Why Record with Active Ribbon Microphones?

[@PrinceWesterburg]

I love the honesty of ribbons, condensers sound produced with their enhanced upper mid and treble but the bass emphasis on ribbons is earthy and for jazz vocals they are essential!

[@creativesoundlab]

Yeah, I absolutely love ribbons. They take a little getting used to if you've never worked with them, but after that they make recording much easier.

[@stubkar]

Dig it. With electric guitars, I'm all about the large diaphragm condensers right now. Blend in some ribbon. Voila....ACDC immediacy!

[@saam6768]

I really love how you're videos consistently A/B everything. I still feel like the sound felt a little choked at 150 Ohms. Maybe not disastrous like it would have with a passive ribbon mic, but I definitely liked the 600 Ohm better.

[@creativesoundlab]

Yeah, great point. I'm having a hard time seperating out the sound of the pre vs the mic. I know those pres sound huge and ballsey when the "Tone" is pushed in.

[@dainiusandhismusic2581]

Hello! Greetings from Almería (Spain) I've been searching the internet for a while trying to find an answer for this question, and I haven't found an answer yet. Why is that you can conect speakers in series/parallel and in-phase/out-of-phase and do the same with guitar pickups but I've never seen anyone do it with two dynamic microphones? Dynamic mics are exactly the same as a speaker, aren't they? I have two sm58s and I was thinking of building a switcher where I can mix both mics on to one channel and choose any combination I want of series/paralle and in-phase/out-of-phase. I've moded my bass and it now has all the pickup combinations you can imagine and it is a great feature IMHO. I've played around with a 4x12 cab and know how the phase and loudness is affected depending on the wiring (I know it can be dangerous also). If I do that with the two sm58s, Is there a risk of me breaking them? Great show! You've already helped me solve a few problems in my recordings and the resuslts were amazing!

[@middle_pickup]

Incredible guitar tone. Super Zeppy.

[@creativesoundlab]

Thanks!

[@lennartstip6395]

nice, you seem to like ribbon mics. i should get one to try it out! as always a great video!

[@creativesoundlab]

Ribbons are great work horse mics.

[@monkeyxx]

Ribbons are workhorses for me also. Passive, here. Haven't tried any active ribbons yet! Also would note that a Cloudlifter or similar device would accomplish much the same thing as an active microphone. MoGaine is another one to look at. FetHead, etc.

[@hungry4road482]

WhatsApp message at 1:23 :)

[@motoprentice]

Hi Ryan...Thanks for yet another SUPER-Helpful video.

[@creativesoundlab]

Thanks CK

[@edmedlin9018]

Please allow a question that will leave no question as to my ignorance. Although a few people seem to use ribbon mics for voice overs, what about using an active ribbon mic, positioned far enough away to be out of the frame, to record the voice tracks for KZbin or other videos? I realize the figure-8 pattern could complicate things, but typical large diaphragm mics cardioid mics seem to require proximity, but pencil mics don't seem particularly well suited for voice, and voices captured indoors with shotguns can leave something to be desired. I realize that any choice is likely to involve some trade-offs, and I'm thinking that my somewhat thin, more-tenor-than-baritone voice might benefit more from an active ribbon mic than from the other options. I know this is off-the wall, but am I also totally off the mark?

[@edmedlin9018]

Bought a Marantz MPM-3500 to use for the spoken word. Requires a bit more gain than my small or large diaphragm condensers, but not a lot more, and my inexpensive Behringer UMC204HD interface is proving adequate, even though I am positioned 18-20 inches from the mic. The only semi-issue is the figure 8 pattern, which no doubt is great for some purposes, but is not ideal for a single person speaking into one side of it. However, even that proved to be less of a problem than I'd feared. None of my mics were expensive, but the Marantz active ribbon was even less expensive than the other other two (Oktava MK-012 and an SE Electronics X1 S), and it's threatening to become my favorite (not that I have complaints about the other two).

[@henryhill92]

Hey Ryan, I'm looking at getting my first ribbon mic for some upcoming acoustic guitar recording. Basically my current signal chain for vocals is SM7B > Fethead > Focusrite ISA-Two > RME Babyface Pro (which I already know sounds awesome on this guy's voice), and I'm thinking for this session I'll simultaneously record vocals with a ribbon and an SM57 on the guitar for a bit of stereo width. We're going for more of a lo-fi sound so I'm ok with the lack of a condenser, and I figured I'd use the ribbon's figure-8 pattern to reject some of the vocal. My question is, I have 3 options for staff discounted ribbon mics from the audio store I work at: SE Electronics VR1, VR2 and Rode NTR. I'm leaning towards the VR1, which is passive, because I figured my ISA should provide more than enough gain and its far cheaper, but this video's given me pause for thought. The VR2 is active and about $70 more expensive, while the NTR is about double the price. What are your thoughts, given that I'm using a high-gain, low noise preamp? Cheers!

[@creativesoundlab]

I think for you an active ribbon would be more about the tone options. I also have had a hard time with passive ribbons for acoustic material because I had to crank the preamp, but for drums and guitars it was just fine. I would really just try to hear those mics to see which one you like based on the sound. I love ribbons, and while they have a sound, they can also sound different too.

[@henryhill92]

Cheers man! I ended up going with the passive, mostly because I read that the impedance switch on my ISA would give me different tonal options with it that I wouldn't be able to achieve with the active model, and that was true. The difference between low and high impedance basically sounds like two different microphones! Pretty happy with my purchase so far

[@deepak2268]

Hii... Great video..planning to buy a n active ribbon for my santoor (similar to hammered dulcimer) please guide and suggest..Thank you

[@slipbeat]

I'm sure you will do that for me. The meters is where we go to get a job and get the job to pay. You guys are really great at making me feel better and more. The first thing we can hear from you is that you are not sure if you're having any idea of what you are doing. The meters are the first time to be home .

