Ribbons were rarely used.
Hi mate,
you made me think about this, I though that Ribbon microphones were used a lot during that time,
seen many old photos in classic recording studios using the RCA 44 and 77, STC/Coles and Beyer M160 and M130.
I see know I was not defining correctly the different eras, even in the same decade, as those photos are from "vintage" studios but from very time frames.
The time frame you're talking about I think is late 60s until Mid 70s.
So while doing some research on this I learned a lot, thanks for spicing up my curiosity.
RCA 44 and 77 were used mostly in 30s, 40s and 50s and it seems they lost popularity to Condenser microphones that were introduced by Neumann,
the U47 (1949) then the U67 (1960) and the U87 (1967).
By 1976 RCA was out of business.
The STC Coles I've seen in the Beatles recordings photos used on Overheads are probably from their records from 63 to 66 (or 67),
maybe in the late 60s and 70s they were not that popular anylonger.
Anyway production of the 4038 never stopped from the 50s to the present. But maybe there's a reason production went from STC to Coles in the Mid 70s.
But thinking about it I don't think I've seen photos of recording sessions from the 70s with the 4038 being used, maybe I was distracted.
The exception I remember of Ribbons being used in the 70s in very successful records was in Led Zeppelin IV record (1971) where Beyerdynamic M160 were used and actually some of the technics used became classics like the sound of "When the levee breaks".
But I guess this use was an exception and not the most popular mic choice of the time.
So like you said, late 60s and 70s (and 80s and probably 90s), Ribbon mics were Rarely used,
and it seems they fell out of favor to condenser microphones between the mid 50s to mid 60s being rarely used from the late 60s on,
until the Digital age of recording came.
There's a lot of reasons for that,
but what I think are the main reasons are these ones:
"Ribbons are known for a very musical, natural sound. But, in the 1960s, ribbons fell out of favor — not because of the microphone itself, but due to changes in the way voices and music were recorded.
Ribbon microphones have an inherent, high-frequency roll off that is similar to the way people hear. Between the 1930s and 1990s, the majority of people were recording to tape machines through consoles which both had a high-frequency roll off. Those tapes were then put on vinyl which also had a high-frequency roll off.
Then those vinyls were played on radio, which also had a high-frequency roll off. By the time the original source track hit the home listener, much of the high-frequency content was totally lost.
Until the late 1950s, condenser microphones could not compare to the ribbon’s frequency response. But condensers steadily improved and swept the recording industry. They became the “go to” mic for many recording studios. Because of their high-tuned system, frequencies in condensers in the top-end were exaggerated and hyped.
Sometimes these condensers were so hyped that monitoring vocals directly through the console would sound harsh. But by the time the condenser was recorded to tape and then transferred to vinyl and then played back on radio, the top end was greatly rolled off and sounded smooth.
The difference between a condenser and a ribbon at the end of the chain was pretty drastic with an RCA 44BX sounding muddy next to a condenser sounding crystal clear. By the 1970s, ribbon mics had passed out of style and RCA’s ribbon mic division was closed down."
https://www.thebroadcastbridge.com/...crophones-make-a-full-circle-in-audio-history
This last part of my past I already knew and found, but I write it anyway to complete the post,
In the Digital Age of recording the High End frequencies are not lost in the recording process, or on each playback, or in mixing, mastering or in transfer to a CD or Streaming (final consumer format), so condenser microphones might sound too harsh in some situations.
The Ribbon microphones comeback made sense because now, although they're darker than condensers the limited high end they have will not get lost, and can make when needed digital recordings sound warmer or less harsh for some people (myself included, but I like all mics and having all the tools)
Sorry for hijacking the thread with this post,
This subject is interesting to me because this is my passion and my job, but also because I'm a tutor of Recording for 7 years, and I always start my lectures with the History of Recording.
Thanks Ian
