Royer Labs - About Us

Royer Labs

Royer Labs was formed in 1998 to bring David Royer's unique, modern ribbon microphone designs to the world. When we first opened our doors, ribbon mics had been largely forgotten, but the R-121 and SF-12 quickly captured the imagination of recording enthusiasts around the world. This new generation of ribbon microphones proved to be a perfect match to the rise in popularity of digital recording, as engineers rediscovered their warmth, analog feel and smooth sound. Today, Royers are found in studios and on live stages around the world.

Royer Labs' Mission Statement

Royer Labs’ mission is to bring the uniquely natural sound qualities of ribbon microphones to the world.

We believe in better microphones for better music.
Our path is constant reinvention and innovation in ribbon microphone technology.
Our goal is to impart warmth, realism and musicality into the digital recording process.
Our place is in every quality recording environment, from home workstations and world class studios to the concert stage.
We hold ourselves to the highest possible standards of workmanship, to provide engineers with the worlds finest and most durable ribbon microphones.

Every person at Royer Labs is here to provide outstanding customer service, at all times and at all levels.

David Royer

David Royer is one of an elite group of microphone designers who know that music and sound are inseparable from electronic design. Everything David designs comes from his deep, lifelong love of music.

David's focus on sound started in his home, where he grew up absorbing the classical and folk music that his parents played constantly. From an early age, he was transfixed by the orchestral recordings he heard, leading to a love of classical music that continues today. At 21, David decided to create his own recordings and purchased an Ampex 960 tape recorder and a couple of off-the-shelf consumer microphones. Unhappy with his early results, he started experimenting with his microphones and soon began an in-depth, lifelong study of microphone design and electronic theory.

After a four year hitch in the Navy, where he honed his skills in electronics and acoustics as a sonar technician, David started designing his own microphones. He founded a small company called Mojave Audio in his garage in Fullerton CA, where he modified amplifiers and made his own condenser microphones, mic pre's and compressors. Building gear under the Mojave and DVA labels, he created a number of condenser mics that have become somewhat legendary among a small group of high-end audio engineers including Bob Clearmountain, Mutt Lang and Sean Beaven. During the "garage period", David came across his first ribbon mic, a Reslo that needed repair, and his fascination with ribbon microphones was born. David eventually came to believe that ribbons are the most musical of all microphone types and he set out to learn everything he could about them.

In 1997 David designed his first ribbon mic and showed it to his friend Rick Perrotta (now president of Royer Labs). That microphone, which David named the R-121, led to the opening of Royer Labs in 1998. In a short period of time it became the breakthrough ribbon microphone that reintroduced the smooth, musical characteristics of ribbons to engineers around the world.

David's visionary designs continue today with "firsts" such as phantom-powered and tube ribbon mics.

Rick Perrotta

rick

Rick Perrotta, President of Royer Labs, brings together a passion for music and electronics that sets the tone for every product in the Royer line. His fascination with all things electronic began as a small child, disassembling radios with his grandfather’s tools, eventually learning to put them back together again. At age twelve, a second channel opened after he saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show and fell in love with the guitar. As a teenager in Rhode Island, he was the guy in the band (there’s always one) who would build a studio in the basement and spend countless hours getting the music on tape. He and a friend built a portable rig and would go out and record other bands as well, arriving in his friend’s hearse. He also started experimenting with guitar amp design around this time.

Seeking to broaden his horizons, Rick crossed the country to Los Angeles at the age of 21. After getting ripped off for all his possessions, including two guitars, in his first week in LA, he went to work rebuilding Hammond organs. He then worked for a company that built hi-end audio systems for movie and rock stars. Thanks to connections made in these jobs, an opportunity to venture into the studio business arose, leading to the opening of Golden Sound in the old Radio Recorders building in Hollywood. Rick managed and maintained the facility, as well as finding time to engineer records, including the first album for L.A. faves X. During this period, Rick was also building gizmos under the Precision Linear Products brand, such as line mixers, mic pres, eqs, and a sound analyzing system for the LAPD.

