Ribbon Mic Dissection Pictures
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Svart
Well-known member
sweeeeeet!
thanks!
thanks!
Mark Burnley
Well-known member
Stewart,
Which Tannoy is this?
I've got a small round hand-held Tannoy ribbon, just wondering what this looked like with its clothes on.
Mark
Which Tannoy is this?
I've got a small round hand-held Tannoy ribbon, just wondering what this looked like with its clothes on.
Mark
Hi Mark,
It's one of these...a devil's pitchfork of a microphone. Quite big too.
(Weather's crap so it's hard to get good pictures today)
Got it off ebay. It wasn't advertised as a ribbon, but I thought it looked like one so took a chance and bid (too) hard. I think I got lucky. The ribbon is intact, it works well and is better build quality than the reslos you more commonly see. All the contacts for the connectors are silvered.
The switch turns the mic on and off: in the off position it shows the preamp a 'dummy' microphone load of 694 ohms (measured - the big fat carbon resistor has probably drifted with time). A nice touch as it stops hum in the off position.
Frst impressions: It's quite a dark sounding mic, figure of eight. You can have lots of fun altering the frequency response by moving you hand closer and further away from the back of the mic - sort of a mechanical filter. It gets brighter as you bring your hand closer. I will check the ribbon free-air resonance later - although the ribbon looks OK I suspect it has stretched.
Do you have any pix of your tannoy?
Stewart
It's one of these...a devil's pitchfork of a microphone. Quite big too.
(Weather's crap so it's hard to get good pictures today)
Got it off ebay. It wasn't advertised as a ribbon, but I thought it looked like one so took a chance and bid (too) hard. I think I got lucky. The ribbon is intact, it works well and is better build quality than the reslos you more commonly see. All the contacts for the connectors are silvered.
The switch turns the mic on and off: in the off position it shows the preamp a 'dummy' microphone load of 694 ohms (measured - the big fat carbon resistor has probably drifted with time). A nice touch as it stops hum in the off position.
Frst impressions: It's quite a dark sounding mic, figure of eight. You can have lots of fun altering the frequency response by moving you hand closer and further away from the back of the mic - sort of a mechanical filter. It gets brighter as you bring your hand closer. I will check the ribbon free-air resonance later - although the ribbon looks OK I suspect it has stretched.
Do you have any pix of your tannoy?
Stewart
Thanks for posting those pics, very cool of you :guinness: :guinness: :guinness: !
Did you notice if the triangular pieces visible from the back are magnetized as well.
Just wondering if they helped focus the magnetic field somehow or are they just there to support the magnets.
Thanks again!
Did you notice if the triangular pieces visible from the back are magnetized as well.
Just wondering if they helped focus the magnetic field somehow or are they just there to support the magnets.
Thanks again!
rafafredd
Well-known member
What a tiny gap... Man it must be difficult to mount the ribbon there. It almost touches the magnets!
[quote author="rafafredd"]What a tiny gap... Man it must be difficult to mount the ribbon there. It almost touches the magnets![/quote]
Actually this is true of all the ribbon mics I've looked at (reslos, grampians and oktavas) - always very little gap. And yes, mounting new ribbons needs a steady hand.
Actually this is true of all the ribbon mics I've looked at (reslos, grampians and oktavas) - always very little gap. And yes, mounting new ribbons needs a steady hand.
Marik
Well-known member
Stewart,
Cool! Keep it coming.
Cool! Keep it coming.
[quote author="Marik"]Stewart,
Cool! Keep it coming.[/quote]
OK!
Here's a Grampian GR2/M 600 in it's box. I was given 2 of these in return for a favour :razz:. Very pretty microphones. One had a broken wire, the other a broken ribbon.
The big problem with these mics is that the elements are held in place with polyeurethane foam that depolymerizes with time....
..the reason they were broken was that the mic elements were rattling around....clunk
Internally quite similar to the Reslos. This is the one with the original ribbon.
Two horseshoe magnets, one at each end. Again, note the tiny gap around the ribbon.
The plastic frame holds the ribbon and can be removed as a single peice for re-ribboning. The reslos have the same mechanism.
These have been stored unused since the 60's! Unfortunately the owner had thrown the connectors and cables years ago :sad:
More later.....
Stewart
:thumb:
Cool! Keep it coming.[/quote]
OK!
Here's a Grampian GR2/M 600 in it's box. I was given 2 of these in return for a favour :razz:. Very pretty microphones. One had a broken wire, the other a broken ribbon.
