I'm certainly not an expert on ribbons, but I did listen to one and monkey around with it a bit so I gotta say, check out the Shure ribbons. Ksm313(I messed with this one) and the KSm353. These are the Crowley and Tripp mics since sHure bought the company. The reviews are glowing, and you have the gear to make em work plus theres a LOT of GAS pleasure in this level of gear.....

I've got a Nady RSM-4. Granted it's a $79 ribbon, but it is quite functional. I am very pleased with it because it tames the overly-sibilant aspects of my voice. A condenser is too sensitive for my particular voice.

It can also be modded to improve it with a xformer swap and removal of some grill work. So, keep these things in mind. Might be a good way to get into ribbons without breaking the bank, esp, since the mods really make a major improvement. I've heard samples of before/after the mod and the difference is astounding.

Hope this helps!
-Johntodd

PS Needs a good preamp!

Just a general comment that I doubt you need a very high gain preamp for voiceover work. I've felt the need for extra gain with my Beyers when recording someone picking guitar with just the pads of their fingers. I don't think I would need it for V/O with any voice that I know of.

Of course, with voice it's always a matter of fitting the mic to the pipes. But...I like my AEA R84, and I sincerely doubt that there is any other mic with quite the vocal booth vibe. You could put on red suspenders, marry a half dozen women, and pretend you are Larry King.

And I have to plug the Royer R101's. This fall I bought a stereo pair and ended up with an SF12. I'm running all of them off of standard True Systems preamps (P8 and P2Analog) without issue recording classical chamber over on the other side of MT. I have looked at the Cloudlifter and am a hair away from buying one for no good reason whatsoever other than trying the ribbons out on a Zoom H4n as a small kit setup.

You fellers need to hear those Shures. Indestructible ribbons.

Whoa! Yer talk-kin t ah Gy-rene heyah. Taint much indy...indi...inder....heck...kaint be bust-ted.

:tongue:

I'm fortunate in that I've never met a mic that didn't like my voice, some are a better for different types of work, but none that I've tried are unkind to my voice. That said, I don't know that I'd be willing to go $5500 for the big dawg AEA, on the other hand , if it is the best in class for V/O then I should have it because I will enjoy using it.

I was ignoring the Shure, Davedog, thinking that Shure was just trying to jump on the ribbon bandwagon for some marketshare. I guess I shouldn't be so cynical. I'll read the reviews if you agree with them; usually I think of reviews as happy horse manure in exchange for ad $$$. I guess the cynical curmudgeon is showing again.

Of course, I won't get full pleasure out of my studio until I move into the new studio. Damned economy! Not much we can do, but wait.

You never regret buying the best.

Griz....I dont hype things unless they're w-o-r-t-h-y. That being said, yeah, I'm thinking that Shure looked around and thought about how much it would cost them to research and develop a quality Shure ribbon.....so they bought a company that was small and yet very high quality and innovative to boot. Yer gonna like the intimacy.

And YES, if it absolutely positively has to be destroyed today, we know where to go.....

I've gotten some real dandy :( buys in mics on eBay. So is the Shure ribbon one that can be safely purchased through eBay?

Yes. I would think so. These are still the Crowley and Tripp mics. Shure might have packaged them a little different but inside they are the same. The ribbon material used is unlike anything else and this is a ribbon that can certainly be safely used on a kick drum and any other plosive source. Of course if you can find an original for a decent price you might consider that too. I guess Shure is honoring the warranty of all the C&T mics. The problem of finding a used C&T is apparently the original buyers will require they be dead before prying it from their cold rigored fingers.......

Griz....I dont mean to shill here but give my friends @ Superdigital.com a call. They're direct dealers with most high-end gear. The Shure for sure......(see what I did) Donnie is very knowledgeable and being in Portland makes us neighbors (Oregon/Montana.) He'll beat any price from the mega onliners. Yeah I know, its a serious shill but hey, they're my friends.......He also has one of the new U67's....

The Shure (and a most of the other great ribbons) are figure-8 patterns, is your room a good fit for that?

dvdhawk, post: 359552 wrote: The Shure (and a most of the other great ribbons) are figure-8 patterns, is your room a good fit for that?

There's a spot on by dvdhawk! And I can relate.

dvdhawk, post: 359552 wrote: The Shure (and a most of the other great ribbons) are figure-8 patterns, is your room a good fit for that?

NOPE!

I'm currently trapped in a 4x4 booth and waiting for ample time and funding to build out another building on my property.

...and you can't make 'em front address only, so...

Maybe I need to put my U87 in figure-8 mode and see what it sounds like in the booth. I've only used it once in the booth because it sounds so terrible in there.

Its pretty hard to make a U87 through a Daking and a DW sound 'bad' in any environment. Is this one of those porto-booths? Maybe before the buildout you can redo one wall to add some life. Nothing like nice red cedar next to an absorptive surface to add some life and warmth....

Well health problems resolved my trouble with G.A.S! Still itchin' to get a ribbon, but I'm on hold until the piggy bank fattens up again. :( Maybe there will be another ribbon mic shoot-out testing mics & pres between now and then. :)

BTW -Davedog, I've got a home-made, double-walled, 703 insulated, auralex foam booth that's 4x4 and 7 tall. The only mic that sounds "good" in it is an old AKG D230 that I use for on-site interviews. Maybe I'll hit the lottery ;)

Davedog, post: 359355 wrote: I'm certainly not an expert on ribbons, but I did listen to one and monkey around with it a bit so I gotta say, check out the Shure ribbons. Ksm313(I messed with this one) and the KSm353. These are the Crowley and Tripp mics since sHure bought the company. The reviews are glowing, and you have the gear to make em work plus theres a LOT of GAS pleasure in this level of gear.....

I got one of these KSM313 ribbon mics today, I've got a session where I can try it tomorrow night - I'll have a second opinion over the weekend for ya Griz.

Hi Dave,

I was just looking at their latest video yesterday and wondering how they sound. Good to know and I'm also looking forward to your opinion!

Tell us please!

Dual Voicing on 313 sounds somewhat like the Royers backside. Roswellite sounds interesting.

Oh yeah! The front-side is very nice with my voice. The KSM313 has a level of detail that I don't get from something like the SM7, without being overly bright like an LDC can be.

The backside sounded a little brighter in the highs, and sounds a little 'boxy' in comparison in the midrange for my voice up-close. But I can see where it would be a nice option for some other sources. I can't wait to find some time (and the right room) to try it on a guitar amp, or two, or three, or four, or ....