Fun with old Beyerdynamic M260 & Reslo ribbon mics

Im have a go at re ribboning a Beyer M 260 & and later an old Reslo ...... I have cut several ribbons just by eye & installed into the M260 so far..... getting plenty of bass not much top compared to a vintage mint condition M260 Im lucky to have, its not a bad sound tho very ribbony.... I have tried corrigating the ribbon & plain flat ribbon ..... Im finding Im getting quite constant results in tone & level, I was expecting more variation in sound & level..... Im wondering how the original M260 achieves the better top end.... I know that the orignal ribbon has couple of corrigations along the lengnth of the ribbon & two across at each end of the ribbon .... does this supply the top end ?

I read that Steven sank doesnt do it the beyer way and corrigates as I have across the ribbon, I have read some bad reports of people not liking their Sank ribboned M260s tho .... I havent heard one myself ......would love too tho

Im also wondering if I can add some really powerful magnets to the motor.... can I just stick them on... havent got any or I would have tried already ..... My broken M260 is just the innards I bought as spare part so I will make a case for it later maybe , so adding size to the motor isnt a problem.

Any thoughts tips would be greatly recieved, thanks

What thickness was the new ribbon?
I redid a M500 with 1.8 micron and really was surprised at the high end from that mic. Sounds great.

Hi Gary,

I posted original original "piston" vs. "zig-zag" corrugation on my website here:

http://www.samaraudiodesign.com/RibbonMicMods.html

While most of the difference is in the lower end, the top end is definitely should not be as different as you describe. Beyer has very narrow gap, so you should really have very close clearance between ribbon and magnets. I'd suggest using calipers to measure and guide the ribbon width. The top response can depend on the corrugation pitch. It is hard to say something without seeing what you do or knowing material you use.

I would not add magnets. The magnetic field strength in the gap is close to saturation, so that won't add much.

Best, M

gary o said:

Im have a go at re ribboning a Beyer M 260 & and later an old Reslo ...... I have cut several ribbons just by eye & installed into the M260 so far..... getting plenty of bass not much top compared to a vintage mint condition M260 Im lucky to have, its not a bad sound tho very ribbony.... I have tried corrigating the ribbon & plain flat ribbon ..... Im finding Im getting quite constant results in tone & level, I was expecting more variation in sound & level..... Im wondering how the original M260 achieves the better top end.... I know that the orignal ribbon has couple of corrigations along the lengnth of the ribbon & two across at each end of the ribbon .... does this supply the top end ?

I read that Steven sank doesnt do it the beyer way and corrigates as I have across the ribbon, I have read some bad reports of people not liking their Sank ribboned M260s tho .... I havent heard one myself ......would love too tho

Im also wondering if I can add some really powerful magnets to the motor.... can I just stick them on... havent got any or I would have tried already ..... My broken M260 is just the innards I bought as spare part so I will make a case for it later maybe , so adding size to the motor isnt a problem.

Any thoughts tips would be greatly recieved, thanks

Click to expand...

Im not sure the spec of the foil guys another forum member kindly sent it to me to experiment with very nice of him such interesting fun for me ....
Tchgtr I have a mint condition M500 I like the sound of i,t very bright and for a ribbon, I find it a bit sensitive to feedback for my live gigs tho & there is something special IMHO about the M260 & feeds back less in my stage set up ..... would love to compare M500 to a Sank ribboned M500, just be interesting .....

Marik thanks for link & info very interesting to read about the piston style, makes a lot of sense, I have a M260 thats ribbon broke at one end very close to the clamp, I have managed to losen the other end & pull ribbon thru a fraction , I may have streached the ribbon a little, I used some Kit Kat tin foil to help connect it to the clamp, the mic has slightly less level than my mint M260 but more bass, its anteresting sound I like it tho I would have thought it would sound more mid range, it sounds like the ribbon is looser ?......but it sounds better than the ones I made myself.....

Also cutting the ribbons by eye, I cut one the was too wide & touched the magnets, but apart from the banging noise sounds pretty much the same as all my DIY ribbons....interesting.... would like to try & make a piston ribbon, I sure do like the sound of my piston ribboned mics ....

I have a Tbone (Thomann) RB500 with mesh taken out, I like the sound of it, my repaired piston style M260 sounds very similar, I have a Reslo & a Lustraphone that sound well duller not much top they soun similar to my home made ribbons in a M260 motor.

Thanks for reading