Golden Age Project R2 Mkii Ribbon Microphone Review

Last month we introduced the mics; this month we put them to the test. Find out which model is the best way of calculation ribbon character to your studio.

Last month we ran through the background of a number of ribbon mics and their manufacturers, but left you hanging for the test results. Well, the wait is over, equally we reveal how they performed when we put them through their paces on vocals, drums and guitars.

About The Tests

The whole bespeak of these tests for united states at Artisan Studios was to audience a wide range of ribbon mics in order to try something new on a projection we were most to undertake. We picked a few applications on which we might exist probable to use ribbon mics and discussed the results, ranking them in gild of preference.

Of course, the results are subjective — they take business relationship of our personal tastes, and the character of the vocalists and instruments that we used in the tests, only in that location's actually no other style to do this. However, to assist y'all in making your ain heed up, we've also placed some audio files on the SOS spider web site (www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec07/articles/ribbonmicsaudio.htm). Of course, if you're able, information technology is still a adept idea to audition mics before you decide to buy, particularly in the case of vocals, where different singers tend to work better with unlike mics.

For each test, we've listed the mics in our order of preference, and described what it was we liked and didn't like well-nigh them, before drawing some more general conclusions.

Round 1: Female Vocals

We positioned our vocalist six inches from each mic, and used a Steadman pop shield and an SE Reflexion filter. We also recorded her through a Neumann M149 as a 'control' condenser comparison. Later, Greg Chandler, over at The Priory Studio, recorded a dissimilar female singer with the aforementioned mics to give us a second opinion, this time at 12 inches from the mics, also using a Steadman pop shield.

The results from our small-scale listening panel were every bit follows, in social club of preference (bear in mind that to some extent this was swayed by the voice we were recording — some other vocaliser might accept brought about different favourites).

ane. Crowley & Tripp Studio Vocalist

Nosotros found this to be generally very clear and detailed with a surprisingly extended elevation-end compared with the other ribbons on test. Indeed, we felt information technology was nearly a lilliputian too hi-fi, bordering on the sound of a condenser mic — certainly not quite as warm as some of the other mics on test. That said, that ribbon smoothness was still in evidence, with none of those nasty high-frequency resonances you get with some condensers (especially at the cheaper stop of the market, where high-frequency extension and high-frequency baloney often seem to get paw in hand!). The bottom terminate was very controlled, verging on pocket-size for a ribbon. Our only modest niggle was that ii of our panel felt in that location was 'something missing' in the upper mid-range. It was nonetheless our favourite all-rounder, though, and we idea it very classy.

Greg Chandler said he found the mic had a "clear, detailed and even response, with condenser-like qualities. Extended HF response but withal very polish. Had the most 'air' of these ribbon mics and was notably the 1 tuned most for vocal recording. Used for backing vocals, I was able to get them to sit dorsum in the runway very nicely and still cut through. Compared with the principal vocal (tracked with a Brauner Valvet), they were round and smoothen, but retained a prissy presence on high frequencies, giving clarity and detail without any harshness or sibilance."

2. Coles 4038

The 4038 showed a restrained control on vocals which we didn't hear with any of the other microphones — it was actually very 'British'. The entire range was neat and contained, and information technology brought out the musicality of the performance. With a very BBC politeness being evident in the lesser end, it'southward not the warmest of the mics tested, by any means, nor is it breathy and vivid like the Crowley & Tripp. Like the SE (discussed below), the 4038 seems to have quite a dip in the top-stop, where the sibilants prevarication, yet information technology somehow seems to manage this naturally, so that the overall effect is that the 'esses' merely seem to be non noticeable: 'swish' is the only word to describe the result. Our only criticism was that it might exist a little too polite for some pop vocal applications, where a more manifestly warm sound might be more than plumbing equipment. Although we didn't test the mics on spoken word, only communicating with the vocalist over the microphone showed why it is nonetheless in use for voice-overs at BBC radio!

