WTB - Ribbon Mic any suggestions

Bradders

I am looking for a ribbon mic to experiment with recording acoustic guitar and vocals. I like the smooth warm sound of a ribbon and keen to see what I can do with one. I have a gefell m300 which I record through the RME babyface pro fs. Im keen to try the mid-side technique with the ribbon & SDC to get some stereo guitar and also play around with few other placements pairing the 2 and also single mic stuff. I have a few other instruments I want to try the ribbon with such as irish low whistles and percussion stuff. The mic I am interested in is the Se electronics VR2 which is an active mic with high sensitivity, I also like that it is a brighter ribbon and not too boomy, which makes it quite versitile. The other company that interests me is NoHype and Extict audio. The extinct audio mics are a bit outside my budget. Im hoping to keep it under £400

Any suggestions or comments on the mics I mentioned?

robinbowes

I came here to recommend Extinct Audio mics, but I see you have discounted those on the grounds of price.

It’s also worth considering Xaudia (same guys, different business). They sell repaired vintage mics. They also do an upgrade service so if you can get hold of and old vintage mics (eg. a Reslo) they can fit a new ribbon, transformer, and XLR socket for a good price. I have one!

Good luck!

R.

Bradders

Thanks for the info. I haven’t totally discounted them. Hoping to find something for £400 or less but if its worth stretching then I may consider it. Funny you mention Xaudia, I came across someone selling a Xaudia custom Ribbon mic using an old Se ribbon body for £400 on Reverb. Good to know they are worth looking into. 

Whistler

A few people I know have the Thomann own brand t.bone RB 770 ribbon mic. £133.

Bradders

Thanks, I’ll look into them. 

Winny_Pooh

Worth spending extra for the voodoo, it's also tiny which is great for M/S or having alongside a LDC, good on acoustic and other bright raspy sources (It beat out a bunch of my pricy condensors on violin/viola)

robinbowes

Bradders said:

Thanks for the info. I haven’t totally discounted them. Hoping to find something for £400 or less but if its worth stretching then I may consider it. Funny you mention Xaudia, I came across someone selling a Xaudia custom Ribbon mic using an old Se ribbon body for £400 on Reverb. Good to know they are worth looking into. 

Yeah, it's the same people. They started repairing ribbons, then started designing their own mics. They happen to be in the same town as me (York) which is why I know about them. The main man, Stuart, is a great guy.

https://xaudia.com

R.

Macca_25387

The new Borbon Extinct mic is £440 new. That’s my next mic purchase in the new year. Stewart has repaired some mics for me, i couldn’t recommend him enough. 1st class service. 

jamesguitar

I’ve got a Royer R101 that I’m a big fan of. It’s a Royer R121 circuit in a different enclosure.

Bradders

Winny_Pooh said:

Worth spending extra for the voodoo, it's also tiny which is great for M/S or having alongside a LDC, good on acoustic and other bright raspy sources (It beat out a bunch of my pricy condensors on violin/viola)

Do you mean the Voodoo VR2? I do like the form factor. I watched the Podcastage review and it sounds really good.

Bradders

robinbowes said:

Bradders said:

Thanks for the info. I haven’t totally discounted them. Hoping to find something for £400 or less but if its worth stretching then I may consider it. Funny you mention Xaudia, I came across someone selling a Xaudia custom Ribbon mic using an old Se ribbon body for £400 on Reverb. Good to know they are worth looking into. 

Yeah, it's the same people. They started repairing ribbons, then started designing their own mics. They happen to be in the same town as me (York) which is why I know about them. The main man, Stuart, is a great guy.

https://xaudia.com

R.

Good to know. The one for sale on Reverb has been custom built by Stuart so it looks like a good option to conisder. Cheers

Bradders

Macca_25387 said:

The new Borbon Extinct mic is £440 new. That’s my next mic purchase in the new year. Stewart has repaired some mics for me, i couldn’t recommend him enough. 1st class service. 

I had a look on their website today and noted the Borbon. There is a good review by Fabian Holland on YT and they sound good too. He actually demo's them with guitar and vocals in a similar way to what I am aiming for. Decently priced too and such a great form factor.

Bradders

jamesguitar said:

I’ve got a Royer R101 that I’m a big fan of. It’s a Royer R121 circuit in a different enclosure.

Nice, looks decently priced. I will add that to the list.

Bradders

Well, I think I have a few great options to keep an eye out for. Thanks

bbill335

i like the fathead and have seen them deployed in pro studios (mainly fir recording electric amped guitars but still a good affordable mic)

jamesguitar

The Royer 121 became the industry standard for micing guitar amps because it has all the warmth and desirable qualities of a ribbon mic, but could handle high sound pressure levels much better than the competition. So it really depends what you’re into micing.

