Ribbon mics : DIY or purchase ?

[Emmathom]

Hi
I'd like to open a new thread about ribbon mics.
I believe that, due to the ribbon itself, the shape of the headbasket, it's not that easy to build a DIY ribbon mic from scratch (but I maybe wrong !)

Can some of you share their experience in building a ribbon mic ? or about some mod like adapting a ribbon in a LDC static mic ?

In the other hand, if we leave aside rather expensive ones (>800€) like Royer, Coles, Beyer, AERA, etc... is there any affordable reference which can give (at least if not excellent) good sounding results ?
I would be interested to get one (or a pair) for live instrument recording (not guitar amplifier) like horns, drums overhead, strings, etc... this kind of mic (ribbon) missing from my fleet.

I've noticed Bumblebee, NoHypeAudio, t.bone, Oktava, Superlux... and surely many more in that price range (350€<)
Some comment or advice ? some links ?

Regards

 

[kags]

Ribbons, having few components can be assembled for a low cost. I’ve used some commercial ribbons from MXL that we less than $100 and they sounded quite good. You could start with that and replace the transformer to see how that goes.

Before you get into winding your own ribbon, which is delicate but not that difficult, maybe take apart an inexpensive unit to learn how it’s assembled.

There are inexpensive ribbon kits from several companies, but you simply assemble the pieces. You won’t learn much about how to wind a ribbon, but you’ll get a very useable mic.

 

[Emmathom]

Ribbons, having few components can be assembled for a low cost. I’ve used some commercial ribbons from MXL that we less than $100 and they sounded quite good. You could start with that and replace the transformer to see how that goes.

Before you get into winding your own ribbon, which is delicate but not that difficult, maybe take apart an inexpensive unit to learn how it’s assembled.

There are inexpensive ribbon kits from several companies, but you simply assemble the pieces. You won’t learn much about how to wind a ribbon, but you’ll get a very useable mic.

Thank you for your input. So MXL (with a good transformer) to begin with. Also NoHypeAudio (~220€) or Bumblebee RM5 or 6 (~320€) are winkin' at me...

 

[kags]

Also check https://www.austinmics.com/

And

https://www.diyrecordingequipment.com/products/rm5-ribbon-mic

 

[Emmathom]

Also check https://www.austinmics.com/

And

https://www.diyrecordingequipment.com/products/rm5-ribbon-mic

The problem with these providers based in US is VAT + shipping + government import taxes...
For those living inside EU an european provider is simpler & cheaper.

So either NoHypeAudio for a CRM-1 (250€ all included / assembled & tested in Belgium)
or Thomann for a t.bone active RB-770 (159€) or a MXL R77 (275€)

They seem good deals for a first ribbon to begin with...

 

[wlinart]

The problem with these providers based in US is VAT + shipping + government import taxes...
For those living inside EU an european provider is simpler & cheaper.

That's indeed a problem. The RM-5 from diyre is actually from Latvia though, so that shouldn't be a problem: https://www.bumblebeepro.com/ And they have a lot of parts for ribbon mics.

So either NoHypeAudio for a CRM-1 (250€ all included / assembled & tested in Belgium)
or Thomann for a t.bone active RB-770 (159€) or a MXL R77 (275€)

They seem good deals for a first ribbon to begin with...

Nohype has some really great ones for a decent price.

 

[amplexus]

Bumblebee mics are killer. But not really a lot of diy.

You can actually build a ribbon from hardware store parts plus foil and a transformer if you have some basic hand tools, design knowhow, and some patience- of course your mileage will vary based on your skills and available tools.

The Austin mics are a bit more diy and generally i’ve heard good sounds from them.

 

[Electrobumps]

I've noticed Bumblebee, NoHypeAudio, t.bone, Oktava, Superlux... and surely many more in that price range (350€<)
Some comment or advice ? some links ?

Regards

@Whoops has posted about reasonable priced ribbon mics that he rates. I can't remeber the brands and models but worth searching his posts.

I have Royer, Coles and AEA mics. I recently purchased a couple of Bumblebee mics and interested to see how they fit in with my branded ribbons.

 

[rock soderstrom]

I have Royer, Coles and AEA mics. I recently purchased a couple of Bumblebee mics and interested to see how they fit in with my branded ribbons.

Perfect, I would be interested in your experiences here, keep us posted.

 

[TwentyTrees]

For what it's worth, I've a couple of NoHype ribbons and I love them both. The LRM-2 is the main banjo mic in this video and the trumpet mic (carefully placed!) in this song, if anything I slightly prefer it to the Coles we used on a previous recording. I also recently got the stereo ribbon, it makes a lovely room mic.