3. Golden Age Projects R1 Active Mk2

Afterwards initially trying an early on active R1 design we were sent (which we found rather too dark and lacking in particular), GA went away and reworked the mic to come up upwardly with this model, which is a stunner on vocals. It has much of the same character as the R1 Mk2, but with what feels like an extra layer of euphony, presumably from the transformer. The panel described the Mk2 as "even, smooth and with more than presence than many of the mics on test." The overall sound is fairly clean — about breathy on vocals — and the mic immediately became one of our favourites

four. Groove Tubes Velo eight

The Velo 8 brought instant smiles to our faces, with its lovely, smooth, dark, rolled-off top end. It is maybe non the mic to cull if you're looking for an all-rounder every bit, like the Sontronics Sigma, it sounds seriously 'vintage', but it is a lovely character to have bachelor. The panel thought it conjured upwardly exotica jazz (call back 'The Girl From Ipanema'), then if this is your bag information technology would certainly exist worth auditioning. The impedance switch was interesting, and fabricated quite a difference: in the 75Ω position the sound was very soft and smoothen throughout the range, admitting a footling lacking in detail; the 300Ω position brought in quite a lot of extra item, and seemed to extend the high-frequency response, but at the cost of a piddling of that smoothness and a piffling warmth at the bottom. Both positions would exist usable on the right voice.

5. Golden Age Projects R1 Mk2

'Robust' and 'musical' were the commencement adjectives that sprung to mind when listening to the R1 Mk2. It sounded totally different from GA'southward R2, with a articulate, smooth top end, and a lovely warm lower mid-range. "I can hear everything," the vocalist told us, and we later concluded upwards using this microphone to a higher place all the others on several of her pb-vocal takes. The revised R1 Active (mentioned earlier) would probably pip it at the post, but if you have the correct preamp to drive the passive version it'southward cervix and neck. The results are all the more impressive considering the price.

SE Reflexion Filters were used with all the mics, to minimise unwanted room sound, for the vocal test recordings. The Crowley & Tripp Studio Vocalist turned out to be our favourite for the test vocalist. half-dozen. Sontronics Sigma

Opinion was split on the Sontronics Sigma, until we all started to understand where it is coming from — which, really, is a slightly different place from most other mics on test here. At first, we felt it was but tedious (the singer told us that "it sounds like I'1000 singing under a duvet"), but once we'd put our ears in 1950s mode and donned the studio smoking jackets, we started to capeesh the smoothness in the mids and were charmed by the sheer jazziness of this mic. After a few minutes I couldn't look to record a jazz vocalist, a saxophone and a drum kit with it — preferably all in the one room at the same time, with the one mic, while drinking bourbon. This was definitely the almost charismatically vintage in character of the mics on test. Nice, Daddy-o...

7. Blue Woodpecker

Blueish's intention with the Woodpecker was patently to create a ribbon with an unusually extended high-frequency response, and our tests bore this out, showing a superlative-end response in the same ball park as the Crowley & Tripp Studio Vocalizer. Still, the character of this pinnacle end caused some word amongst our commission. Initially one person felt they could hear some 'zippy' distortion high upward, rather like a valve mic, and another felt that the extreme top was a little lumpy, with some audible resonances. Despite this rather negative first impression, its grapheme grew on us throughout the session. By the end, the vocalist rather liked it.

8. AEA R84

'Tasteful' was the first word we wanted to utilize when hearing the R84 on vocals. Also 'even', and 'clear and natural, yet tamed'. We felt 'esses' were a little subdued, and the mic was generally a footling dark, only in full general it was nicely charismatic, admitting with a fairly hefty proximity effect: classy, and eminently useful. In the Priory tests, Greg found that it had a "large, circular sound, with good HF detail and transient response, and a big proximity effect. Information technology gave the all-time feeling of 'existence there' for the singer."

9. Golden Age Projects R1 Tube

The Tube version of GA'southward R1 sounded extremely 'valvey', with an exaggerated high-frequency sizzle which simply threw clarity at us, and in some ways reminded united states of america of the Rode Archetype, even downwards to the tubiness being a little grainy at the very summit. The vocaliser liked how she could 'hear everything'. We felt it would make a groovy first tube/ribbon mic for someone seeking some tube character, with the advantage of having that big, warm ribbon lower mid-range. It could exist a proficient foil for a depression/mid-range condenser. The only down side was that it was a niggling noisy, and therefore not the best mic for recording tranquility sources. Greg found the tube qualities a little more frustrating: "The top end was very sizzly and spiky, with likewise much meridian-terminate distortion on vocals. This may exist said to exist a tube characteristic, but it was excessive, and the result was a nasal sound that didn't accommodate this item vocalism at all."

