Reslo Sound Ribbon Mic - what is this?

Went to the home of a gear designer/tech lately, and he showed me a microphone he picked up for a song. I don't have pictures of it yet, but it looks exactly, like this:
http://a2.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/75/456fe1ce95d748b28905a070db62ccdc/l.jpg
It was interesting, as There's no specific model number on it. the label on it only states "250/600 ohms".
It had a broken, and mostly straight/uncorrugated ribbon. Build quality was remarkable, Every little details is well made, heavy, solid. We tested the transformer in the mic. The tranny has no marking on it. on the plates it was handwritten faintly "SC440" in black crayon or similar material. The curve is very good. 1db gradual drop all the way to 200k. flat.
Should I just fix the ribbon and go with this? or replace the motor with a modern day solution provided by the fine folks here of the forum?
Can any direct me to the series, or model this mic is from? Or, if possible, who made the transformer?

Hi!







Those Reslo 'pencils' are actually rather nice. In my opinion they are better than the more common paintbrush style Reslo RB mics. Opinion aside, they are certainly less common.

The Reslo ribbons from this era generally had a 'square wave' shape, with broad flat corrugations. This gives a semi-pistonic motion. But often you find kitchen foil or cigarette paper inside!

If the mic is complete then you should just re-ribbon it and get recording.  The 250/600 model is ideal, although don't expect the mic to be as flat as your transformer specs. 

You don't say your location but if you're in the UK or Europe I can help - have done lots!

Stewart

zebra50 said:

Hi!

Those Reslo 'pencils' are actually rather nice. In my opinion they are better than the more common paintbrush style Reslo RB mics. Opinion aside, they are certainly less common.

The Reslo ribbons from this era generally had a 'square wave' shape, with broad flat corrugations. This gives a semi-pistonic motion. But often you find kitchen foil or cigarette paper inside!

If the mic is complete then you should just re-ribbon it and get recording.  The 250/600 model is ideal, although don't expect the mic to be as flat as your transformer specs. 

You don't say your location but if you're in the UK or Europe I can help - have done lots!

Stewart

Click to expand...

Hello Stewart,
You have just made my day. You have some wonderful pictures. That foam stuff on the back in mine was a lot more deteriorated. and yes, I found kitchen aluminum foil of some sort in there. but otherwise I have the exact same mic. Is there a name, or a model number for it?
About the sound of the mic, someone in a different forum has suggested that this is a Lo-Fi Mic. now, I know the transformer is excellent, If I replace the motor and new ribbon, would this be good? Anyone has any input regarding this?
As for location, Yes I am not in the UK. no where near it. I am very far away, in China.

Why would you want to replace the motor?  You have a nice vintage mic there, so I would say just put in a new ribbon.

Lo-Fi seems a little unfair. They don't sound bad at all.
I mean, it is not a Neumann or an RCA, but still a nice useful little vintage ribbon mic to add another flavour to your audio kitchen!

(By the way, although the transformers measure flat, they can be a little noisy.)

I don't know the model number. Usually they get called Reslo Pencil mics.

hey guys, I have an aiwa VM(13?) ribbon with a similar motor construction, U shaped pieces behind the ribbon. Haven't tested it but it's high impedance though, that's another problem I'll have to solve I guess, but I'm curious about the motor. Dont the huge C's obstruct rear pickup? I assume these were meant for frontal vocal work?

I think that particular model is a PM2, could probably check in one of my old hifi year books.

Thank you all for the replies. I have passed the message on to my tech, and he has decided to try to put in a new ribbon and revive it without modification.
This sort of stories always fascinates me. Reslo, a brand unknown to most that caters to professionals in a bygone era, made a mic that somehow ended up in China decades later. I wonder what the little guy has been through over the years to get to where we are today.

By the way,
I posted a pic of a Aiwa ribbon that my tech showed me, in the microphone subforum.
I have seen Aiwa ribbons before, but not one that looks like a 44.