| Electronic Musician, June 2001 Royer
Labs SF-1 Royer Labs is
a small company dedicated to reviving ribbon microphones for the digital-recording
era. I reviewed the company's flagship mic, the R-121 for the May 1999
issue of EM, and was so impressed that I purchased one for my studio.
Since then, the mic has acquired most-favored status at the studio for
a number of applications, especially miking guitar amps and brass instruments.
My colleagues were impressed, too, and honored the R-121 with an Editor's
Choice award in 2000. The inspiration
for the SF-1 came from the Speiden SF-12, a stereo coincident ribbon mic
originally hand built by Bob Speiden but now manufactured by Royer. The
SF-1 is the mono version of the SF-12 - if you sawed an SF-12 in half
and doubled the electronics, you would basically have two SF-1s! The SF-12 and
SF-1 have a thinner ribbon than the R-121 (1.8 micron as compared to the
121's 2.5 micron), and different magnet structure. According to the manufacturer,
these design aspects contribute to superior transient response (something
ribbon mics are already prized for) and improved high-frequency response,
albeit with increased fragility of the ribbon element itself. Of course,
all ribbon microphones need to be shielded from powerful blasts of air
and generally handled with care. The SF-1's output level is comparable
to that of other ribbon mics, requiring 15 to 20 dB more gain than an
average condenser microphone. Like its predecessors,
the SF-1 comes in a beautifully crafted wood box with a nylon mic clip
and a lifetime warranty to the original owner (repair or replace at Royer's
option). The mic body is fashioned from ingot iron and has a matte black
finish. Optional accessories include the Audio-Technica AT-84 shock mount
($72), which Royer supplied for this review, PS-100 metal-mesh pop filter
($47.50), and Sonosax SX-M2 stereo mic preamp ($1,250), which Royer also
supplied for this review. Royer sells this preamp as an accessory item
because of its high gain and low noise characteristics. The SX-M2 is a
well-built, portable, and compact unit not much larger than a Sony Walkman.
It provides up to 76 dB of gain and can be powered either by battery or
DC current. The SX-M2's performance lived up to its impressive specs,
exhibiting very low noise and a bit smoother sound than my main test preamps. Line Up First, I performed a standard loudspeaker test. Although the R-121 worked some magic on the bass end of my boom box source, the SF-1 was more faithful to the source on a selection of mixes. The SF-1 highlighted ambience and percussive details pleasantly; after a few listening passes, I rated the SF-1 tracks the best of the group. Frequency charts
posted by the manufacturer show the SF-1's response deviating less than
3 dB between 40 Hz to 15 kHz; the response is flatter than the R-121's,
which a comparison of the two charts makes clear (see Fig. 1). Some EQ
sweeps confirmed the flatness of the SF-1's frequency response-it was
easy to hear the effects of boosting in sweeps throughout the bass and
treble ranges, and there were no evident weak or dead spots. However,
I did notice-both in this test and on instrument tracks-what seemed a
bump in the SF-1's response around 200 Hz. Next I compared
the SF-1's off-axis response to that of the other mics by positioning
the boom box several feet away at about a 90 degree angle to the side
of the mic cluster. Impressively, the SF-1 retained solid low-end characteristics
that were lost on the R-121 and the small condenser. Both these mics also
emphasized unusual timbres in the source, indicating a less-than-flat
response, and sounded thin or diffuse. Last, I compared
the two SF-1s to hear how similar they sounded. For the sake of thoroughness,
I used three different solid-state preamps: the Sonosax SX-M2, a Focusrite
Green, and a Sytek MPX-4. I perceived only a very minor difference in
the high end "air" between the two SF-1s. Other than that, the
two microphones sounded identical and perfectly matched. Strings Attached On a bright, close-miked,
acoustic slide-guitar part, the high end on the SF-1 was closer in character
to that of the Oktava 012's. But here I found the ribbon mic's softer
sound to be an advantage, despite the upper range sounding duller and
the lows somewhat boomy and unfocused. Interestingly, with both mics strapped
into the AT-84 suspension shock mounts, the SF-1 proved more immune to
foot stomping and stand-borne vibration than the At a distance
of two feet the SF-1 provided a full low end and realistic highs on an
assortment of guitar styles. A cut at 220 Hz took out a slight boominess
in the sound, and allowed my inexpensive Hyundai guitar to sound much
richer than it did through the other mics. Not surprisingly, in the high
end above 8 kHz, there was still no comparison with the crisp timbre of
the Oktava condenser. On a session involving
a Martin "Backpacker" model mandolin, the SF-1 added a warm,
supportive character. The performer, guitarist Michael Bizar, praised
the microphone's qualities, and I agreed that the SF-1 warmed up this
instrument very nicely. Electrifying Likewise, on a
mellow amplified jazz guitar, the SF-1 was murky sounding compared to
the other ribbons. In this application, its extended high end brought
out some amp noise, but no special qualities. As much as I appreciate
the SF-1's virtues as a flat and extremely warm mic, for electric guitar
I usually want a mic with some attitude. The SF-1 has a neutral and somewhat
meek (can you kill somewhat meek?. Or call it "mild") quality
that makes the R-121 and Coles 4038 seem aggressive in comparison. On the other hand,
in a session with guitarist John Shiurba, the SF-1 worked wonders on a
small, solid-state Vox guitar amp. It managed to add punch and authority,
yet smooth out rough edges on the challenging array of textures Shiurba
created. I also tried the SF-1 directly on another of Shiurba's guitars-an
unamplified hollow body-as he played along in the same room with other
musicians. This time, the mic provided incisive high-end detail. Also,
the mic's off-axis pickup, which was readily apparent when I brought up
the acoustic instrument track in the ensemble setting, was remarkably
uncolored. Commonly in multiple-mic sessions, bleed from condenser mics
creates muddiness, unwanted room sound, and narrow-band coloration throughout
the frequency range. But in this case, the leakage was not a problem,
especially after I equalized some "thump" out of the guitar
with a 4 dB cut at 200 Hz. I experimented
with the Royer SF-1 on two different keyboard-and-amp rigs (solid state)
as the players ran the gamut of samples, synth patches, and industrial
noise. During both tracking and mixing, I was very impressed by the SF-1's
immediacy, as well as its sympathetic treatment of pure synth tones, high-resonance
peaks, and low-end material in the 40 to 80 Hz range. I didn't compare
any other mics during this session, and I didn't feel compelled to either!
