Jack White - Coles 4038 mod ?

[Brett 123]

If any of you have seen the documentary "it might get load " , you will have seen Jack White screaming down a Coles 4048 ribbon mic .
( Exclusive: Jack White On Composing | Video | MTV)

I was wandering if this was a modded mic ? As I have two coles and wouldn't dare putting so much air pressure on the ribbons like that !

I know that more modern ribbons can take higher pressures , so was wandering if it would be possible to mo a 4038 to act more like a royer ribbin mic?

Anyone any ideas?

[mexicola]

"it might get load" was what the killer from Silence of the Lambs said when he was thinking about buying a shitty Metallica record!

it puts the lotion on it's skin or else it'll play the Load again.

NOOOOOO!!!

[Matti]

It can take 165 db @ 1 Khz but use a popfiler with it as with all ( ribbon ) mics, the ribbon is fragile to straight air blasts, not the decibels

Matti

[initialsBB]

Maybe he was hoping to blow the ribbon to make it seem like he's got some powerful mic destroying pipes. It was for a movie after all. I'm sure he could spare the few hundred bucks for the re-ribbon if they got a good shot out of it.

[PMoshay]

You can re-ribbon a 4038 with a thicker ribbon in it so it can take more level without breaking...... but!..... also the felts installed will give you more protection for spl/air blasts that can break the ribbon.

I have 3 Coles 4038'S and have re-ribboned them over the years, trying various ribbon combos. Clarence Kame at ENAK mic service (in NJ) knows ribbon mics so well and has done mine for years and you can tell him what youre using it for and he can give you some options to try. I quite like the thicker ribbon job he did so that i can put it a bit closer to a loud amp and it sounds amazing..... and it wont blow........ but eventually ribbon mics go south, its the nature of the design, they stretch out and eventually rip or break.
Clarence will also restore the mic to stock factory specs if you like too which sounds amazing, ive found that i like it both ways, so i have 2 thicker ribbon misc and one stock so i can choose.

Ribbon mics are a joy! But they break sometimes....... but can be fixed or modd'ed easily and be brought back to stock if you want anytime..... so go for it and try.

[Brett 123]

Thanks for that , good information to know !

Still if you see the way Jack White screams into that mic with no pop shield ,,,,,, makes me wonder!

Originally Posted by PMoshay

You can re-ribbon a 4038 with a thicker ribbon in it so it can take more level without breaking...... but!..... also the felts installed will give you more protection for spl/air blasts that can break the ribbon.

I have 3 Coles 4038'S and have re-ribboned them over the years, trying various ribbon combos. Clarence Kame at ENAK mic service (in NJ) knows ribbon mics so well and has done mine for years and you can tell him what youre using it for and he can give you some options to try. I quite like the thicker ribbon job he did so that i can put it a bit closer to a loud amp and it sounds amazing..... and it wont blow........ but eventually ribbon mics go south, its the nature of the design, they stretch out and eventually rip or break.
Clarence will also restore the mic to stock factory specs if you like too which sounds amazing, ive found that i like it both ways, so i have 2 thicker ribbon misc and one stock so i can choose.

Ribbon mics are a joy! But they break sometimes....... but can be fixed or modd'ed easily and be brought back to stock if you want anytime..... so go for it and try.

[Audio Hombre]

i remember being a little horrified by that scene too, but then remembered it was jack, and that's just what he does; abuse his equipment. not something i'd do, but if i was a commited artist like jack (and not just a knob twiddler) with his money, i wouldn't sweat it either. great movie btw

[Dean Roddey]

If you look at a lot of old footage, you have people eating RCA 44 types ribbon mics as well while singing. They aren't necessarily screaming, but with their lips right on it and often singing with a fair amount of gusto, where they have to be pushing a lot of air through it.

If any of us has one of those originals today we probably have it in a glass case and don't even let people look directly at it.

[PMoshay]

adding felts was a suggestion in the manual for an old Reslo ribbon mic i have.
in fact, the Reslo mic i bought at a swap meet had all the original felts that were given with the mic for "crooning" as it stated in the instructions.
if you speak with Clarence, he can felt your ribbon for purpose, and he will tell you how to do it yourself too.
i have put socks over the mic while using it........ i ended up with a heavy wool sock one time that sounded perfect for what i was doing....... low baritone electric guitar parts.

The felts in a Coles or the reslo were behind the metal screen

[DanRock101]

I use my 4038 for vocals all the time! Sold my U87's to finance getting for 4038's (& 4040 btw). They do sound nice up close but I always use pop filters and I watched my "p's". Add a 10k shelf and (for my voice) bump it down 200hz and you have a great vocal track. It always seems to fit.

[binarymilton]

I used my Coles 4038 up close without pop filters for a few months before I knew any better. I also close-mic'd a really boomy african hand drum with it. All of which must have given it a fair few big blasts of air. It survived with no ill effects.

Now I take much more care.

But I suspect they can take a lot more punishment than they are given credit for.

[audiogeek]

Originally Posted by mexicola

"it might get load" was what the killer from Silence of the Lambs said when he was thinking about buying a shitty Metallica record!

it puts the lotion on it's skin or else it'll play the Load again.

NOOOOOO!!!

[BrianAbington]

Jack is hard on his equipment but he doesn't seem like the he abuses it. He may stomp on his guitars but thats his solid body's...not his hollow body's.

He doesn't throw his drums off the stage at the end of a Dead Weather show.

He has a real appreciation for vintage equipment. Heck, his stage guitar rig is a vintage Silvertone 6 10 cab and amp, and most of his guitars are at least 10 years older than he is.

[invalidusername]

"For the song ‘Icky Thump’ I had the Royer and an AEA on Jack’s two guitar amps, and a couple of U67s for room ambience. In a few cases I used the Shure SM7 guide vocal mic. Ribbons are prone to overloading, so we blew out four Coles mics on the guitar amps. Luckily Jack had several Coles 4038’s with him!"

Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Joe Chiccarelli

[Brett 123]

Had to bring this thread back to life!

If you like me , don't have millions of £££ to get you Coles re ribboned like Jack White can . I have found the next best thing,,

the fpl filter/ blast pad from Pete's place audio - Filter SPL | Pete's Place Audio | Audio Products and Overview .

I've been looking for something that can do this for years . It means you can record vocal right up next to the mic and also put it right up next to cabinets for guitars or near kick drums for kicks!

Hat's of to Pete for this one, he's a real gentleman of the industry .

[binarymilton]

Originally Posted by Brett 123

Had to bring this thread back to life!

If you like me , don't have millions of £££ to get you Coles re ribboned like Jack White can . I have found the next best thing,,

the fpl filter/ blast pad from Pete's place audio - Filter SPL | Pete's Place Audio | Audio Products and Overview .

I've been looking for something that can do this for years . It means you can record vocal right up next to the mic and also put it right up next to cabinets for guitars or near kick drums for kicks!

Hat's of to Pete for this one, he's a real gentleman of the industry .

It costs almost $300 though! I'd prefer to just take my chances. Haven't blown a ribbon yet.

[Brett 123]

I thought a similar thing about the price , but when I saw it, it is real quality and when it costs something simliar to get one re ribboned . It's worth it in the long run .

Originally Posted by binarymilton

It costs almost $300 though! I'd prefer to just take my chances. Haven't blown a ribbon yet.

[drbob1]

I've also heard about jack putting tissue paper in the mic to get that distorted sound?