 I dig the Coles 4038 a lot for folky violins and drum overheads. The AEA A440 is lovely for vintage jazz vocals and drum overheads too. There’s some newer stuff too, would just watch loads of videos and see what appeals (but also be aware most reviews of newer Ribbons YouTube are paid reviews / gifted items).

Stuckfast

robinbowes said:

Bradders said:

Thanks for the info. I haven’t totally discounted them. Hoping to find something for £400 or less but if its worth stretching then I may consider it. Funny you mention Xaudia, I came across someone selling a Xaudia custom Ribbon mic using an old Se ribbon body for £400 on Reverb. Good to know they are worth looking into. 

Yeah, it's the same people. They started repairing ribbons, then started designing their own mics. They happen to be in the same town as me (York) which is why I know about them. The main man, Stuart, is a great guy.

https://xaudia.com

R.

Stewart is a great guy and possibly the only tech in the entire audio industry who gets things done when he says he will!

Without wishing to put words into his mouth, I'm pretty sure he will say the BoRbon is about as affordable as it's practical to make a new ribbon mic without compromising on quality. Anything you find that's cheaper than that new will basically be one of a handful of Chinese ribbon motor designs in a fancy shell. Depending on what you want to record with it, that might be fine, but for acoustic guitar I'd be wary as the Chinese designs tend to be noisy.

If you're interested, I have a couple of Beyer M260s, I could bear to part with one of those at a reasonable price, also a vintage M160 but that would be a bit more than £400.

digitalkettle

Bradders said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Worth spending extra for the voodoo, it's also tiny which is great for M/S or having alongside a LDC, good on acoustic and other bright raspy sources (It beat out a bunch of my pricy condensors on violin/viola)

Do you mean the Voodoo VR2? I do like the form factor. I watched the Podcastage review and it sounds really good.

I think they've dropped the 'Voodoo' from the name these days...it's just VR1 and VR2.

AntonHunter

Macca_25387 said:

The new Borbon Extinct mic is £440 new. That’s my next mic purchase in the new year. Stewart has repaired some mics for me, i couldn’t recommend him enough. 1st class service. 

I've also had my eye on the BoRbon, I've got a couple of tbone ribbons that Stewart rebuilt/modded and I love them so the BoRbon is very tempting... however... I think there's a slight difference between the front and back of the mic by design, so it might not be best suited for M/S stuff.

"Directional Pattern: Offset figure-8 (the ribbon is 2mm closer to the front of the microphone.)" from:

https://www.extinctaudio.co.uk/product/borbon-pocket-ribbon-microphone/

Bradders

Stuckfast said:

robinbowes said:

Bradders said:

Thanks for the info. I haven’t totally discounted them. Hoping to find something for £400 or less but if its worth stretching then I may consider it. Funny you mention Xaudia, I came across someone selling a Xaudia custom Ribbon mic using an old Se ribbon body for £400 on Reverb. Good to know they are worth looking into. 

Yeah, it's the same people. They started repairing ribbons, then started designing their own mics. They happen to be in the same town as me (York) which is why I know about them. The main man, Stuart, is a great guy.

https://xaudia.com

R.

Stewart is a great guy and possibly the only tech in the entire audio industry who gets things done when he says he will!

Without wishing to put words into his mouth, I'm pretty sure he will say the BoRbon is about as affordable as it's practical to make a new ribbon mic without compromising on quality. Anything you find that's cheaper than that new will basically be one of a handful of Chinese ribbon motor designs in a fancy shell. Depending on what you want to record with it, that might be fine, but for acoustic guitar I'd be wary as the Chinese designs tend to be noisy.

If you're interested, I have a couple of Beyer M260s, I could bear to part with one of those at a reasonable price, also a vintage M160 but that would be a bit more than £400.

Fair point regarding the cheaper Chinese made stuff, I am always a bit wary of such goods. I have owned an SE 4400a which was a pretty good mic for the price, though as you say, it was noisy and I listening to some demo's of the VR2 I can pick up an audible noise floor though that could be other factors or a combinations of things.

Im leaning more towards the BoRbon for all the reasons mentioned and it is just a really cool looking piece of kit:)

Cheers for offer, I think I'll stick with prob going for the BoRbon.

Bradders

AntonHunter said:

Macca_25387 said:

The new Borbon Extinct mic is £440 new. That’s my next mic purchase in the new year. Stewart has repaired some mics for me, i couldn’t recommend him enough. 1st class service. 

I've also had my eye on the BoRbon, I've got a couple of tbone ribbons that Stewart rebuilt/modded and I love them so the BoRbon is very tempting... however... I think there's a slight difference between the front and back of the mic by design, so it might not be best suited for M/S stuff.

"Directional Pattern: Offset figure-8 (the ribbon is 2mm closer to the front of the microphone.)" from:

https://www.extinctaudio.co.uk/product/borbon-pocket-ribbon-microphone/

Good to know, cheers