I also meant to ask about the output level. It will see Vintech, API, Focusrite. (among others)

Dan-O

I've used the m130s only a few times, but use the m160s a lot. I love them.

With all due respect to the freq plot, I find them to be bright and lively. I love them for loud rock guitar, for upright bass, trumpet, and sax. I especially like them for drum overheads for an old school jazz drum sound.

Enjoy your new mics!!

D.

great mics.
either will please you. you'll have these mics for a looong time.
a tad bit "strident" on guitars but can be useful just for that.
I like them on horns, mostly.
all around a great mic for the dough. ;)

One of the nice features of my Royer 121 is that it is very forgiving if I accidently plug it into a preamp with phantom power left on. Since I'm very forgetful that way, I'm a little scared of the older ribbon mics that are blown up by phantom. Anyone know which category the Beyers would fall into?

Very interesting. I had imagined that the ribbon would have a softer, smoother top then mentioned here. Darker even. Our have I misunderstood.

One of the nice features of my Royer 121 is that it is very forgiving if I accidently plug it into a preamp with phantom power left on. Since I'm very forgetful that way, I'm a little scared of the older ribbon mics that are blown up by phantom. Anyone know which category the Beyers would fall into?

Excellent point. Anybody?

Thanks for the responses. Very helpful.

Dan-O

I have an M130 and an M260, and I definitely wouldn't characterize them as bright. And they are definitely "modern" ribbons in that phantom power doesn't bother them at all. The output is rather low, but I have yet to plug them into a pre-amp that couldn't get a usable level out of them. (You might want to avoid pre's that get noisy when cranked real high, though...)

Scott

I'm with digitmus saying that M 130 is not a bright mike. Then again with some preamps seems to open up a little but is still far, in my opinion, in being " bright"
The freq. plot of M 130 is totally flat and you can hear that for sure.
Dan-o, is M 160 which has a light peak on the mids not the M 130.
Phantom is not an issue. THIS ASSUMING WIRING IS CORRECT.
Beyer's are great mikes and you'll sure be happy. Jo

Dan-o, is M 160 which has a light peak on the mids not the M 130.

I probably have them backwards. I'll take another look on the Beyer site.

I really am leaning toward the M130. The bi-directional pattern is what has my interest here. The combination of the pattern's proximity effect and ribbon smoothness is what I think I'm imagining here. Creamy but detailed.

I'm also not discounting finding and old Reslo, but hunting up a good one might prove daunting.

Dan-O

You know, I see tons of posts everywhere about where to get this and that cheapest, blah blah blah, but I never see any mention of who has the Beyer ribbons at the best price. Most of the places I normally gaze at dont have them at all. Anyone?

I would love to know were the deals on Beyer stuff are at. Beyer just emailed me back with a price quote of $750(retail). Even with the standard 30% cut(sometimes more) I can get out of a retailer it might be worth my while to wait and pick up a royer.

Anybody know of the Beyer hot spot?
Ebay sometimes has a M160 up for grabs, but I've never seen the M130 up there.

Dan-O

I thought there was a royer price hike?

I was thinking about a pair of beyers ($1100) and figured i might as well save up and get a matched pair of coles that I can get for $2000. From hearing all the mics described the coles seems to be what i want.

I looked at Sweetwater 1st, and they have the M160 for $595, they are ususally pretty representative of what you'll pay from the average dealer. 8th street will usually top most online dealers right off the bat, but they dont have any Beyer mics at all, nor does Musicans Friend according to thier website.
Hmm, no go at zzounds, either.
These seem rather hard to find for a production mic.

I would say why not, because you'd send it to Stephen Sank to get the DX mod if you blew the ribbon, anyhow.

I have been keeping eye out for this mic as well. I understand this mod you speak of is quite good. RCA type good.

I thought there was a royer price hike?

I haven't seen the announced price hike reflected in any of the pricing yet. Now might be the time to strike before it does.

Dan-O

Hey Bear, the link you gave is no good. Do you have another by chance?

O

Hey Dan-O the appropriate link is

http://www.musicians-gear.com/

Be sure to call your credit card company before you purchase anything to check and see what the charge for converting Euro's to Dollars is. Sometimes you'll get a better deal, sometimes it's cheaper to by it in the States.

Good Luck

I have an M260 that was sent to Sank for his mod. It came back sounding nothing like the original 260. I've plugged it (after mods) into a Daking 52270 which has phantom on all the time and it didn't blow up. You'll want a mic pre with a lot of gain, even on a cranked guitar amp I find that I need to add maybe 30dB of gain to hit 0VU. I normally add about 60-65dB when I use it as a room mic for a drum kit. Contact Beyer and find out who the dealers in your area are. Like most of the better gear, you won't find them in chain stores.

Jay Kahrs

Do you(or anyone)have the contact info for Sank by chance?

Dan-O

Never mind I found it. I really should have learned by know that a simple search can yeild great results. DUH/ Thanks.