Recording the audio-visual guitar, for which the ribbon mics with an extended top cease performed well. 10. Royer R121

Nosotros thought the R121 sounded very musical, though likewise quite coloured: information technology generally pushed up the upper mids more than any other mic on test, and we felt the sound was therefore quite spiky, though we likewise thought this might also assist some vocals to cut through a mix more easily. The rear of the mic gave a audio that was more than breathy and clear in general, which was not a surprise given the more extended high-frequency response.

Greg's impression was favourable: "The forepart gave a shine sound, with good detail and emphasised mids; the rear, a smooth, silky sound, with proficient detail, but without being bright."

11. Beyerdynamic M160

The Beyer'southward hypercardioid pattern, predictably plenty, led it to give us a tighter sound, with less room than whatsoever other mic on examination. That said, the sound was impressively uncoloured. The M160'due south on-centrality response has much in common with the Royer R121, in exhibiting quite a 'lump' at around 4kHz, which, although unpleasant on this particular vocalist, is actually very shine, and we felt would help some singers' voices cut through a mix. Although perhaps not the kickoff choice as a general-purpose vocal mic, its grapheme is very smooth and classy and I can imagine a stone vocalizer with sibilance problems would accommodate this mic well.

12. SE Electronics R1

The SE R1 came across as muffled only musical. We liked some of the loftier notes, and the soft, smooth character it displayed more often than not. Yet, we also felt it 'swallowed' sibilants, rather as though we'd over-applied a de-esser — the event beingness that information technology nigh gave our singer a lisp in places. This led to the strange and apparently paradoxical decision that the mic is breathy yet night. We more often than not felt that, 'ess' strangeness bated, it was competent but a little lacking in ribbon magic when compared with some of the other mics on test. Greg agreed, telling us that he found it gave "reasonable detail, but was lacking in character. The high-frequency transients were unclear and rather subdued."

Somewhere behind this huge array of mics yous can just about make out the drummer helping the states test the ribbons for utilise as mono room mics. 13. Golden Age Projects R2

We establish that the R2 sounded quite muffled simply was non peculiarly charismatic-sounding either. It was also a bear on sibilant and boxy-sounding, as if it lacked headroom. That said, we also felt it was able to cut through the mix in a like way to the Royer, which, given the price difference, was quite a surprise. As information technology was and so dark, we also felt it shared some of its character with the Sontronics Sigma, and might make a adept alternative for those seeking a very nighttime vintage-sounding ribbon on a very tight upkeep. Greg's comments were a little more than to the point: "Quite a dark, indistinct audio — coarse in its response and lacking particular."

14. Crowley & Tripp Soundstage Image

We idea the Soundstage Image sounded quite odd on vocals. The audio was very coloured ("retro", said one of our panel, who quite liked information technology at starting time) and, like the SE R1, the esses were swallowed, every bit though someone had caught the de-esser threshold control on the border of their sleeve as they passed — non at all flattering of our vocalist. In its defense, though, this isn't advertised every bit a vocal microphone but as "tailored for radio broadcast, soundstage, orchestral, and other applications requiring an uncoloured sound", which explains why the same company's Studio Vocalist performed so much better in this particular test. Greg observed that it gave a "nasal audio — not much information in the superlative and bottom frequencies. It was detailed to some caste, but I found myself request what sources this microphone would work well for."

About The Author

Jon Cotton wool is a producer, composer and string arranger based in Birmingham. He runs Poseidon, a music-production company creating records and music for picture (www.poseidonmusic.com) and works with a small team from the studio he owns, Artisan (www.artisanaudio.com). Jon produced and engineered Scott Matthews' Ivor-Novello award-winning album Passing Stranger, and, likewise as producing several other records, has recently co-written the music for a number of BBC telly serial.

