| DO's |
 |
DON'Ts |
| |
| Do
treat your microphone with the respect due a fine instrument
|
|
Don't
think your Royer ribbon microphone is indestructible |
| Good
microphones are precision instruments. They are the “ear”
that hears sounds and translates them to electrical signals
- the first and most critical part of the entire recording chain.
Take care of them, respect them, and they’ll work for
you for a lifetime. Click
here for Bruce Swedien’s eloquent
thoughts on microphones. |
|
Royer
ribbon microphones are smaller and more durable than other
ribbon microphones, but they are still ribbons and must be
treated with a certain amount of respect. Before using them,
learn how to position and handle them by reading the manual
and browsing our web site. A little knowledge will go a long
way toward keeping your ribbons out of the repair shop. |
|
| Do
cover or place a mic sock over your ribbon microphone when
you are handling it |
|
Don't
expose the microphone to blasts of air |
| In
the days when engineers all wore white shirts and black ties,
ribbon microphones had protective covers placed over them
every time they were moved. This ensured that the mics would
not be damaged and that the ribbon elements would last for
many years.
When
you’re
walking around with a Royer, put your hand around the ribbon
end of the mic or use the mic sock to keep wind from blowing
through the top of the mic. This may seem like an insignificant
detail, but it could mean the difference between your mic
coming in for a re-ribbon in five years, or in ten years. |
|
The
ribbon element consists of a very thin piece of pure aluminum.
It is this thinness that gives a ribbon its superb transient
response characteristics, but at the same time causes a ribbon
mic to be sensitive to blasts of air. Corrugated ribbon material
is much thinner than a human hair and because it is more or
less flat, it grabs air like a sail. Excessive amounts of air
can stretch the corrugations or tear the ribbon, rendering the
microphone inoperative. Severe shock, like dropping the microphone,
can have similar effects on the ribbon. |
|
| Do
place a mic sock over your microphone when set up but not in
use |
|
Don't
"cross-patch" your ribbon microphone with phantom
power on |
| When
you leave the studio and your Royer is on its stand, it’s
good practice to cover it with the supplied mic sock. Again,
this will buy you more time in between re-ribbons.
Whenever
you set your Royer down, remember that it contains very
strong magnets that will attract even the smallest of metal
particles into it. This "tramp iron" can work
its way into the ribbon area and create distortion, requiring
a re-ribbon. Putting the mic into its mic sock will help
keep metal particles away from the powerful magnetic structure. |
|
Tie-lines
are very useful in recording studios because they enable
an engineer to redirect a microphone signal to another
input or channel preamplifier. However, since tie lines
are accessed and redirected with a connector similar to
a guitar plug, a problem exists. When a patch cord is plugged
into the jack field, not all conductors "meet" at the same time.
This, in effect, is like having a "shorted" cable
for the time it takes to plug the cord into the bay. Microphone
lines are balanced and everything is fine as long as the
lines remain perfectly balanced. When the line is disturbed
or becomes unbalanced, any preamplifier offset-voltage or
phantom voltage that may be present gets temporarily redirected
to the wrong conductors. Even though this occurs for only
a split second, it can prove fatal for the ribbon. The ribbon
acts like a high speed fuse and is pulsed strongly, or in
some cases destroyed. Verify that phantom power is turned
off on both the source channel and the target channel before
cross-patching the mic. If this is not possible, unplug the
mic until the cross-patching has been completed.
These
precautions do not apply to our active ribbon microphones,
as these mics actually require phantom power to operate and
can never be damaged by phantom power. |
|
| Do
place your microphone back in its box when you are finished
with it |
|
Don't
carry your microphone around without covering it |
| Do
you see U-47’s or C-12’s laying around outside
of their boxes when they’re not being used? Not a chance!
The good ones lasted because they were well cared for. Give
your Royer the same respect and it will remain a pristine
recording instrument for generations. |
|
Excessive
amounts of wind of any kind can stretch a ribbon element.
