Golden Age Audio Project R1 MK2

I must say, I do not have any other ribbon mics. That's the one. Wanted to know what the fuzz about ribbon was and I have been using one for over 2 years, bought the second one few months ago - now I have a pair!

It needs quite a lot of gain to make it heard on quiet instruments/vocals. And do not recommend it on solo or really quiet acustic recording, because the hiss (noise) level will be too evident. (maybe special preamp for ribbon helps?) But as you use it on louder instruments and loud vocals in fuller mixes, it does the trick! It takes very high sound pressure levels, no problem with guitar cabs. This ribbon sounds woody and compressed, it has upper-mid crispyness, if i may use such pseudo-acustical phrases. But the frequency response ends at 18kHz. I've used it for recording drum room (and whole band room), works great (figure-8 is good for room on any mic), it sound compressed even before using compressor. And now I have a pair of them and use them quite often for drum overheads. But be aware of pointing them more accurately than ordinary cardioid overhead mics, figure-8 is pointy polar pattern.

I wanted to work with ribbon for years before taking the plunge. I did not know what to expect because a lot of ribbon equipment can come at a high cost and this mic is a lot more affordable than lots of other options out there. I bought it along with the Golden Age vintage preamp and I've been very happy with how neutral, clear and slightly warm the sound is. The only thing with ribbon mics is the self noise is noticeable. I purchased a triton fethead to add neutral gain and it helped, but I still have to remove some hiss in the mix. This is an expected downside of using this type of technology but it is well worth it in my opinion. I spent years using condenser microphones that left me with unwanted sibilance in vocals that took surgical precision to EQ out. The sound out of this mic is stunning outright, so much so that I once turned off my entire fx chain by accident and didn't even notice that the compression and EQ were off!