The big problem with these mics is that the elements are held in place with polyeurethane foam that depolymerizes with time....
..the reason they were broken was that the mic elements were rattling around....clunk
Internally quite similar to the Reslos. This is the one with the original ribbon.
Two horseshoe magnets, one at each end. Again, note the tiny gap around the ribbon.
The plastic frame holds the ribbon and can be removed as a single peice for re-ribboning. The reslos have the same mechanism.
These have been stored unused since the 60's! Unfortunately the owner had thrown the connectors and cables years ago :sad:
More later.....
Stewart
:thumb:
stewart-
when you are recording, you can vary the frequency response with your hand but you might also try using a piece of acoustic foam behind the mic, really any HF absorbing material will do. It tends to give me much more pronounced effects used that way. In the same breath, you can also "liven up" your ribbon vocal performances by going the opposite way and using a piece of plywood in that position. If you use ribbon mics alot, try this out, you can tune them really well to get what you need out of them like this.
dave
when you are recording, you can vary the frequency response with your hand but you might also try using a piece of acoustic foam behind the mic, really any HF absorbing material will do. It tends to give me much more pronounced effects used that way. In the same breath, you can also "liven up" your ribbon vocal performances by going the opposite way and using a piece of plywood in that position. If you use ribbon mics alot, try this out, you can tune them really well to get what you need out of them like this.
dave
Thanks Dave.
That's a nice tip. This is something I've noticed in the past but it seems more pronounced with the tannoy. I've never really tried to exploit it as a filter/eq method, but will certainly give it a go. Do we understand the physics behind this? Is it due to reflections or some kind of interference grating effect?
The mic seems to have had some tape round one side but not the other in the past - you can see stains from the glue. I wonder if someone has taped some card to one side in the past.
Stewart
That's a nice tip. This is something I've noticed in the past but it seems more pronounced with the tannoy. I've never really tried to exploit it as a filter/eq method, but will certainly give it a go. Do we understand the physics behind this? Is it due to reflections or some kind of interference grating effect?
The mic seems to have had some tape round one side but not the other in the past - you can see stains from the glue. I wonder if someone has taped some card to one side in the past.
Stewart
Ive always thought of it as just a reflection issue, the mic is a figure 8, so whatever you have facing the rear lobe, the mic is picking up on axis. You can extend this logic to any figure 8 but for whatever reason I always tweak on this the most with ribbons. Its nice to be able to form the acoustic space behind the mic to change the vibe of the vocal track, this always has a different feel than just changing the EQ on the console, singing into the foam rear lobe thing adds a nice intimacy that definitely sounds different than the dead vocal booth thing. I like the plywood behind for guitar cabs sometimes if they arent too loud also. Fun to play around, the rear lobe of the 8 can be a great tool to tweak on, most guys I know dont pay too much attention to it.
dave
dave
SilverhammerNZ
Well-known member
Interesting magnet design, also able to fine tune ribbon with set screws bottom. Nice looking mic seems well made but specs say it only goes to 10k. Made by EMI in 50's/60's for domestic market, quite rare now.
It's not really going at present, the ribbon you see is a quick try of mine, it needs redoing and cleaning in the gap.
Mine is branded "HMV" but it is an EMI mic.
Larry
AP
Well-known member
Hmmm.
I don't know whether this is 'true confessions' time, or what. But, when I were a lad (in a band), and knew nuffin', we had (I think), 3 Reslos - basically, the cheapest mics you could get at the time.
The ribbons were always going, and as I was the electronics expert (I could fit a power plug), I used to 'repair' them quite regularly. A strip of 'silver foil' chocolate-wrapper - not too tight! (Probably wouldn't work these days - metallised plastic, most of it....)
Ah! Nostalgia isn't what it used to be....
Alan
I don't know whether this is 'true confessions' time, or what. But, when I were a lad (in a band), and knew nuffin', we had (I think), 3 Reslos - basically, the cheapest mics you could get at the time.
The ribbons were always going, and as I was the electronics expert (I could fit a power plug), I used to 'repair' them quite regularly. A strip of 'silver foil' chocolate-wrapper - not too tight! (Probably wouldn't work these days - metallised plastic, most of it....)
Ah! Nostalgia isn't what it used to be....
Alan
Rob Flinn
Well-known member
Stewart
How do you find the sound of the Grampians. I have a pair of these, but they are the model with the red label rather than the blue. I think from the documantation I have for them it means that they are slightly front biased polar wise. I found mine kind of dull sounding, but this could be the ribbons.
