Originally posted by mpower:
Anyone care to comment on the Royer Ribbon mics? Worth the money? Best uses?

Micky.

The Royer 121 ribbon mic is pretty much the greatest mic to come out in the last decade.
Ribbons fell somewhat out of favor in the '70's due to the practice of trying to achieve more and more top end on records, during a time when the format only was analog tape.
Digital, with it's "sound" tending to the overbright/harsh in comparison, worked out to be a medium crying for the smooth top end that ribbons exhibit...not to metion that ribbons being figure-eight (pattern wise) are bigger in the bottom end (proximity effect is largest with figure-8)
Royers also fixed with new technology big problem (up till now) and that was there SPL handling ability...now you can pu t a ribbon (121) up close to a Marshall cabinet or near a kick drum without the fear of losing it.
They are great (in the proper context) on E-Gtr's, A-gtrs, Drum Over Heads, Kick, Bass Amp, Room Mics, Horns (Trumpets & Trombones), Strings (Violin & Viola), etc..find your own uses.
A pair of Royer 121's and a pair of AKG 451's, An SM7, a pair of 57's...these arae some excellent mics to always have access to...

recorderman wrote: The Royer 121 ribbon mic is pretty much the greatest mic to come out in the last decade.

I agree and add the new 122 and SF12 both of which I just purchased recently and love em. The SF12 thru a John Hardy Dual Servo 990 and it's the best overheads I have ever heard. Have also tried my pair of 122's as overheads and the sound is different but almost as impressive. Don't need tom mics just 57 on snare and a D112 or RE20 on kick and the sound is huge.

The 122 (121 on steriods ie; head amp) is very nice on soprano sax, percussion and acoustic guitar. BTW, if you don't have quiet preamps with lots of gain, the 122 is the way to go, it's output is about 15db hotter, almost the same as a condenser or good dynamic mic.

While they ain't cheap, the character and sound they bring makes digital sound sooo sweet!
:tu:

I only have the R-121. Incredible sound. Just buy one. It is that simple.

Got to agree with RecorderMan. The R121 is a world of earthly delights! I'd love to have an SF-12. I haven't tried one, but I've heard recordings of drums done with it that were nothing short of spectacular.

If you're looking at ribbons, you might also want to check AEA's latest offering, the R84. It's apparantly quite wonderful and reasonably priced.

Royer Ribbons are worth every penney you pay.... Dave did a great job on them.

And what are the average prices for those??

And what are the average prices for those??

I believe these are average street prices on Royers. And they are worth every penny!

121 - $1150
122 - $1350
SF12 - $2250

Bob

dont forget about the AEA r84 for under 1k as a contender.

It is one of my go-to mics for most things now
Marsh

I've seen review's about the Oktava ML52, stating it to be a wonderful sounding piece. And for about $300 or less, anyone had any experience with that one??
One reviewer even said that he tryed putting the 48v phantom on it and no damage.

Originally posted by golli:

One reviewer even said that he tryed putting the 48v phantom on it and no damage.

That means nothing. The same would apply to the Royers, Coles, etc. The danger is only if you are using a cable that is mis-wired.

Of course, just in case you might have a miswired cable, wouldn't hurt to turn the phantom off when using the Oktava or any of the others.

What about the sound of it???.....anyone...