Peluso Ribbon Mic!

[henryrobinett]

I've been auditioning a brand new mic from Peluso - R14.http://www.pelusomicrophonelab.com/R14Photos.html. I've put up two of my ribbons mics along side it: AEA R84 and a Royer 121. So far I've just tested with acoustic guitars - 2 different Taylors. Oh and myspeaking voice. I'm using Millennia pre and nothing else.

I got to say I'm impressed. It definitely holds it's own. I'm still listening, but initially the Peluso sounds a bit warmer than the others (!). More bottom end for sure. To that end it resembles more of a 44. But the mid to upper frequencies sound similar. Round and warm. But the R14 is bigger in the bass department. They all take about the same juice to run. Perhaps the Royer is a tiny bit hotter. But they all have that sweet ribbon sound.

It's a bit larger than a 121. Maybe an inch longer and more circumference.

I'm just checking it out. I'm going to get someone who plays alto sax and a trumpet player and perhaps a trombone playerand a jazz singer before I'm done.

[Fearless1]

Thanks Henry -
Keep us updated.
I bought the Peluso 2247 LE based a lot on reading your review.
Your review was spot on!
Looking forward to reading your final review on this mic.

[Axiz7]

Henry,

A clip of the Taylors would be righteous!

...As we all know how hard they can be to record... in the "warm" category.

[PlugHead]

Interesting!

Another ribbon mic enters the fray: keep us posted Henry. I'm also interested in it.

I've been putting my R-88 through the paces since I got it a few days ago. Never enough ribbons around IMNTLFHBO...

regards,

[henryrobinett]

Yeah guys! I'll keep you informed. I've thought about clips but since I'm going to write a review I think I should evaluate it for myself FIRST. You know, not be influenced by the crowd.

Fearless - I'm glad you found that review helpful! I'll try not to steer anyone wrong!

Like I said I'm very impressed with this mic so far.

[Musiclab]

I'd be really interested to hear the alto sax clips. And if you do a trumpet. As much as I love my 2247I don't at all for horns.

[pan60]

thanks Henry keep us posted.

[henryrobinett]

Oh yeah and electric guitar will probably be my next test, since I'm one of those players. Probably tommorrow for that. But I have a CD I'm getting paid to mix, so on second thought - a real quick run through in-between tunes???

[mltamisin]

So, how did it sound on electric guitar?

[digibird]

Originally Posted by PlugHead

Interesting!
Never enough ribbons around IMNTLFHBO...
egards,

What's a "Not the least effing humble bit Opinion"?

[henryrobinett]

I had to take a break from testing. I'm mixing a CD and have had gigs as a guitarist to contend with. Hopefeully more later this week. Electric guitar is next!

[T9c]

Thanks Henry, now I have to get one. They're a lot less than the R84 and 121 too. My M160 has been giving me problems lately and was thinking about a different brand. I guess your review will seal the deal for me.

[Poopants]

I'd love to hear more about this mic!

[Tim]

I wonder how his compare to the stock ribbons coming out of China now.
Is it like his LDCs where they're made in China but he does the final capsule (ribbon) work himself?

[kittonian]

None of Peluso's mics are made in China. Only the metal work comes from overseas. The transformers are made by Tom Reichenbach from Cinemag and the capsules are made by Peluso here in the USA. Everyone does their metal work overseas nowadays (or at least most companies do) to save money. The mic itself is most definitely made in the usa.

[Lynn Fuston]

I compared it visually to the newest Alctron HRM-10 (photos only) and the shape seems nearly identical. The dimensions listed are within 1 mm of the same. The Alctron has a Royer style head stock, while the Peluso has a wire mesh grille.

NOTE: I'm not saying anything more than what you read here. That they appear very similar. Any similarities other than appearance, I cannot comment on.

The Peluso:



The Alctron:

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by kittonian

Only the metal work comes from overseas.

...and the brass in the capsule is metal!

Personally, I don't have any problems with who drills holes in what capsule, it's probably all done by machines anyway.

Tim asked a very good, and valid, question. I was wondering the same thing myself.

- Jim

[henryrobinett]

The verdicts in! The verdicts in! This mic is 'da bomb. I don't know what took me so long. I had to test various sources and give it some space before I made up my mind too early. Don't want to get too excited and come up with dumb conclusions.

Details to come later, but smooth describes it. REALLY ribbon. Alto sax, voice, acoustic guitars, electric guitars. I tested the R-14 against the AEA R84 and Royer 121. They all have very similar characteristics. Some are somewhat brighter than others. But I'd describe the Peluso as the smoothest and the warmest.

I love this mic. Peluso has a winner.

[drBill]

Henry, thanks for the review!

I'm curious, did you try it on big loud nasty power stuff? Also, did you get a chance to try it as an ambient room mic for drums?

Most of my uses would be for Drum Room, Guitars (with a nod towards power stuff) and horns (trumpet, saxes, etc.) Maybe on vocals, but that's a secondary need. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Bill

[henryrobinett]

I tried it on loud, distorted guitar.

I did not try it ambient. Review needs to go in Monday and tomorrow I'm traveling. If I have time I'll throw it up and do some quick listening.

[cchord59]

I just recieved my r 14 yesterday. One thing I noticed, is that the back side is brighter and clearer that the front side. is this normal for this mic. In my experiences, its usually the opposite. anyone know why this is?

