Do treat your microphone with the respect due a fine instrument
Quality microphones are precision instruments. They are the “ear” that hears sounds and translates them to electrical signals – the first and most critical part of the entire recording chain. Take care of them, respect them, and they’ll work for you for a lifetime.
Do place a mic sock over your ribbon microphone when you are handling it for longevity
In the days when engineers wore white shirts and black ties, ribbon microphones had protective covers placed over them every time they were moved. This ensured that the mics would not be damaged and that the ribbon elements would last for many years.
When you’re moving a ribbon mic from one area of the studio or stage to another, use a mic sock or wrap your hand around the business end of the mic to keep wind from blowing through where the ribbon element is. It could mean the difference between your mic coming in for a re-ribbon in ten years or two years.
Do place a mic sock over your microphone when set up but not in use
When you leave the studio and your Royer is on its stand, it’s always good practice to cover it with its mic sock. Again, this buys you more time in between re-ribbons.
Do pay attention to where you set your microphone down
Whenever you set your Royer down, remember that it contains very strong magnets that will attract even the smallest of metal particles to itself. This “tramp iron” can work its way into the ribbon area, come into contact with the ribbon element, and create distortion that necessitates a re-ribbon. Putting the mic into its mic sock will help keep metal particles away from the powerful magnetic structure.
Do place your microphone in its box when it’s not being used
Do you ever see U-47’s or C-12’s laying around when they’re not being used? Not a chance! The good ones have lasted because they’ve been well cared for. Give your Royer the same respect and it will remain a pristine recording instrument for generations.
Do use a pop-screen when you are miking vocals
There’s nothing more annoying than a big “Pop” in the middle of an otherwise great vocal track. It’s the sound of a concentrated blast of air hitting the ribbon element. A quality pop screen will keep wind blasts from getting to the microphone, saving your tracks and protecting the ribbon element from potentially damaging wind.
Do position the microphone slightly off-axis when close miking high SPL sound sources
You can minimize wear and tear on the ribbon element by placing the microphone slightly off-axis to loud or plosive sound sources. Since ribbon microphones have great off-axis response, positioning the mic slightly off-axis to high SPL sound sources won’t alter the sound, but it will reduce the overall load on the ribbon element.
Do use high-quality microphone cables and verify that they are in good order
Ribbon microphones, especially passive varieties, require high quality cables to minimize signal loss. High resistance or high capacitance “economy” cables greatly degrade the performance of ribbon microphones. Shorted cables or poorly wired connectors can send phantom power current to the ribbon element, possibly resulting in a blown ribbon.
Connecting a quality microphone and preamp with a poor quality cable is like putting bad gas in an excellent car – the weak link lowers overall performance and reliability.
Do keep the microphone clean and free of foreign particles
Ribbon transducers concentrate powerful magnetic fields around the narrow gap where the ribbon is suspended. These fields attract all sizes of metal particles, and even non-ferrous materials have been known to be drawn into the gap. Foreign materials in the gap can scrape against the moving ribbon, rendering your microphone unusable and necessitating a re-ribbon. Keeping your microphone clean and boxed when not in use is the best way to avoid this issue.
Don’t think your Royer ribbon microphone is indestructible
Royer makes extremely durable ribbon microphones, but they are still high end ribbons and must be treated with care. Before using them, learn how to position and handle them by reading the manual and browsing our web site. A little knowledge goes long way toward keeping your ribbons out of the repair shop.
Don’t expose the microphone to wind or blasts of air
The ribbon element consists of a very thin strip of pure corrugated aluminum. The thinness gives a ribbon its ability to respond to the most subtle nuances, but it also makes any ribbon mic sensitive to wind or P-popping. Corrugated ribbon material is thin and wide and can grab air like a sail. Excessive wind can stretch the corrugations or tear the ribbon, rendering the microphone inoperative until it’s re-ribboned. Severe shock, like dropping the microphone, can have similar effects on the ribbon.
Don’t “cross-patch” your ribbon microphone with phantom power on
Tie-lines are useful in recording studios because they enable an engineer to redirect a microphone signal to another input or channel preamplifier. However, since tie lines are accessed and redirected with a connector similar to a guitar plug, a problem exists for ribbon mics. When a patch cord is plugged into the jack field, not all conductors “meet” at the same time. This, in effect, is like having a “shorted” cable for the time it takes to plug the cord into the bay. Microphone lines are balanced and everything is fine as long as the lines remain perfectly balanced. When the line is disturbed or becomes unbalanced, any preamplifier offset-voltage or phantom voltage that may be present gets temporarily redirected to the wrong conductors. Even though this occurs for only a split second, it can give the ribbon element a strong jolt. Depending on the thickness of ribbon element used, the additive effect of these jolts can stretch or destroy the ribbon. Verify that phantom power is turned off on both the source channel and the target channel before cross-patching the mic. If this is not possible, unplug the mic until the cross-patching has been completed.
These precautions do not apply to our active ribbon microphones, as these mics require phantom power to operate and can never be damaged by phantom power.
Don’t carry your microphone around without covering it
With ribbon microphones, wind is the enemy. Carrying the microphone around with the ribbon end uncovered can turn your ribbon into a “sail”, possibly stretching the ribbon. Air conditioning ducts, doors being opened and closed, and other sources of heavy air movement should also be guarded against by simply covering the microphone.
Don’t loan your ribbon microphones to persons unfamiliar with their use
A high percentage of the microphones we re-ribbon were “loaned to a friend.” Unless you are quite sure that the studio or individual you loan your ribbon microphone to understands the proper use of ribbons and will respect your gear, don’t loan it out.
Don’t close-mic a plosive sound source without using a popper stopper
Guitar cabinets, bass cabinets, kick drums and vocals are a few of the sound sources that may dictate the use of a pop screen or blast filter. This is especially true when close miking techniques are employed. The rule of thumb is, “If you can feel a breeze, use a pop-screen!”
Don’t use a ribbon microphone near an AC transformer or motor
All microphones that utilize magnets (as ribbons do) are somewhat susceptible to induced magnetic radiation, especially from alternating magnetic fields such as those found in motors, transformers and video monitors. These fields can be strong enough to induce an alternating electric current in microphones that in turn gets amplified by the preamplifier. This is the same effect that plagues electric guitars, especially those with single coil pick-ups. If you experience hum or buzz coming from the mic, locate the source of the radiated field and move it away, shut it off, or simply move the mic away from the offending device.
Don’t allow foreign particles to come in contact with the microphone
Ribbon transducers concentrate powerful magnetic fields around the narrow gap where the ribbon is suspended. These fields attract all sizes of metal particles, and even non-ferrous materials have been known to be drawn into the gap. Foreign materials in the gap can scrape against the moving ribbon, rendering your microphone unusable and necessitating a re-ribbon. Keeping your microphone clean and boxed when not in use is the best way to avoid this issue.
Be careful when transporting ribbon mics in the un-pressurized cargo-hold of an aircraft
The cargo hold of an airplane changes pressure with altitude and can affect microphones stored in sealed containers. Watertight containers or relief-valve type cases, such as Pelican camera cases, will often come out of cargo hold in a vacuum condition. When opened, pressure is released and a significant “whoosh” of air blows through the case, which can stretch the ribbon element. Before putting your ribbon mics in cargo hold, prevent against the vacuum condition by loosening the relief valve on such cases or providing a small vent hole on watertight containers.
Don’t worry about the low temperatures in cargo hold – fluctuations in temperate and humidity do not affect ribbon microphones.