Round ii: Audio-visual Guitar

Nosotros positioned each microphone 12 inches from an acoustic guitar. Although we discovered that some of the mics would have suited utilize at greater distances, we thought a constant distance would enable us to compare the proximity effect in each microphone. We too recorded the guitar via an Oktava MK012 with cardioid capsule every bit a 'control' condenser comparison. You can hear some of the resulting recordings at www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec07/articles/ribbonmicsaudio.htm.

i. Royer R121

The Royer was lovely on acoustic: intensely articulate, even so full. Using the front end side, information technology nearly fabricated the guitar audio like a Fender Strat by pulling upwardly the body then much. It was eminently useable, and a very overnice contrast to the Oktava which, by comparison, offered all detail and no body. The reverse side of the mic, on the other hand, resulted in a tightly-controlled, brighter version of the aforementioned graphic symbol, which we felt should sit fantastically in a pop mix.

2. Coles 4038

The Coles was smooth, with controlled mids, and the top end wasn't phasey. Information technology had a very overnice body, with a lovely, solid mid-range. Its but arguable flaws in relation to the Royer were that it wasn't as detailed at the height end, and it gave a slightly smaller, more than retro sound, which may prove problematic in the context of a mix — but for exposed parts information technology sounds very cool.

3. Blue Woodpecker

The Woodpecker's extended top end was again in evidence on acoustic guitar, giving lots of detail and capturing the plectrum of the thespian with bang-up clarity, but without the abrasive extreme HF clicks of the Oktava condenser. Similar the Beyer, it exhibited a little flake of a nasal compression in the upper registers, but this was made up for by the overall tone, which was really nicely balanced. In this awarding the mic also has a notably lower proximity outcome than some of the others on exam, which lead to one of the committee proclaiming it every bit sounding 'like a record that has been mastered already' — brand of that what you will! The overall impression was one of providing an instantly-useable off-the-shelf sound, which would hold its own nicely every bit the simply mic in a vocalizer-songwriter audio-visual guitar/vocals combo. The pinnacle-end extension would mean that supplementing the warmth with a condenser wouldn't be necessary. That said, this wouldn't be get-go pick if yous were looking for out-and-out graphic symbol.

4. Golden Age Projects R1 Tube

We loved this mic on acoustic. It was lovely and balanced and, thanks to the tube, gave a scratchy top ("but in a skilful mode"), that we felt would assist the guitar to work really well in the wider context of a mix. Again, the results seem very good for the price.

5. Sontronics Sigma

Easy baby... the Sigma turned our guitar into an instant scrap of imaginary 1950s vinyl history — all mid-range cool, with no pretence at trying to be zingy at the elevation. It was all sassy desert-island midriff, with a niggling flake of overhang on the bass finish, which could easily be tidied up by pulling the mic back. We all donned our shades and Tiki shirts and sipped our pina coladas as we soaked up the sound of early Motown jazz-funk guitar (well, Motown didn't brand jazz-funk, but you get the idea). It lacks versatility in that it only does ane sound, but boy, does it practise that audio well!

6. Groove Tubes Velo 8

Hearing this microphone on acoustic guitar brought a grin to my face up every fourth dimension. "Seriously absurd vintage vibes" was the verdict — like a less extreme version of the Sigma, and incredibly smooth in the treble curlicue-off. As on vocals, we institute the impedance switch acted every bit an 'HF and detail' command, giving useful variation to a fundamentally lovely smooth tone.

vii. AEA R84

The R84 had a nice, clear, sparkly top and a fairly resonant and flabby bottom end. It would probably sound swell pulled back a couple of feet and, like the GA R2, would make a good general-purpose 'warmer' for condenser recordings.

8. Golden Historic period Projects R1 Active Mk2

See our comments for the R1 Mk2, below. The active version is a touch more flattering at both ends of the frequency spectrum, and isn't and then fussy about the choice of preamp, but in other respects the two are very similar.

nine. Golden Age Projects R1 Mk2

The R1 Mk2 was very nice and balanced, with a more recessed mid-range than the Royers or the Coles. It sounded a touch more than distant — less detailed and not as controlled as some of the others — merely with careful treatment, especially on the bass end, could exist very useful every bit a warming addition to a condenser.

