VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Gregory Best]

Frank, nice to see you back contributing your vast knowledge of the biz.
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Gregory Best

greg@gregorybest.com

[Marik]

[Frank F]

Mark!!!!!!!

Folks this is the "Mark" I had written about earlier from Samar Audio Design. Welcome Mark.

When it comes to microphones this man is the best and I respect his knowledge above others.

After a long discussion about ribbon motors and condenser capsules Mark and I know more about about what drives each others thoughts. We both agree that a microphone should fit the need of the person and the activity required.

In my case ribbons mics have not been my "go-to" tool, although Mark is attempting convince me this type of microphone can be designed to fulfill my needs with exceptional results.

Again, thank you for coming on board Mark your knowledge will benefit all here. And, Welcome to our part of the universe.

Frank F
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[Dayo]

Welcome Mark - it's great to have you here.

Would love to hear more thoughts on ribbon mics for v/o. As I said previously, I'd very much like to be sold on a ribbon, but I've never found one that gives me the punch of an LDC. They always feel a bit "slow" to me....
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Colin Day - UK Voiceover
www.thurstonday.co.uk

[Marik]

Thank you Frank and Colin for warm welcome!

The terms like "slow", "punch" are rather matter of semantics and in fact, can be just reflection of some other things and in this case, I think it is fig.8 pattern together with a lack of upper octaves response, many ribbons exhibit.

Definitely, some people look for more "focused" sound of the cardioid pattern, the fig.8 ribbon just cannot give. That is, if we follow 1:0.7 pattern rule, the main difficulty of using the fig8 would be a huge proximity. You cannot really get too close to the mic without things becoming way boomy. In other words, the ribbons should be EQed. This can be done whether in the construction, or with the outboard equalizer.

Some will say "ney" to any EQing advocating the "purity" of the signal path. It is however, does not matter where you insert the EQ--outboard, or build it into the mic--either way it is still an EQ. Moreover, probably some do not know, but EVERY single condenser microphone capsule (again, true pressure omni is a special case) has a HUGE amount of EQ built into the it, as a function of the resistance controlled system principle of working--something a "native" fig.8 ribbon doesn't have. That's one of the reasons why ribbons take an EQ so well.

But then there are quite a few cardioid (or even multipattern) ribbons, which have excellent and very smooth top frequency response, and for many might be a better choice for the VO application. Usually very expensive, with an exception of vintage Oktava ML19--a wonderful mic, which can be had for some $200-$300 (please keep in mind, most of those will need to be serviced, as they use a foam inside, which deteriorates and completely throughs the things out of wack...)

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best, M
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Mark Fouxman
Samar Audio & Microphone Design

www.samaraudiodesign.com

The Art of Ribbon Microphones--design, repairs, re-ribboning, modifications, motor machining and fabrication, transformers, and more...

[Dayo]

Thanks for the further input Marik.

If all LDC mics are EQ'd in the capsule, does it follow that the tone of any might also be shaped by swapping out components in the mic itself?

As for the Oktava ML19, I'd say that was about the ugliest mic I've seen in a long time! But if it's as smooth as you say, it might well be worth trying. What's the self noise like?
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Colin Day - UK Voiceover
www.thurstonday.co.uk

[Marik]