In 1980, a chance meeting in Mexico with future partner Rafael Villafane led to the founding of Baby-O Recorders, one of the best known LA studios of the 1980’s. The list of artists who recorded at Baby-O includes Kiss, Berlin and the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s first album. After a successful decade and sensing an impending change in the way records were made, the partners sold Baby-O in 1990 and Rick co-founded Matchless Guitar Amplifiers. After a two year R&D period, Matchless Amps went on to lead the boutique amp wave, ending the "big rack scare" of the 1980’s, and to win the Guitar Player Magazine Amp Shoot Out in 1992. Rick sold his interest in Matchless Amps in 1996, when it got "too big to be fun." Rick worked as a design consultant for the new Billboard Live venue (now the Key Club) on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, which defined state-of –the-art in audio and video systems.

During this time, Rick first met David Royer and John Jennings, who were involved in an earlier microphone venture known as DVA. After many discussions and numerous business plans, David Royer showed up with his prototype R-121 ribbon mic and Rick and Rafael decided to join forces with John and David to found Royer Labs in 1998.

The new company went into production and made their first showing at the AES show in 1998. For the next two years, Rick was "the factory," with David Royer doing quality control and John Jennings busy handling the sales and marketing. Critical Mass occurred when engineers and producers realized Royer Ribbons lacked the hi frequency distortion of condenser mics, which worked well for analog tape but sounded harsh in the growing digital formats.

Today, Rick still draws on his passion for music, electronics and mechanical perfection, making sure that every microphone maintains the extraordinary level of craftsmanship Royer Labs is known for.

John Jennings

John Jennings is a man on a mission: “I want to put ribbon microphones in the hands of everyone who records music.” John got his start, like so many audio professionals, as a guitar-slinger and singer in rock bands in Philadelphia. A phone call from a friend with a recording deal got the car wheels headed west, landing John in Hollywood. After paying dues as both a player and a singer in studios and on stage, John decided to put on the suit and make some money. He took a detour into the corporate world, becoming VP Sales & Marketing for a Los Angeles based data and telecommunications firm. Eight years later he decided to ditch the suit and combine his sales and marketing experience with his rock and roll soul. In 1996, an introduction to David Royer led to the founding of a new pro audio company –DVA. While DVA ultimately closed due to production problems, the feeling of being on the right path and the knowledge gained from the experience set the stage for the next venture with David Royer. Two fortuitous things transpired; the first was David’s fascination with ribbon microphones and the second was a meeting with Rick Perrotta and Rafael Villafane. Realizing a need for the warmth and musicality of ribbon mics in the more clinical world of digital recording, which was coming on strong, the new partners set out to turn David’s designs into a marketable reality. After many discussions and numerous business plans, the new company went into production in 1998 and John got busy handling the sales and marketing. The Royer 121 was unveiled at the 1998 AES show. Eight years of seventy hour weeks later (John’s a workaholic – make this man take a break!) the Royer name is known around the world and has become synonymous with the finest in microphones.

John Jennings serves as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Royer Labs.

Rafael Villafane

Rafael is a renaissance man, musician, producer, studio owner and night club owner - a true global citizen. A part of the extended Rosemary Clooney (aunt) Jose Ferrer (uncle) clan, Rafael has roots in both his native Mexico and Hollywood. He has both US and Latin based top-ten hits to his credit, including #1 hit "Cuando Mueres por Alguien" in Mexico which he co-wrote and produced for Erik Rubin, and multiple charting album You've Got It Baby'O as producer/artist (which received the prestigious Billboard Award) in the US.

A graduate of Amherst College, he first met Rick Perrotta at Golden Sound Studios, Hollywood in 1979. While producing two top-ten singles on the Billboard dance chart in 1981 "In the Forest" and "Dance All Night," Rafael and Rick developed a relationship that led to their partnering in Baby'O Recorders, a major L.A. studio throughout the 80s. The facility shared its name with successful night spot Baby'O Acapulco (co-founded by Rafael), which just celebrated its 30th Anniversary.

Rafael also founded live venues Bulldog Café/Mexico City and Bulldog Café/Cancun where he performs or jams regularly, as have the likes of Guns & Roses members Slash, Matt Sorum, Gilbey Clarke, Duff McKagan, Radiohead, Sebastian Bach, Vince Neal, Blues Saraceno and the list goes on.

As one of the founding partners of Royer Labs, Rafael (stage name Raal AKA Raalzheimer) brings a real world point of view to the Royer family. Catch him at one of the clubs, say "Royer Ribbons Rock" and the first round is on the house.