I prefer the NoHypes to the other cheaper ribbons I've used (Golden Age Project, t.bone, etc), they punch way above their price.

 

[k brown]

https://wavreport.com/2017/05/14/tutorial-build-a-ribbon-microphone/

https://www.crodog.org/ribbon/ribbon.html



__________________

I love these "how to make your own DIY . . ."; they don't see the redundancy staring them in the face?

 

[kags]

I've used the MXL R144 with very good results for drum overhead, drum room, and horns. I also have access to Royer 121s, 122s, 124V, Coles 4038s, and Cathedral Pipes Sevilles. They each excel at one thing or another, but they are all equally useful.

I've built my own ribbon mics and the tensioning matters the most in how the mic is "voiced." The next most important sonic affects came from the grill/headbasket geometry. The thickness of the ribbon and length did not affect the sound as much as I expected.

 

[Whoops]

Can some of you share their experience in building a ribbon mic ?

sure,
before I bought my affordable ribbon mics I bought 2 Kits of the "austin ribbon mic",
what I can share it that it was a complete waste of money, those kits are not well made and thought after.
The motor assembly is made of cheap plastic, the magnet should be glued to the plastic but after a while the magnets can get loose. It's also not easy to glue it properly.
And although I'm handy and was able to cut corrugate and install the ribbons, it's a difficult task and you will end up destroying 3 to 10 ribbons before you are able to install the first one, and then you might not even tension it properly.

In the end it was a lot of unnecessary work, a lot of time wasted and actually quite expensive in the end, for some mics that although might work I'm not secure I can depend on them.
There's already made affordable Ribbon mics that sound great, are cheaper and are solid.

is there any affordable reference which can give (at least if not excellent) good sounding results ?

For Sure, there's a lot of them, but this 2 mics are cheap, you can easily get them from Thomann in Germany and you don't even need to pay VAT (if you order from a company you are VAT exempt), and above all they sound great:




There's more affordable options in the market that I'm sure are really good, but I'm recommending these 2 models because I know these ones very well and used them in a lot of professional records and love them. So I can recommend these blindly.
For the last 10 years I haven't recorded Piano without having a pair of RB500 there.

Just to clarify I also know and used in many recordings the most popular and expensive ribbons out there (Royer, Coles, Beyer, AEA), and I also love those mics. So it's not because I didn't have access to more expensive mics that I recommend the cheap ones. I'm recommending them because although they're cheap they're very good.

 

[Emmathom]

Hi @Whoops ! Thank you for your inputs. I'm not that surprised t.bone ribbon are good : I love this brand for their quality/price ratio.
RB500 or RM700... ?
I was also thinking about the RB-770 : did you try it ?
Regards

 

[Emmathom]

For what it's worth, I've a couple of NoHype ribbons and I love them both. The LRM-2 is the main banjo mic in this video and the trumpet mic (carefully placed!) in this song, if anything I slightly prefer it to the Coles we used on a previous recording. I also recently got the stereo ribbon, it makes a lovely room mic.

I prefer the NoHypes to the other cheaper ribbons I've used (Golden Age Project, t.bone, etc), they punch way above their price.

Hi @TwentyTrees what about the NoHypeAudio CRM-1 ? Can get it shipped to France for ~240€ VAT included...
Regards

 

[TwentyTrees]

It looks like the CRM-1 is the mono version of their stereo mic, if that's the case then I'd expect it to sound great.

 

[Piedmont Audio]

Has anyone made a corrugator out of Lego?

 

[ElSmurf]

There's more affordable options in the market that I'm sure are really good, but I'm recommending these 2 models because I know these ones very well and used them in a lot of professional records and love them. So I can recommend these blindly.
For the last 10 years I haven't recorded Piano without having a pair of RB500 there.

Good to know, thanks for sharing. Adding one to my Thomann wish list.

 

[banex82]

Hi guys, I have a question about diy ribbon transformer, I bought few SM58 transformers on AliXpress and they look very nice and similar in size to E core ribbon transformers like Edcor RMS1. I can go further and tell that I think they are identical. Also there are two types of SM58 Xformers on Ali, I think about a broader one, cross section is 6mm x 6mm, price is like 4$. I unwinded one and it matches number of windings to @CJ s file on sm58 Xformer.

How to wind it for use as ribbon transformer? They say its high nickel content. But i think its 50%-50%, its too cheap for 80%-20% but I am sure it should work good if I wind it good. One brand new is on photos.