Specifications

blown ribbon could result.

6. Always provide adequate protection for your SF-1, or any ribbon microphone.

7. If the microphone is to remain set-up on a stand when not in use, place a “mic sock”

over it until it is to be used. Do not carry the microphone around without placing a “mic

sock” over it.

Failure to follow this commonsense practice may yield a stretched ribbon and

compromised performance!

The performance of a ribbon microphone is directly affected by the choice of microphone

preamplifier it is paired with. With so many mic preamps on the market, how do you

select one that gives the best possible performance with a ribbon microphone?

Additionally, what kind of performance can we expect from the preamplifiers built into

our mixing desks? While most preamplifiers will handle ribbon microphones well in most

recording situations, some preamps that work perfectly well with condenser or dynamic

mics may prove to be poor performers with ribbons.

To begin with, we must understand the fundamental differences between ribbon

microphones and other popular types, namely condenser and moving coil dynamics. A

ribbon microphone is actually a dynamic microphone that uses a flat, extremely low mass

ribbon element, rather than a coil/diaphragm assembly. For this writing, any mention of

“dynamic” microphones will relate to moving coil dynamics.

All condenser microphones have a built in preamplifier called a head amp and therefore

put out a hefty signal. Because the signal is buffered through the head amp, the output

impedance is rather low and less affected by the input impedance of the microphone

preamp. Most dynamic (moving coil) microphones generate a healthy enough electrical

current to work well with a variety of preamps, and their limited frequency response

characteristics make mic loading less of a concern.

Ribbon microphones generate a highly accurate signal, but the average ribbon mic

generates approximately 20 dB less gain than that of condenser microphones. Remember,

the ribbon transducer does not have the benefit of a condenser mic’s built in “head amp”,

so a ribbon microphone relies solely on the microphone preamp for all its gain!

The so called ideal preamplifier is the proverbial “straight wire with gain”. This may be

considered the technological ideal and does not include “coloration” as a desirable feature.

However, coloration is often desirable and has given rise to the popularity of certain

preamps and even preamp stages in mixing desks. Neve® preamps and the famous

Trident® A Range mixing console are highly praised for their classic sound.