10. Beyerdynamic M160

Oddly, despite it feeling like to the Royer in some applications, on audio-visual we idea the M160'due south aggressive middle (so useful on drums — see beneath) was a bit much on acoustic guitar. That said, it is hard to generalise, and when you lot need the acoustic to cut through in a really chunky fashion it could really fit the bill (Billy Bragg might like it!). Equally with the pb vocal tests, we establish the hypercardioid pattern to be helpful in minimising room sound equally well and, of form, the mic was very easy to position.

11. Crowley & Tripp Studio Singer

We liked the top of this microphone on acoustic guitar, and felt that it would sit down rather nicely in a mix. However, the balance was a chip wrong lower down for solo work, and information technology suffered from a severe proximity consequence, which brought out the 150-200Hz blast from the guitar's audio-hole quite dramatically.

12. Gilded Age Projects R2

We rather liked the sound of the R2 on acoustic guitar. Information technology fell somewhere betwixt the mid-range dial of the Royer and the vintage edge of the Sigma, but without having the detail of either. Great for those wanting that sort of very vintage (dark) sound on a tight upkeep.

thirteen. SE R1

The R1 had lots of upper-mids and brought out the strumming/plectrum audio nicely, merely it lacked a bear on of crispness, didn't offer much charisma, and had a rather uncontrolled lesser end. Though not particularly inspiring, it even so put in a decent performance.

fourteen. Crowley & Tripp Soundstage Image

On acoustic guitar, the Soundstage Image was very odd-sounding, in that the soundstage was detailed merely sounded rather like information technology had a high-pass filter on it. We thought this might be good for James Brown-mode or vinyl-sounding cameo parts, but it was too coloured to be a general workhorse in this awarding.

Round three: Mono Kit Room Mic

The pulsate room here at Artisan is a converted cellar with a fairly low ceiling. Because of its shape, we've damped the acoustic right down and tend to work with convolution reverbs to add airiness where needed, occasionally tracking in other rooms when nosotros need a brighter sound (such as, for example, with a jazz kit). For the purposes of this test, nosotros listened for the part of the room which picked up the most even overall motion picture of the kit in mono, and positioned our ribbons there. Unlike the acoustic or vocal takes, the exact positioning of the mics was less crucial in this case, so we decided to put them all up at once and tape in three batches. The control mic was, again, an Oktava MK012 with cardioid capsule. Because ambient mics like this are commonly compressed hard and used to add together dial to a mix, we ran the takes through a UAD1 1176SE compressor plug-in, fix fairly aggressively to simulate the sort of treatment this positioning would probably receive. You can hear the recordings (both compressed and natural) at world wide web.soundonsound.com/sos/dec07/manufactures/ribbonmicsaudio.htm.

1. Coles 4038

Surprisingly bright, the Coles sounded quite 'hi-fi', with a less manifestly rolled-off top than some of the others — quite neutral. The mid-range was lovely and the transient response generally was great, with a lovely punchy kick-pulsate sound.

We tested iv pairs of mics as stereo overheads. The Coles 4038 and Beyer M160 showed why they're some people'south first choice for this application. two. Royer R121 (front)

The Royer gave a cool, classy and fairly coloured sound, the mid-range heave showing its presence and a touch of poke bringing out the snare with a lot of punch. With a nice transient response, we felt, on the whole, that it was quite similar to the AEA R84, but a bear on clearer and non equally soft — and information technology would brand a cracking crunch mic, or even work as a pair for overheads (we only had i, so unfortunately weren't able to put this theory to the test). Our only criticism was a tiny fleck of harshness that was evident on the cymbals.

3. Beyer M160

It is easy to hear why the Beyers are then well-known for drums. The lovely smooth lift at around 4kHz has the issue of making snare drums jump out of the wider mix and actually dial yous in the face: the effect is like to giving your drummer a double vodka and Redbull and and then insulting his mother just before a take!

4. Sontronics Sigma

The Sigma prompted immediate 'coools' across the room when we brought it upwardly. Crunchy and controlled, with a lovely tendency to bring out the resonances in the snare, this mic is a break-vanquish motorcar: trip-hop fans should take annotation.