Carrying the microphone with the ribbon end uncovered can
turn your ribbon into a "sail" as you walk, possibly
stretching the ribbon and compromising the microphone’s
performance. Air conditioning ducts, doors being opened and
closed, and other sources of heavy air movement should also
be guarded against by simply covering the microphone. |
|
| Do
use a pop-screen when you are close-miking loud plosive sound
sources |
|
Don't
loan your ribbon microphones to persons unfamiliar with their
use |
| There’s
nothing more annoying than a big “Pop” in the
middle of an otherwise great track. That pop is nothing but
a concentrated blast of air hitting the mic element. A quality
pop screen will keep wind blasts from getting to the microphone,
saving your tracks and protecting the ribbon element from
potentially damaging wind movements. |
|
A
high percentage of the blown ribbons we repair came from
someone loaning his or her mic out. Ribbon microphones were
out of the mainstream for many years, so the proper methods
of handling and using them successfully has slipped away
from the consciousness of many engineers. Unless you are
quite sure that the studio or individual that wants to use
your ribbon microphone understands ribbons well, don't loan
it out. |
|
| Do
position the microphone slightly off-axis when close miking
high energy sources |
|
Don't
close-mic a plosive sound source without using a popper stopper |
| You
can minimize stressing the ribbon element by placing the
microphone slightly off axis to loud or plosive sound sources.
Since ribbon microphones have a fairly even pick-up pattern,
a slightly off axis position will not alter the source signal,
but will certainly do much in the way of protecting the ribbon
from unnecessary stre |
|
Guitar
cabinets, bass cabinets, kick drums are a few of the sound
sources that may dictate judicious use of a pop screen
or blast filter. This is especially true when close miking
techniques are employed. The rule of thumb is, "If
you can feel a breeze, use a pop-screen!" |
|
| Do
use high-quality microphone cables and verify that they are
in good order |
|
Don't
use a ribbon microphone near an AC transformer or motor |
Ribbon
microphones, especially passive varieties, require high quality
cables to minimize signal loss. High resistance or high capacitance "economy" cables
greatly degrade the performance of ribbon microphones. Shorted
cables or poorly wired connectors can cause even worse problems
because they can place phantom supply voltages where they
don't belong, sending current to the ribbon element and possibly
resulting in total ribbon failure.
Sonically, every good engineer relies on quality cables.
Using a poor quality cable between two good pieces of gear
is like putting bad gas in an excellent car - the weak link
always lowers overall performance and reliability. |
|
All
ribbon microphones employ magnetic components as a basis for
their operation. All microphones that utilize magnets are somewhat
susceptible to induced magnetic radiation, especially from alternating
magnetic fields such as those found in motors, transformers
and video monitors. These fields can be strong enough to induce
an alternating electric current in microphones that in turn
gets amplified by the preamplifier. This is the same effect
that plagues electric guitars, especially those with single
coil pick-ups. If you experience this phenomenon, locate the
source of the radiated field and move it away, shut it off,
or simply move the mic away from the offending device. |
|
| Do
keep the microphone clean and free of foreign particles |
|
Don't
allow foreign particles to come in contact with the microphone |
| The
powerful magnetic motor assemblies concentrate enormous magnetic
fields around the narrow gap where the ribbon is suspended.
These fields are so powerful that they will attract even the
smallest of particles. Even non-ferrous materials have been
known to be drawn into these gaps. Don't underestimate the strength
of the magnetic force within the microphone. The smallest particle
can render a ribbon microphone unusable. |
|
The
powerful magnetic motor assemblies in ribbon microphones
concentrate enormous magnetic fields around the narrow gap
where the ribbon is suspended. These fields are so powerful
that they will attract even the smallest of particles. Even
non-ferrous materials have been known to be drawn into these
gaps. Don't underestimate the strength of the magnetic force
within the microphone. The smallest particle can render a
ribbon microphone unusable. |
| |
|
|
Be
careful when transporting ribbon mics in the un-pressurized
cargo-hold of an aircraft |
|
|
|
The
cargo hold of an airplane changes pressure with altitude
and can affect microphones stored in sealed containers.
Watertight containers or relief-valve type cases, such
as Pelican camera cases, will often come out of cargo hold
in a vacuum condition. When opened, pressure is released
and a significant “whoosh”
of air blows through the case, which can put stress on the
ribbon element. Before putting your ribbon mics in cargo
hold, prevent against the vacuum condition by loosening the
relief valve on such cases or providing a small vent hole
on watertight containers.
Don’t
worry about the low temperatures in cargo hold - fluctuations
in temperate and humidity do not affect ribbon microphones. |