[@AdamRainStopper]

I braced myself for harshness when I saw the Gretsch (1x8?) combo, then I heard it with the ribbon, and it sounds very sweet, and simultaneously mixable with bass and drums, which can be hard to do with 12" speakers. That right there is enough to sell me on active ribbons.

[@creativesoundlab]

Yeah, thanks man! I'm not sure if it's a 10 inch or 12 inch. It's a Gretsch 6156.

[@monkeyxx]

I am fairly sure it's a 10" speaker in the Gretsch 6156. Nice amp, BTW.

[@AdamRainStopper]

It's gotta be a 10. Bright one at that. Guy filling in on guitar for me back in '97 had one, he would turn it on its face and mic it from the back. He was a damn good guitarist, and learned all our songs in a few days. I needed a pinch-hitter on guitar because I was a fucking idiot. I was a stupid teenager and shot some dope that had, apparently, been cut with botulinus toxin, and my hand went dead for a while. I was obviously very happy to get use of it back, but since then I have always wanted to try to find another guitarist so I could be free to spend just as much time off the stage as on. It was - in a sort of disturbing way - a liberating experience........overall. But some of these old (50's, usually Valco manufactured or similar) combo amps, the ones that seem to get excessively bright, they sound really nice from the back of the cabinet. They're almost all wide-open in the back, and if you flip them face-down, it creates a seal around the front, making the cone tighten up a little, which balances out the usual flubbiness of the sound of an amp mic'ed from behind. Give it a try! I mean the amp, not the botulism.....

[@larrytate1657]

I’m new to recording and have been getting good results with just a single sm57 kissing my Mesa 1x12 mini rect cab. However I want to start uping my Game. What’s the best way to start recording a second guitar track? Getting an active ribbon and recording a second track simetanelusly with the 57 on the same cab? Then pan them left and right?

[@creativesoundlab]

If you have a second 57 then try putting one in the same spot but at a 45 angle. That’s pry your easiest first step to try.

[@nickynockyknackynoo2346]

Interesting... and subtle difference Thanks

[@stuartbradley2692]

Why does an inline pad make the sound brighter? I have two Rode NTRs and would be interested to know. My inline pads have 20dB, 30dB and 40dB settings. What's your experience with different settings? Is it a simple as higher impedance = brighter sound?

[@creativesoundlab]

Hmmm, not sure. The impedance should be determined by the resistors, so it's possible it's messing with the tone. Those NTRs are super hot, and almost to a fault, so you need those pads to use them for anything loud, but I have not noticed that they get brighter. Which inline pad are you using or did you make it yourself?

[@stuartbradley2692]

HOSA ATT-448s. I'll try the different settings out and see what happens. Thanks.

[@JiihaaS]

Also you don't need to worry about accidentally ruining the ribbon by feeding it phantom power, cause it's what active ribbon mics require to work.

[@LeoCurtss]

Hey Ryan! I've always wanted to ask: why is it that no matter what mic you're using, it seems to have a super-smoothed off top end? Is it the warm pre-amps, EQ post-tracking, inline EQ, or a low-pass filter?

[@LeoCurtss]

Great video, btw

[@andrewbyers5470]

How does this N8 compare against the NTR?

[@creativesoundlab]

The N8 is darker, but faster. Really good lows. NTR is brighter up at 5-8k, and fuller at 200. NTR has hotter gain by about 10 dB or so, can't remember.

[@joanstofko9853]

Awesome GND

[@loopaxerecordsmusic]

Thanks!

[@capturelightmedia]

INCUBUS!

[@marcelosuarez3027]

Wouldn't this video be WAY more useful if you actually showed what the problem with a passive ribbon mic would be? I understand the criteria and have experienced it myself, but in this way you can't really see the problem with passive ones.

[@creativesoundlab]

Yeah I should do a follow up that shows exactly that.

[@TiqueO6]

Creative Sound Lab and would be informative with a wider range source like acoustic instruments/voice. Another thing is that Ribbons will really change a performance if the performer hears it in real time on cans or monitors. Condenser mics with their overly bright hand make everything sound super intimate and “wet“ so it’s kind of a crutch where I like to touch on the guitar will have plenty of pics sound and such and where a persons voice will sound very much like they just drink a glass of water or have a very seasoned voice when in fact they might not. However get them on the ribbon mic and they see that there’s more to it. Rather than using the technology as a crutch finding the musicality and range of tone within one’s own instrument, that’s really an old-school way of playing and it’s finally coming back from the days when technology wasn’t the crutch that it has become today. Of course there are very artful uses for technology but all too often it is just an easy way to get “their“. Something deep is lost in the process and thankfully more natural sounds are coming back to the studios.

[@mrdanjames]

I love passive ribbons with the cloudlifter Z. You can choose your impedance and tune it to your preference. Someone should make an active ribbon with a few impedance choices, that would be awesome!

[@creativesoundlab]

Yeah I tried the cloud lifters and I felt like I was using a different preamp when using the same impedance as the pre. I like the idea of shaping tone like this though.

[@nicoium6698]

Interessting how 600Ohms is so much better than 150Ohms :o

[@CzornyLisek]

Wo empty comment section

[@creativesoundlab]

Time of day I'm sure. I posted a little early, so it took a little to catch on.

[@kingdom777866]

Fuck cut the crap.. just show us a mic that is ideal for acoustic guitar !!

[@creativesoundlab]

I've made a lot of videos on that.