5. Golden Historic period Projects R1 Mk2

The R1 Mk2 gave a very prissy, lively and wide result, with a not bad kick sound that was bettered only by the Coles. The overall effect was very balanced, tight and controlled, simply without quite the superlative-stop or transient response of the Coles. Again, for the toll, the performance of this microphone was excellent.

6. Gold Age Projects R1 Active Mk2

Priced slightly higher, we thought the active version brought a bear on more than flattery to the sound of the R1 Mk2, and it also requires a less beefy preamp.

seven. Gold Age Projects R2

We really liked the R2 in this role — it had a lovely kick and snare drum band, and some of the character of the Sontronics Sigma. Its lower cost tag was audible in its lack of transient item and fairly two-dimensional presentation, but information technology was eminently usable every bit a 'crisis mic'. And at this price, if y'all go off information technology yous tin always use it to stir your tea when y'all run out of spoons...

8. AEA R84

The R84 had a nice graphic symbol, simply was a bear on soft and a scrap uncontrolled at the bottom, and then it wouldn't be ane to use for overheads, merely it offers a overnice, extra-warm flavour if y'all don't need detail in great quantities. Greg gave a second opinion: "I fix [the R84] well-nigh iv feet back from the drum kit and positioned it at the drummer'southward waist elevation. It picked up a nice residuum of the kit, and added a not bad bargain of depth to the audio of the kit when blended in with the closer mics and overheads. I found I could add a fair bit of pinch without getting too much volume from the cymbals. It gave a huge, round sound, adding some real thickness to the bass drum and the overall kit."

9. Golden Age Projects R1 Tube

The R1 Tube was a little thin compared with the other mics on test here, but it sounded sparkly, with a prissy hello-lid audio, and crunched well when used with the compressor.

x. Crowley & Tripp Soundstage Prototype

The frequency range this mic brought out was biased more towards the higher frequencies than any of the others, with a lot of emphasis on the upper mid-range. Transient response was great and the hi-hats were very much brought to the front. We thought it would be more useful as a main overhead in pairs than as a crunch mic, for which role we felt it would capture too much cymbal information.

11. Crowley & Tripp Studio Vocalist

Despite its not bad showing on the vocal tests, this mic sounded phasey and as well coloured on our drum kit, with splashy, sibilant cymbals. It's a good mic but obviously not meant for this role.

12. SE R1

The SE sounded squeamish and lively, just was let down by its treble response. As with the vocal 'esses', we establish the R1 swallowed cymbals whole. Nosotros besides felt that the depression mids were a fleck messy, and the kick sounded quite indigestible, with none of the punch of the Coles, the R1 Mk2, or even the little R2.

Round 4: Stereo Overheads

We were supplied with pairs of four of the microphones, so we positioned them in a fairly traditional overhead position: i mic over the chapeau side of the kit, one over the ride, and checked phase by measuring the distance from the middle of the snare to each. We practical some comparatively gentle pinch to the overhead recordings, care of a UAD1 Fairchild plug-in, and the results can be heard at www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec07/articles/ribbonmicsaudio.htm.

one. Coles 4038 (pair)

It was immediately obvious why these microphones are the de facto standard for drum overheads in many people's books. Punchy yet warm, the kit sounded vibrant and balanced, if a touch dark.

2. Beyer M160 (pair)

Upon hearing these mics as a pair on overheads, i of our committee declared he didn't want to make some other rock record without using this configuration... they do something to snare drums that we've never heard any other overhead exercise, really bringing out the crack and weight equally. The but downwardly side would be our feeling that the high treble is a little recessed, so for sparkle on cymbals it might be worth supplementing with some condensers at times.

iii. Sontronics Sigma (pair)

The Sigma is besides dark to utilize as a full general-purpose overhead pair; withal as soon equally nosotros asked the drummer to switch to playing some brushed jazz, their raison d'être became immediately credible. These would be the perfect mics for creating a Louis Armstrong/Ella Fitzgerald warm retro soundscape.

