Here's the gist of our impressions:

Compared to the SF12 the Stellar was bigger sounding with a much deeper and heavier low end. We actually ran the tracks through the Schwa Scope plugin and you could see how the Royer started to roll off about 40-50Hz. The modded Stellar kept going all the way down. The Royer seemed to have a bit of a bump at 200Hz that really gave some weight to the snare, but the Stellar had more at 60Hz so the kick seemed way bigger. Up top the Royer started to roll off and shelf at 12k-15k. The Stellars were pretty flat until about 15k, and the modded Stellar had a lot of air in comparison. However the Stellars had a slight dip around 11k. A 3dB boost there fixed this though. The modded Stellar was definitely clearer, more 3D, and more detailed than the stock. Frequency-wise the SF12 was rolled off in the extreme top and bottom and thus sounded boxier. However, what really put the Royer in a different class was the tightness of the figure 8 patterns and it's stereo image. With the Royer each part of the kit could be pinpointed across the soundstage. The Stellar image sounded a little hazy in comparison. It was like I had on the wrong prescription of eyeglasses and couldn't point to the man's nose. It also felt like I was hearing a ghost image from things getting picked up in the adjacent ribbon's rear lobe.

The ideal mic would be the bastard child of the modded Stellar and the Royer SF12.

I have some Chinese ribbons that I've modified pretty extensively and they sound excellent. I plan to buy one of the Stellar RM-7s soon and do similar mods to it. Since I will do the work myself, it won't cost all that much to check it out.

Cheers,
--
Don

[MichaelPatrick]

I'd consider a Cascade X-15 with Lundahl transformers.

[mrsteaks]

Originally Posted by MichaelPatrick

I'd consider a Cascade X-15 with Lundahl transformers.

Ditto! It's a steal, IMHO.

[boojum]

Have you guys used the Cascade w/Lundahl??

[MichaelPatrick]

Originally Posted by boojum

Have you guys used the Cascade w/Lundahl??

Yes. I have one.

[gobblefisher]

What sources have you used it with? Do you have samples? Opinions?

[Ribbons rule]

Gobble fisher
Which instruments have you recorded with your cascade/lundahl Mic?
I'm considering getting the cascade in either using at stock or having the Lundal mod at purchase.

[boojum]

I have the Busman ribbon and got the Lundhal xformer upgrade. I have to send it back because one channel has failed. Here is a link to a discussion about this mic and some clips:

Busman Ribbon Mic

[Ribbons rule]

What was cause of busman channel failure? Quality control? Accident?

[nnajar]

Can't help with the affordables, but for an end goal the AEA R88 cannot be beat....

[boojum]

Originally Posted by Ribbons rule

What was cause of busman channel failure? Quality control? Accident?

I do not know. I still have not sent it off. I suppose I could do that tomorrow.

[Omicron_9]

Greetings.

I have the X-15 with the stock transformers. I'm always pleasantly surprised with it. Not quite as dull as most ribbons.

Regards,
-0.9

[Soundhunter]

Have a listen to the Sontronics Apollo, mine is awesome.

Steve

[boojum]

Originally Posted by Soundhunter

Have a listen to the Sontronics Apollo, mine is awesome.

Steve

Affordable has gotten a new upper limit in this thread. Partly, I suppose, because "affordable" was never defined.

[didier.brest]

Se X1R vs. X-15 (stock transformer), Millenia HV-3D vs. AEA TRP

Audio (aac 95 kbit/s, not so bad...) extracted from the mp4 Youtube video, converted to wav and RMS level adjusted for better balance between the clips

The Se X1R can be found for less than 100 €.

[didier.brest]

Originally Posted by boojum

Affordable has gotten a new upper limit in this thread. Partly, I suppose, because "affordable" was never defined.

Indeed, the Apollo costs nealy as much as pair of Beyerdynamic M 130.

Apollo vs. M 130 shoot-out

[ISedlacek]

In my experience , for price and sound nothing cannot beat Golden Age Project R1 MK3 active ribbons ... (200 EUR per piece, sound great)

[harold716]

Ivo,
How do the pair of Golden Age Projects compare to the AEA R88?

[ISedlacek]

You can listen to few simple samples here (mono and stereo) www.savitamusic.com/links/r1active.zip To my ears it produces very nice full natural sound (especially in stereo). We found it great for vocals too ...

R88 sounds a bit more "wooly"

[jnorman]

ivo - hope all is going well for savita. perhaps you could possibly post some clips comparing your schoeps mk2 pair to the ribbons? I am a big fan of the mk2 work you do, and my experiences with ribbons have not supported the idea that ribbons are as good for chamber and acoustic material. thanks.

[ISedlacek]

It is definitely not to replace MK2 but just to answer the question about "affordable (good) ribbon"