Royer Labs - A Factory Tour of the Ribbon Microphone Manufacturer

We recently visited the Burbank, CA headquarters of ribbon microphone manufacturer, Royer Labs. Royer is known for a number of ribbon mics including the classic R-121 microphone, R-10 microphone and SF-12 microphone.
Royer's President and co-founder Rick Perrotta took us on a tour of their factory, providing us a glimpse of every important stage of the manufacturing process, explaining how ribbon microphones are made.
From initial design to ribbon corrugation to final testing and inspection by Chief Engineer David Royer, each microphone with the Royer badge is subjected to the utmost attention to detail.
Learn more about Royer Labs microphones, including the R-121 and R-10 microphones, and accessories such as the Sling-Shock, at www.musiciansfriend.com/royer...
Check out our full profile of Royer Labs at www.musiciansfriend.com/thehu...

[@rudycarroll8107]

Brilliant. I have a number of Royer mics and it's a real pleasure to see how they are made. Well done to everyone at Royer Labs and particularly to Dave for dreaming up these astonishingly high quality devices.

[@michaelbishop7637]

It's wonderful to see the meticulous care taken at every step in the manufacturing of the great Royer mics. That care taken is certainly reflected in the consistently high performance I've found in every Royer mic I've had on sessions. I employ Royer ribbon mics on every session and for good reason - they give me the great results I'm looking for every time!

[@anthonysilva5312]

Michael Bishop and in the price 😉

[@anthonysilva5312]

@@jillianangell2570 the ribbon is made US, the rest in China.

[@darsueo2]

This video makes me want to run out and buy one of these mics.

[@ronmoes42]

stunning process...!!

[@larryatha3221]

this helped me understand the design and the cost. I want one!

[@tanukibrahma]

Fantastic insight into the Royer Labs manufacturing process.

[@stevegalante]

Wow ! Proud client here

[@describethefauna]

well made, informative video!

[@praveenkumar-wi3ej]

Great job, love this

[@fnkysax]

Just recorded my entire NEW CD "Cleared For Takeoff" on my Royer R-122 which I take with me everywhere...! - The FnkySax Player!

[@dr.joshaxe1251]

literally the sexiest mics in the world

[@ramencurry6672]

Huh?

[@fbeacham]

Good speakers!

[@thegreatsiberianitch]

Was this filmed with a ribbon camera? Cause its kinda dark. Ba dum...

[@nun6996]

tss

[@mbeliv3763]

Thx for all. Where can we get the aluminium and is there a place to buy the ruban tensioner? Thx

[@curtvincent3728]

Tremendous respect for this video. I know Wes Dooley claims that low resonance frequency of about 16 Hz is key. Les Watts says between 35 and 40 Hz. What is Royer's take?

[@rickperrotta]

Optimum resonance is determine by the overall ribbon dimensions, primarily the length and width of the ribbon, and of course the thickness of the material. Shorter ribbons tune at a higher resonance and vice versa.

[@curtvincent3355]

@@rickperrotta Thanks Rick. So a mic like an RCA 77, with its tiny ribbon would resonate much higher than the 44 BX. Got it. Now I need to figure out the formula between all the variables you mentioned Rick and the resonant frequency. Looks like the ribbon in this video was resonating at 32 HZ. I have watched this video a million times and can't get enough. Thanks again Rick.

[@rickperrotta]

@@curtvincent3355 The point of resonance is where the impedance rises, measured electronically. Lower resonances produce a very sweet sounding microphone, so a resonance is a balance of performance and durability. A ribbon that is too lose will be susceptible to scraping and one that is too taught will have poor frequency response, especially in the low-end.

[@curtvincent3728]

@@rickperrotta Wow, this is great. Thank you Rick. I have spent hours sitting next to Clarence Kane and assisted him in replacing ribbons, as a student of a master. I've read lots of books on the topic but there is precious little available on the topic of resonance and setting the ribbon. This video, with the Lissajous curve on the scope is very, very precious. Thank you for your comments!

[@rafirafal]

can larger magnets be used? 100x10x10mm Will the performance be good?

[@rafirafal]

what are the dimensions of neodymium magnets?

[@curtvincent3728]

I came up with a question this month that the Internet has not solved for me. I watched these awesome videos from Royer about using an oscilloscope in X-Y mode to produce a Lissajous curve to set the ribbon to the exact right tension based on the resonant frequency. OK, I understand but I will be damned if I know where to place the two scope probes! If you put them on each end of the ribbon they are in phase (as they are at the same potential) so the Lissajous is in phase regardless of frequency. Maddening. Any thoughts? I don't even know who to ask!

[@Spirit532]

It's an additional circuit, and the scope is probably only used as a graphical thing, since it's fairly easy to generate X-Y signals from something resonating(or not resonating) and going in and out of phase.

[@curtvincent3728]

@@Spirit532 Yes! Thank you for that! I was able to sort it out and wanted to post a youtube to explain how it works for geeks like me that want to learn. It is really simple actually, you just put a resistor in line with the ribbon mic's cable to the mic-pre. I added a 250 ohm resistor in series with pin 2 of a 3 pin XLR. So this means you have a 250 ohm resister in series with the mic's transformer and then returns via Pin 3. Put a signal generator on Pin 2 and Pin 3 and then put an oscilloscope with Channel 1 before the resistor and Channer 2 on the other side of the resistor. So you are looking at a voltage divider. With the signal generator on a lower frequency, you put the scope into X/Y mode and you can then increase the frequency on the generator until the circle folds on itself and you get the 45-degree line like this video shows. I have a hand drawn schematic but I don't know how to post a picture to a replay. That is my ignorance of youtube. I am building a box that will allow me to simply plug in a mic and fire up the scope and signal generator and start looking at the ribbon. I needed to learn how to do this as I restore vintage RCA ribbon mics. Been a student of Clarence Kane for over 5 years and now I am trying to get the tension right. This Royer video is great!

[@kylianthehylian]

would it be possible to tweak this design somehow to make it sound like an old 1920s mic?

[@michaelgamble296]

Yes! Remove the electronics - just keep the step-up Xfmr. Worth a try!!?

[@TiqueO6]

@@michaelgamble296 try to wait ?years until the ridiculously strong magnets lose some of what some say is a damping effect?

[@TheBaconWizard]

@@TiqueO6 or just de-gaus them a bit

[@TiqueO6]

@@TheBaconWizard Great idea! Haven't ever tried to degauss something like that. I took my head degausser to a compact (3-inch?) floppy disk once and tried to see what it would take to make it impossible to mount...couldn't get it to show any issues!

[@TheBaconWizard]

@@TiqueO6 It would take quite a serious electromagnet to do the job on those magnets, but I'm sure with proper research it can be calculated and built fairly simply.

[@subtitles1492]

a guy who likes to say “ehm”…

[@user-qx7tm5df8j]

crosshead screws? well that's a crime