Originally posted by petimar:
Has anyone tried one of these? How do they compare to the R121?

Thanks,

Pete

hmm...good question.

I guess no one (who surfs this board) has any yet....
I would surmise that as louder sounds better, and that you can "blow" 'em up with phantom, and that thier amplifier matches them more condistently, that their pretty good. But, more money, and I haven't found a problem running 121's into jsut my 1272's (gain wise). Even running the 121's "impedance matched" with a UA2-610 was onll a very sublte diffferrnce...still I'd like to check out the 121's (matched pair) into a pair of GT Vipre PreAmps (yum) :c:

After blowing up a second RCA44, I'm a puss when it comes to ribbons. I never place them where I wouldn't place my ears. I'm very curious about the 48V versions.

Originally posted by e-cue:
After blowing up a second RCA44, I'm a puss when it comes to ribbons. I never place them where I wouldn't place my ears. I'm very curious about the 48V versions.

Royers are designed for high level....you can stick them up against marshalls and kicks.

Although I won't stick one up against the hole.

Somehow this thread got lost... Well, I got a pair of them. You get about an extra 15 db out of the powered ribbons. This rocks ass because now I can use them with Mic Pre's that would've sounded too noisey with ribbons in the past.
Most notibly, they rock on OH's and guitar. I'd highly suggest the 122's over the 121's (which are great too). The extra output is a definate help!

I own a matched pair of 122s and an SF12, both which I've used and tested quite a bit.

The 122 output as stated earlier is way more, about the same as an average condenser. This mic has better high freq response than the 121 and sound overall is ballsier. On guitar, horns and percussion it's very fat, smooth presence, and is easy to EQ. These things will take tons of EQ and still sound natural.

The 122s didn't make it on OH quite as good as the SF12 but they were very close. The SF12 has a thinner ribbon resulting in a little different high end response, suited very well as OH. Best drum sound I've gotten!

Real pleased with the Royers and consider them keepers in any studio.

Bob

I think the 122's are really organic. They have a way of reaching into the actual source of acoustic instruments like piano and sax. They have also expanded my knowledge and use of figure eight patterns. When comparing the sound of the 122's to condensor mics, I have to remember they are bi directional.

Originally posted by Luke Gilfeather:
I think the 122's are really organic. They have a way of reaching into the actual source of acoustic instruments like piano and sax. They have also expanded my knowledge and use of figure eight patterns. When comparing the sound of the 122's to condensor mics, I have to remember they are bi directional.

Yeah...wish I owned a pair.
Ditto on the Pattern...I LOVE them on OH's, but they're much tricker to place; being figure 8.

I only really have a problem finding the sweet spots for them when I'm in a studio or room with a very small room with a very low ceiling.

I know what you all mean by placement sensitivity. I never heard the walls and ceilings of this studio so clearly before these 122's!

Something I read in the Royer 121 manual ( that shiped with our 122's ) is that the ribbon is offset. Because of this, they go on to say the backside ( the non-logo side ) records somewhat brighter than the logo side when you are within three feet of the source. They recommend reversing the phase on your pre-amp when recording with the back side...

I have yet to hear this for myself, but maybe it could add to your placement ideas.

When they say "Brighter" they must mean less proximity effect. Perhaps they mean "Thinner"

There used to be a whole discussion somewhere on the Royer website about recording using the backside. (No anatomical innuendo intended...) Not sure if it is still there...

Nawh... they do mean brighter. When you do this, be more careful as the ribbon is in a more unsafe area in the mic. I used it on a female vocal along with a sony 800g mic, youzah... just what I needed. It sounds AWESOME on acoustic guitar. As a matter a fact, I stopped using 2 mics on Ac guitar almost altogether. Again, mic placement is crucial with these.