MXL R44 Large Ribbon

[asplashofcitrus]

Don't mean to hi-jack the MXL R144 thread, but for those who are eBay saavy, you can get the Nady RSM-4 for $79 free shipping on this listing, from Music123:

Nady RSM-4 Ribbon Studio Microphone - eBay (item 190367900115 end time Feb-23-10 07:06:41 PST)

Enter coupon code: FREESHIP49 on the final page of checkout for Free Shipping on orders over $49!

That's the cheapest I could find it at the moment. But I think it's between that or the Apex 205 from what I've been reading/hearing about the MXL.

Thanks for the data above Mr. Joly!

[Michael_Joly]

The RSM-4 and 5 are always $79 at Musician's Friend. Just do the ribbon sag test I've talked about.

[MelodyMan]

Originally Posted by Michael_Joly

The RSM-4 and 5 are always $79 at Musician's Friend. Just do the ribbon sag test I've talked about.

Which T-bone mikes are the equivalent of these? I remember reading that there were two T-bone mikes, that were essentially rebadged Nady's.

[MelodyMan]

Originally Posted by Michael_Joly

Thomann offers the T. Bone RM700 (Nady RSM-4 / Cascade Fathead type) and the RB100 ( Nady RSM-3 / Royer copy type). They do not have the RSM-5 style. Avoid the T. Bone RM500 (Nady RSM-2 type) because its large headbasket has severe physical resonances, the ribbon corrugations pattern does not hold and sags easily and this mic is too large to be shock mounted.

Check out my Chinese Ribbon Microphone Buyers Guide for a look "under the bonnet" of these mics.

Thanks!

[JoeDeF]

Originally Posted by Michael_Joly

Given the choice between dropping a hundred bucks on the MXL R144 which has a physically resonant headbasket and the Apex 205 which does, I would choose the 205.

Hi Michael,

Do you mean "doesn't" for the Apex 205? My pair of 205's don't ring nearly as much as the headbaskets on a few other cheap mics I own.

Good job with the resonance damping on the MXL R144.

Joe

[Michael_Joly]

doh! Thank's for spotting that important typo above. I've corrected the mistake. Right - the 205 does not have anywhere near the headbasket resonance that the 210 has. And thanks for the kind words!

[Empty Planet]

Originally Posted by Michael_Joly

Given the choice between dropping a hundred bucks on the MXL R144 which has a physically resonant headbasket and the Apex 205 which does not, I would choose the 205.

Hmm. I found the Apex rather "blah" by comparison and sold it. It was capable, just rather plain. The 144 seems to have more mojo for me, somehow. More of an old-timey vibe.

Now that I've got a 44 the point is a bit moot, but I'm still glad I have the 144 on occasion.

Horses for courses, I suppose.


Cheers.

[Michael_Joly]

With a properly tensioned ribbon (Fo = 32Hz) the Apex 205 is quite flat with a HF response down only 2.5 dB at 16kHz.

If you hear the 44/144 as having more "mojo" or "old timey vibe" that suggests a resonant frequency set a bit higher (perhaps 60-80Hz) and an earlier HF roll-off compared to the 205.

[Empty Planet]

Originally Posted by Michael_Joly

If you hear the 44/144 as having more "mojo" or "old timey vibe" that suggests a resonant frequency set a bit higher (perhaps 60-80Hz) and an earlier HF roll-off compared to the 205.

Perhaps those particular factors suggest those qualities to you, but let's just be clear that that is your conclusion. My RCA 44-BX's resonant frequency is set to something along the lines of 20-25 hz, and its "mojo" is truly a thing of beauty.

Originally Posted by Michael_Joly

With a properly tensioned ribbon (Fo = 32Hz) the Apex 205 is quite flat with a HF response ....

With all due respect, it's about what tool provides me the most pleasing, satisfying sounds for the job at hand. I don't care if there are "resonant frequencies" flying out the ying-yang, singing Pavarotti, if one mic sounds clearly superior to me and is more useful in more situations, I'm all over it.

Cheers.

[ajschuk]

So I just picked up one of the mxl r144 and I really like the vibe of the mic, but the "bonk" resonance noise is very obvious. . . . I plan to remove the inner screen as well as the two smaller ones held on by tape, but how do I dampen the mic and isolate the capsule (or motor or whatever its called in ribbons). Im very comfortable with modding my stuff and am just now jumping into mics ( I have been building and modding tube amps and pedals for several years now ) . . . . any guidance on thie mic mod would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[monkeyxx]

Originally Posted by Empty Planet

With all due respect, it's about what tool provides me the most pleasing, satisfying sounds for the job at hand. I don't care if there are "resonant frequencies" flying out the ying-yang, singing Pavarotti, if one mic sounds clearly superior to me and is more useful in more situations, I'm all over it.

Cheers.

thumbsup thumbs up to that! I am going to buy one or two of these, and tweak them on my own, if that is necessary. based on a number of factors (sounds clips on forums, appearance, construction reports, accessories, price) these appeal to me more than any of the other cheap ribbons on the market right now.

one day I'll be rolling in money, and I'll buy my peluso and beyer and sE ribbons. till then, these look promising. I'll probably pull out the extra mesh and put in lundahl transformers just because I enjoy doing things like that

it took me a long time to find a suitable entry point into the world of ribbon microphones (budget vs quality, not ready for the top end models), and I think this R144 is going to be it for me, so I just wanted to voice my excitement that it exists

[paulrichards7]

How does one tune the ribbon to a specific frequency when tensioning it?
Thanks
Paul

[Jmoon79]

Sort of late to the party here, but I thought I'd share my experience with the R144.

I sort of dismissed MXL budget mics because they're MXL budget mics... But I wanted a cheap ribbon to play with and ended up getting the last one out of the display case at guitar center for like 79 bucks.

Took it home, carried it like weapons grade plutonium over to the shock mount, and gently placed it in. Stuck it 10-12" back from body of my guild acoustic sort of between the soundhole and bridge and ran it through my JM-130 mic pre which thankfully has enough gain to get a sound out of the thing.... and put an AT4051B at the 12th fret.

Holy ballsack. I don't know how long the mic will last but if it breaks, I'll buy another one. I might buy another one just in CASE it breaks in the middle of a session. Having good headroom on the pre helps a lot. But damn, seriously a useful mic.

Anyway, for $79-99? No question.

[Michael_Joly]

For sure!

Ribbons mics are much easier to "get right" at low cost than condenser mics. Just keep an eye on the ribbon and return or correct it if you see / hear some sagging / dragging against the magnets. But really, its easy to spend $79 on coffee and have nothing to show for it.

[stumcwilliam]

Anybody used these on toms?

[monkeyxx]

I've only just got a pair of R40 on sale from MF, but so far they are killer. loving them on electric guitar amp. curious to hear them elsewhere. the praise here is not off base, I don't think