♦ Recommended load impedance: 1000 Ω One of the most important considerations lies in the circuitry of your ribbon mic. MXL R144 Bidirectional Ribbon Microphone. It is rather dull-sounding. The MXL ribbon is all over the place for about a C-note. Manufacturers focus on character. ♦ Frequency range: 20 to 17,000 Hz The 210B has an outer diameter of 67mm. ♦ Frequency response: 20 to 20,000 Hz In fact, it’d be pretty hard to exceed that SPL figure without causing property damage. The ribbon mic was made popular by the broadcasting and television industry ever since it was invented by an RCA engineer in the 1920s, but it’s still used today by audio professionals and musicians. There are different physical properties of the ribbon itself that can drastically change the way the mic sounds. So there's a new ribbon mic out from MXL, the R40 It looks the same as the R144, slightly different shade of paint. I had actually gotten a pair of Cascade Fathead II's off someone here in classifieds for $200. All You Need to Know, Ultimate Guide to the Best Thunderbolt Audio Interface. ♦ Sensitivity: -55dB (0dB = 1V/Pa) Great applications in this sense are miking drum overheads and harsh guitar cabinets. Live Chat . With a street price around $100, it is the least costly ribbon microphone we’ve seen to date. ♦ Signal-to-noise ratio: 70 dB Unfortunately I had a bad turn of events in my life that are still kinda unfolding so I had to let them go on craigslist (made my money back). The low-profile design can help when miking guitar amps and cabinets, brass, strings, piano, percussion, vocals, and orchestral ambiance. Back to Product List. ♦ Maximum SPL: 135 dB (0.5% THD @ 1 kHz) (Some low cut is often needed with ribbon mics, as their figure‑of‑eight pattern has the most pronounced proximity bass-boost effect of all the patterns.) Passive ribbon mics do not have an internal amplifier, and they require a dedicated, impedance-matched preamp in order to achieve a workable signal level. Otherwise you would be $100 shy of the $700 for the Beyerdynamic M130 or the $220 for the Cascade Fathead II. Damage to the ribbon is not covered by the warranty, and there is a charge for a replacement — but, to be fair, the whole mic costs less than the ribbon replacement charge for most ribbon mics! The pattern is nice and tight and it picks up very little room . Published with WordPress. With a bit of presence boost and low cut, you're ready for raunchy rock or gritty metal, and though the high end had a distinctly different colour to that of the Coles (which is nominally flat up to 17kHz), I rather liked it from a musical viewpoint. ♦ Equivalent noise: 22 dB SPL (A-weighted) The first thing we notice about the Fat Head is the bulky look for which it’s named. Web site designed & maintained by PB Associates & SOS. The “BE” in the name stands for “bare essentials” because, while it uses the same ribbon motor and transformer, it simply lacks the aluminum case, wood box, and premium shock mount that comes with the higher-tier version. Tuning to slightly below 20 Hz is common as it will cover the entire audible range (20 Hz to 20 kHz) and allows for excellent bass response. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it really depends on what you’re after. It looks very similar to any side-address condenser mic you’d find out there, but don’t let that fool you. MXL R144 ribbon microphone premature review: Les Cargill: 12/1/17 7:25 PM: I have no other ribbons to compare it to. If you’re building a home studio, there are acoustic treatment kits available online that have everything you’ll need to reduce room reflections and noise. Download the manual here for more data. - No active electronics to color sound - The rich sound of ribbon mics made affordable for the home studio. The treble roll-off in most ribbon mics can help tame even the shrillest of sounds. ♦ Sensitivity: 16 mV/Pa In contrast the the previous mics we covered, the R102 has a higher sensitivity, making it a little friendlier if you don’t have a high-quality preamp. An understanding of how the ribbon mic works and how to care for your ribbon mic is essential knowledge for any recording engineer. Before jumping in to a purchase, make sure your room is properly treated to cut back on excessive or undesirable noise. The MXL shockmount grips the mic using a rubber‑lined spring sleeve, opened via a couple of wire levers. ♦ Frequency response: 30 to 15,000 Hz (+/- 3 dB)