Under demanding conditions, the SF-1 reproduced diverse, full-frequency
sources perfectly with no harshness or dulling. In the mix, the tracks
needed very minimal EQ-just a touch of 4 to 8 kHz sweetening or the occasional
low- or upper-midrange cut around 1 kHz. Shake, Rattle,
and Roll On shaker, though
the Oktava 012 was my favorite, the SF-1 offered obvious improvements
in high-end pickup and transparency over the R-121. Yet on jingling keys,
miked from two feet away, the SF-1 proved much more accurate than the
condenser microphone. Interestingly, when I moved the keys to a distance
of about one foot from the mic cluster, the SF-1 sounded almost identical
to the Oktava 012. For this source sound, I found the condenser's slight
high-end advantage to be a sonic disadvantage, as it provided too much
stimulation to my middle-aged cilia! The SF-1 is truly the first ribbon
mic I have ever considered for delicate high-end percussion duties, and
I looked forward to trying it on drums. Fortunately, fellow
engineer Karen Stackpole happened to be reviewing a new Ayotte drum set
for Onstage (EM's sister publication), so I was able to evaluate
the SF-1 pair in X-Y coincident and split-overhead configurations. At
approximately seven feet above the floor, both the X-Y and spaced arrangements
of the SF-1 pair under-represented the cymbals and sounded too tubby.
Compared to the Oktava 012 X-Y pair, the SF-1 grabbed a great snare sound
and painted a much more robust and immediate picture of the drum portion
of the kit. But even with EQ, the cymbal sound was just too dull. Remembering my
experience with the key test, I moved the split overhead SF-1s in closer
- nearly on top of the left and right cymbal clusters - so that no cymbal
was more than 3 feet from the mics. Suddenly, the sound of the drums snapped
into focus: not only was there much more detail from the cymbals, but
a remarkable combination of punch and clarity emerged from the floor tom
and snare, as well. With a little high-end boost, this setup could provide
a very big and distinctive sound for jazz or funk recording. I also experimented with the SF-1 as a mono drum overhead, comparing it to a single Oktava 012. Placed above the center of the kit and about five feet from the floor, the SF-1 picked up viable cymbal sounds and captured a huge snare tone that sounded much truer than what the condenser captured. When raised two
feet higher, the single SF-1 produced a sound that was surprisingly comparable
to the Oktava 012. With a high-frequency shelving boost of +3 dB and a
broad, low-end cut of 3 dB at 200 Hz, the SF-1 nearly matched the crispness
of the small diaphragm mic, but provided a butt-kicking low end, to boot.
It took a little getting used to, but toward the end of the listening
session I really began to like the full sound emerging from the SF-1,
and I made a note to experiment with it further in upcoming sessions. During the listening
evaluation, Stackpole noted that the SF-1 sounded "better and brighter
when the mics got closer, and they did seem to give the drums some beef."
Though in the end Stackpole preferred the drum sound as captured by the
small-diaphragm condenser pair, she remarked that "the Royers are
definitely usable-not a bad sound, just darker." New Voice I was very impressed by the SF-1's potential as a percussion and drum mic. With proper placement and a few EQ nudges, its clarity rivaled a small-diaphragm condenser mic that I regularly employ. The SF-1 also sounded wonderful on trumpet, and I would expect it to perform as well or better on other members of the brass family. In addition, I was literally moved by the superb bass response and punch of the SF-1-it reproduced powerful low-end air movement in a way that only a few high-end condensers can. With this new
entry into the underpopulated world of studio-grade ribbon microphones,
Royer has created yet another distinctive, versatile, and great-sounding
microphone. It's a great complement to the R-121, but the Royer Labs SF-1
also has a voice and capabilities all its own. BIO:
Copyright 2001 United Entertainment Media Publications
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