4. SE R1 (pair)

A nice, articulate snare sound is let down by the swallowed cymbals and lack of obvious grapheme, and the detail is mediocre. Greg also tried the SEs as overheads and reported: "I actually took these mics off earlier recording the takes we were to utilise, and instead went with a pair of Microtech Gefell M300s, because I did not like the audio much. The cymbals sounded washy and indistinct, and I constitute it hard to get them to cutting through the guitars and bass (mild stone band without much baloney), even when boosting the high frequencies with EQ. Placing them as a spaced pair over the cymbals themselves helped matters, but I yet did non similar the sound, either soloed or 'in the mix."

Round 5: Electrical guitar

For electric guitar, nosotros handed over the mantle to Greg Chandler — non because we don't tape electric guitars, merely just considering he was due to record them and nosotros weren't at that time. Greg recorded make clean and distorted guitar miked vi inches from the speaker grille, slightly off-centre from one 12-inch speaker in a 4x12 cab. The Amp was an Engl Powerball, paired with a VR cabinet.

Here are Greg's comments on the seven mics he tested, in order of preference (The 2d-round mics we received later — Groove Tubes, Blue and Beyer — weren't involved in this test).

1. Royer R121

"Large sound, with potent, clear mids and smooth high frequencies. Accented, only smooth loftier mids make this a good choice for loud guitar amps. Less proximity effect than some of the other ribbons makes it more suitable for closer miking. Good transient response. The rear side of this mic is brighter, with stronger high-mids, making information technology a peachy choice for guitars that demand a fiddling more than cut in the mix."

2. Coles 4038

"On clean guitar this produced a very nice, balanced sound, with good transient response and articulate highs; also clear on distorted guitar. One of the well-nigh detailed ribbons on guitar, it seems to selection up less of the room somehow. Punchy on heavy, palm-muted, distorted guitars. Large lesser end, but without existence muddy."

3. AEA R84

"Huge audio — nearly muddy because information technology is so big at the bottom! Squeamish, detailed and shine mid-range. All-time as a room mic when recording guitar, due to the emphasised proximity effect."

4. Crowley & Tripp Studio Vocalist

"Smooth sound. Peradventure not the right kind of character for distorted guitar, though the clean sound was quite nice with this mic."

5. Golden Age Projects R1 Tube

"A biig sound that's quite bright and abrupt. Practiced for some applications. I institute that this mic worked better when blended with the Royer R121."

6. Sontronics Sigma

"Nice with make clean guitar — detailed and smooth. Overnice 'old' audio, but quite indigestible on distorted guitar. At that place are accented mids and information technology is dark on top, but there's something attractive about it on make clean sounds."

7. SE Electronic R1

"Reasonable level of particular in the sound overall, though possibly a piffling little lacking in graphic symbol and transient response with regards to the higher frequencies."

8. Golden Age Projects R2

"Quite a nasal sound on electric guitars. Less focused than other ribbons, and a poor transient response."

Greg'south Overview

Greg summarised his tests by maxim: "The Coles 4038 and Royer R121 were my favourites on electric guitar. The Sontronics Sigma was also good for clean sounds, and the R84 also sounded skillful on both clean and distorted guitars, if a petty dingy. The Royer R121 and AEA R84 turned out to be my favourites from this test. The Coles 4038 also had the potential to be a favourite, and I'd like to accept spent longer with information technology and got to hear it on more sources. On guitar, it had a great deal of clarity. The Gold Historic period Projects ribbons, while not getting the most favoured response in the comparison test, actually performed pretty admirably when you lot take their toll into account. GA's R1 Tube mic, in particular, tin can make a good character mic, or a skilful mic to use as function of a multi-mic setup. The Sontronics Sigma had a pleasing, 'old style' ribbon character, and a good level of item. While information technology is not so useful for the styles of music I work with, information technology is an impressive mic for its character lonely. The SE ribbon, I'm agape I constitute quite uninteresting — it isn't bad, but so there isn't anything inspiring about it either. As an all-rounder, I was continually impressed by the audio of the AEA R84. I have used this mic on audio-visual guitar, vocals and electric guitar, and as a drum room mic, and it has never failed to impress, even if it hasn't e'er been the most suitable selection. The Royer didn't sound bad on anything (I have besides used this for pulsate rooms and in front of kicks, where it served well), but is best suited to guitar amps. Every bit a clue to what impressed me the most and is most suitable for the types of music I tape, I bought the Royer R121 and now have the AEA R84 and Coles 4038 on my wish list!"