[100below]

I’ve had a R14 for about a month now and I am very happy with it.

First session was rock guitar. Marshall amp with R14 and MD421 through Neve 5315 console. No 121 around for direct comparison but the R14 gave excellent results. This was for a rock group I am in development with that need a competitive “heavy rock guitar sound”. The R14 was right on.

Next session, harmonica and acoustic guitar for a movie score. For harmonica my normal approach is a ribbon and a DPA closely spaced for phase coherence. The R14 went through a Millennia STT-1 and the DPA went through a GTQ2 (90% ribbon in mix). I have used this setup in the past with a Coles 4038 (and a Neve 1084 where I am using he GTQ2), and R14 was every bit up to the task. The acoustic guitar was R14/ STT-1 at 12th and CAD VX2 on body. Huge sound for a track where the guitar was intended to be dominant.
I just finished the mixes and the feedback from the movie production people has been ecstatic.


Last use, gold Sankyo flute. R14 close and TLM170 backed off for room. Both through my Aurora then NSEQ-2. Once again all smiles.

No mic is good for everything, but I have been very happy each time I have put the R14 up.

PS
The Aurora has a switch on the back that seems to be built just to make this mic sing, although other ribbons I have tried through it in this position also seem happy.
R14 / GTQ2 / NSEQ-2 / 5043 is my new chain for many tracks and I will be picking up a second R14 soon.

Gene Lennon: Producer, Songwriter, Engineer
Aretha Franklin
Stanley Jordan
Chaka Kahn
Freddie Jackson
Surface. Etc.

[markhan]

Hey Henry (and anyone else willing to reply),

I bought a pair of Peluso CEMC-6s after reading your review and trading emails. They have been serving me well. I just picked up an R14 and could use some tips on how to use it, as this is my first experience with a ribbon mike.

I put an SM57, Audix i5, and the R14 in front of a guitar cab, as close to the center as I could get 3 mics, and about 3" from the grill. The SM57 performed as expected. The Audix doesn't have quite the presence peak of the SM57 and seemed a little more open on top, but otherwise sounds similar. The R14 had way more bass and a lot less treble. I was expecting some of this, but this wasn't quite what I expected. Is this what I should be hearing? It did eq up nicely - I added a low pass filter to get rid of some low freq thump, and used shelving filters to reduce the bass and increase the high end, and it maintained the smoothness that I expected.

Is part of this bass proximity effect? I didn't get a chance to try different distances, as I was trying to keep the 3 mics in phase. I will also try the back side, to see how that sounds.

I have a sax player coming in next week (tenor, I think he said) and welcome any suggestions on how best to mic it.

Besides the R14 and CEMC-6 pair, I have Lawson 47 and 251 w/ one tube and one FET body, a pair of AKG 414s, Avalon 737 pair, and one each Seventh Circle A132 and N72 that I just finished and haven't had a chance to record with yet.

Thanks,

Mark Hanson

[AnthonyZ79]

this peluso mic is super warm! i love it! is it me or does it take quite a bit of juice to get some good output out of this mic??? and is it me or is the noise floor fairly high on this guy?? obviously the more one cranks the pre the more evident the noise floor will be but im wondering if i have a bunk mic?? i have yet to trubleshoot thouroughly but i also have a bit of a hum coming from the peluso. any thoughts or suggs???? any advice is very much appreciated. thanks!

[StrykeBack]

anybody tried a pair of these peluso ribbons as drum overheads or room mics?
Forgot that I need to get a pair of the ce 6s i think they were...can't hurt to have those as overheads and for acoustics as well.

[markhan]

I had a chance to use the R14 on a clarinet, using an SCA A12 pre. The clarinet player (along with his guitarist and myself) were impressed. He said something to the effect that the clarinet is difficult to mic and other people had used mics that didn't sound good. Yes, I really had to crank the pre almost all of the way. I didn't notice any noise, but I will go back and try to listen closer.

I used the CEMC-6 pair through 2 Avalon 737s as overheads in a drum session earlier in the week. They work great for this.

Mark Hanson

[camerondye]

I just got an R14 on Monday and used it to record Electric guitar last night with a Great River preamp. It sounded really good mixed with a Sennheiser 609. I had to use about 25db of gain and the amp wasn't that loud...hell my son was sleeping in the next room. I haven't used another ribbon but was very impressed with the good clean bottom end and the effect of being there on the recording. I was reading my warranty and I think it said 3 years which seems pretty unheard of. Peluso must be pretty confident of there product. I can't wait to try out one of there other mics. Very cool...
cam

[tradarama]

How far from the speaker? ON axis or off? Distance from the center of the cone. I have one and I have to say that I get WAY too much bottom end...I know I"m using it wrong so could use the help.

[Matt_Weston]

StrykeBack: I have tried them on overheads and they're pretty awesome, but not as awesome as a pair of 2247LEs.

So I use them as room mics, not too far back, and with the right amount of compression I can get the cymbals to last a little longer and sound really creamy in the mix. But I'm not getting as much drum boominess with this method... hence I need more mics.

[RadioBox]

Just to chime in here...I just got my R14, and had it out last night. We loved it so much we put headphones on and had it cranked up so we could just conversate in the studio through it. It sounds that sweet. It's my first ribbon mic, so maybe I'm just a little giddy. Sorry for the useless post, but I just wanted to share that.