Dan-O

Hi Planet Red, I assume the Coles mic you're talking about is the 4038? They are great mics with possibly the most accurate figure-of-eight response you'll see, but you mentioned getting a matched pair - would this be for stereo? I can tell you now that you'll never be able to mount them near each other - the magnets are just too strong! They'll either try to stick together or push each other apart.

Oh, and keep them away from your computer monitor unless you like pretty colours :)

Full Compass in Madison WI is a Beyer source, probably one of the mosty reasonable, with US warranty. 800-356-5844.

To all those seeking Beyer ribbon mics, Stephen Sank has a friend who brings used ones back from Germany and routes them to Stephen for mods and resale. Stephen brokered the deal for my new M260 and has finished the mod. I should have it next week. I hesitate to quote the sale price, but it was very reasonable. Stephen did say his friend should be getting more, and to let anyone know who is interested, so here I am.

This will be my first ribbon, modded or otherwise, so I'm stoked!

-kent

Thanks Snappy! I'm in the market for a ribbon.

Tony

Very cool. Thank you.

Dan-O

Originally posted by Doug Ring:
Hi Planet Red, I assume the Coles mic you're talking about is the 4038? They are great mics with possibly the most accurate figure-of-eight response you'll see, but you mentioned getting a matched pair - would this be for stereo? I can tell you now that you'll never be able to mount them near each other - the magnets are just too strong! They'll either try to stick together or push each other apart.

Oh, and keep them away from your computer monitor unless you like pretty colours :)

I use them in stereo all the time. I have a stereo bar from Wes Dooley that is the shit.
:p
the are quite wonderful in a stereo application.

alto music in ny probably has 'em. they are usualy stooopid cheap.

-->845.692.6922

--o

How much is that Sank mod for Beyer ribbons?

Does he offer mods for all Beyers (130/160/260)?

Thanks,
Mats

Gentleman thank you for your responses and insight.
After email corresponding with Steven Sank regarding his mics for a couple of days, I have purchased a M260 DX. I can't wait and drool here_________!

But until then, if those of you who own a 260 Dx feel like singing it's virtues on various sources (especially guitar, horns) I would welcome it to tie me over. Really! I would love to hear about it.

How much is that Sank mod for Beyer ribbons?
Does he offer mods for all Beyers (130/160/260)?

From his web page:
http://www.thuntek.net/~bk11/home.htm

Priced at $125 for M-260 & M-500, and $190 for M-130 & M-160(double ribbon mics).

Dan-O

I use mine all the time on electric guitars and as a room mic for drums. I also used it as a mono overhead as part of a three mic setup while tracking to Adats. Be careful though, it's not nearly as tough as a Royer R-121. My 260DX (#3 behind Mike Rivers and Harvey) is back at the shop as we speak because I caked it.

My 260DX (#3 behind Mike Rivers and Harvey) is back at the shop as we speak because I caked it.

How do these other mod's compare to the Sank mod.
Do you have any info or links for them?
What application did you tank it with and how were you using it?

Dan-O

I don't know what other mods your talking about so I'll leave that alone. It met it's maker in front of a not very loud 1x10" bass amp, maybe 6" from the speaker with a popper stopper in front of it. The amp was maybe 85 or 90dB when I was foot from it so maybe 100 at the grille? As I said, not very loud and I know people have been using 77's and 44's in front of guitar and bass amps for years.

I'm not sure if it's blown yet. I'm still waiting to hear from Stephen. It sounded fine at low SPL's but anything with volume had a loss of bass and sounded like a motorboat.

I have been using an M260 on my sax for years. I have had it plugged into the mixer with phantom power turned on, smacked it with the horn several hundred times and now use it to record fiddle and banjo. It sounds just like it did when new.

What does this mod you all are talking about actually do?

What does this mod you all are talking about actually do?

This is the link to his web page. It should have some answers for you.
http://www.thuntek.net/~bk11/home.htm

This is a quote from my correspondence with Steven Sank:

BTW, forgot to mention that the 260-DX is my personal favorite Beyer.
Sounds pretty darn close to a 77-DX set to cardioid mode. It has the same mild presence rise and great bass down to a solid 40Hz, I'd say. Nothing at all like the stock 260.

Dan-O

i got a pair of 70s m-260s off ebay recently for $400. it is definitely nice to have a pair to use as a stereo image and pull into the mix. they really give things a nice finished professional sound. they don't sound as great as i'd want them to by themselves for loud guitars, but blending them with a close mic sounds glorious. they really pick up the detail, but preserve the space, where condensers totally destroy the space and get way too full and muddy for my taste.

i have also used the 260s on drums with stellar results. as an overhead it produces a really dry even sound where the 4033 (my other choice for overhead) picks up more oomph but also ends up way too bright for my taste. a blend of the two usually works well. a ribbon on snare has been my favorite application thusfar. i have always hated the snare sounds i've gotten through traditional methods, and have found the 260 about 8 inches away aimed at the rim from about 4 inches above it gives me the best sound.

with ebay you take a chance, but so far i have yet to be burned. and for their retail price new, i'd save up and get a r-121. that royer demo cd will totally destort your views on your own recordings and bias you towards the royers.