Conclusions

The mics in our shootout fell into three rough price groups, which equated fairly well with how and where they were made.

At the 'outrageously cheap' stop of the calibration nosotros accept modified standard Far East production-line mics. Gilt Age's tweaked versions of generic Chinese microphones are really exceptional value, no matter how you look at it: you'll see similar housings with other peoples' brands on them, but this is no guarantee that they will sound the aforementioned. As our tests with the three versions of the GA R1 showed, fifty-fifty within one manufacturer the aforementioned microphone body tin can sound fairly different depending on how the mic is modified internally. If you lot purchase a GA mic, yous are buying GA's taste — which we rather liked on the whole, specially given the price.

In the mid-priced bracket, we take SE and Sontronics, who are both combining brand-new, bespoke designs with the cost advantages of using Chinese labour to make them. The results are original, charismatic microphones with higher tolerances than some of the generic mics, yet at very competitive prices. In the same subclass, Groove Tubes take manage to price their Velo eight extremely competitively, despite it beingness made in the Westward.

At the pinnacle of the range we have AEA, Beyer, Blue, Coles, Crowley & Tripp and Royer — traditional high-stop, Western microphone companies, making premium products with lilliputian or no compromise. These mics are pretty uniformly fantastic, and yous become perhaps more consistency and finesse than seen in whatsoever of the Eastern mics, which is down to the no-compromise attitude towards components and higher tolerances — merely then, of course, the price-tags reverberate this.

We were surprised to observe that our favourites in a item application were not necessarily the about expensive. The GA R1 Mk2 and the Active Mk2 peculiarly stunned us every bit amazingly good all-rounders for the money. Even some of the mics nosotros weren't so crazy about in general (such as the GA R2) nosotros could imagine finding a use for on a record, and they would certainly represent a very useful introduction to the ribbon sound for those working with small budgets.

In general, the higher-end mics tend to be more consistently useful, but our choices weren't as tied to cost as we had at first expected — and this points to there being ample room in the marketplace to discover some real bargains, which will exist good news for habitation and project studio owners.

The other thing that struck usa is that the ribbons on test seemed to autumn into two sonic categories: those that aspired to being fairly 'hullo-fi', with a lot of high-frequency extension (the Crowley & Tripps and the Blueish Woodpecker are the extreme examples of this type); and those which purposely went for a 'vintage' sound, with a more distinctive coloration. The Sontronics Sigma and the Groove Tubes Velo 8 tied for that crown (which to choose comes downwards to how farthermost an effect yous are looking for), but we felt the little GA R2 would brand a practiced upkeep alternative.

The Sigma was notable for another reason: existence phantom-powered, it required far less gain than almost of the other mics on test. The other mics that took a similar approach were the GA R1 Active Mk2 and the Blueish Woodpecker, and each of these would make good choices for those who don't have the upkeep for expensive mic preamps (though if you're able to save, or spare the greenbacks, I'd still recommend a good preamp as a worthwhile investment).

Ane final irony, which we couldn't assist just discover, was that the quality and quantity of the accessories supplied with each of the mics were about perfectly inversely proportional to the cost of the microphones. At the cheapest extreme, for instance, the R1 Mk2 comes with a mic-stand mount, a protective wind-glove and a good aluminium flight-case. The AEA R84, on the other hand, at over £900, comes with an almost identical current of air-glove as its but protection; the Beyer came in a pencil example, and the Crowley & Tripp and Royer don't even come up with a way of attaching them to a mic stand! Maybe this is ane area in which the sometime guard may demand to rethink in light of the emerging competition, fifty-fifty if they exercise still retain the crown when it comes to sonic consistency.

In addition to the companies who lent united states the microphones to try out in this feature, I'd like to say thanks to the following for the help they gave in the microphone auditions: Tom Brookhouse, Rob Blakeney, Rebecca Gilbert, January Ticket, Greg Chandler, KMR Sound, and Digital Hamlet, Birmingham.

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Source: https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/ribbon-mics-test

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