Larry
I used to own the EMI version of yor mic but recently sold it on Ebay. They are very pretty mics to look at. I got mine from the estate of an ex EMI employee, who, I was told had just stored it away for 50 odd years & it was in perfect condition, with lead, wooden box, & homemade valve mic pre. I sold mine because I needed some funds to pay for a recently aquired STC 4038.
I think the condition of the ribbon makes a very major difference to the sound quality. When comparing identical model reslo`s the sound can be anything from very useable to quite frankly crap.
Does anyone here have experience with the 4038 campared to RCA BX44 & BX77 ? I`d be interested in a comparison.
How do you find the sound of the Grampians. I have a pair of these, but they are the model with the red label rather than the blue. I think from the documantation I have for them it means that they are slightly front biased polar wise. I found mine kind of dull sounding, but this could be the ribbons.
Larry
I used to own the EMI version of yor mic but recently sold it on Ebay. They are very pretty mics to look at. I got mine from the estate of an ex EMI employee, who, I was told had just stored it away for 50 odd years & it was in perfect condition, with lead, wooden box, & homemade valve mic pre. I sold mine because I needed some funds to pay for a recently aquired STC 4038.
I think the condition of the ribbon makes a very major difference to the sound quality. When comparing identical model reslo`s the sound can be anything from very useable to quite frankly crap.
Does anyone here have experience with the 4038 campared to RCA BX44 & BX77 ? I`d be interested in a comparison.
adrianh
Well-known member
quit it!
This is too much seeing those ribbons on a Friday night!
The EMI was wild!
Marik now it your time to shine...... c l o n e
This is too much seeing those ribbons on a Friday night!
The EMI was wild!
Marik now it your time to shine...... c l o n e
SilverhammerNZ
Well-known member
There is info on the EMI here:
http://www.vintage-technology.info/Pages/DataPages/emiribbon.htm
Original spec sheet.
Larry
http://www.vintage-technology.info/Pages/DataPages/emiribbon.htm
Original spec sheet.
Larry
tommypiper
Well-known member
Rob,
The 4038 is one of my favs. People complain about it's top end roll off, but it was plenty of top for me on acoustic fiddle and uilleann pipes (separate takes, close miked). On the reed instruments it was wonderful. On the same instruments, same players, on different sessions I also used a 77 and 44. The character of these are pretty well known. 77 has kind of silvery warmness in the upper mids. It was paired with a U87 which sounded thinner and harder and bit brighter on the top next to it, but which cut through the mix better and ended up being used a lot. The 44 is simply BIG sounding, strong proximity effect, not as focused perhaps, yet has enough top for my ear. The 4038 is like rich, warm smooth chocolate. 44 is hot fudge out of the oven. And 77 is more like a pocket Cadburry. All delicious.
:guinness:
The 4038 is one of my favs. People complain about it's top end roll off, but it was plenty of top for me on acoustic fiddle and uilleann pipes (separate takes, close miked). On the reed instruments it was wonderful. On the same instruments, same players, on different sessions I also used a 77 and 44. The character of these are pretty well known. 77 has kind of silvery warmness in the upper mids. It was paired with a U87 which sounded thinner and harder and bit brighter on the top next to it, but which cut through the mix better and ended up being used a lot. The 44 is simply BIG sounding, strong proximity effect, not as focused perhaps, yet has enough top for my ear. The 4038 is like rich, warm smooth chocolate. 44 is hot fudge out of the oven. And 77 is more like a pocket Cadburry. All delicious.
:guinness:
Nice EMI mic! Construction is quite an eye-opener.
Let's see some more, guys.
Rob, I think the 'red' grampians are 50 ohms so you may need to match to your preamp. I don't find mine particularly stunning - but they have a nice mellow sound and I have used them for close micing of guitars and synths to goo effects - usually paired with a second mic (often an SM57). I haven't found them useful for vocals. Try out soundguy's trick and see if you can brighten it up?
More pix later,
Stewart
Let's see some more, guys.
Rob, I think the 'red' grampians are 50 ohms so you may need to match to your preamp. I don't find mine particularly stunning - but they have a nice mellow sound and I have used them for close micing of guitars and synths to goo effects - usually paired with a second mic (often an SM57). I haven't found them useful for vocals. Try out soundguy's trick and see if you can brighten it up?
More pix later,
Stewart
