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I happen to love using a ribbon mic on my guitar cabinet for natural and balanced tones. The biggest reason I prefer ribbons on my amp is when I dial in a killer tone, I can trust that it will shine through on the recording. This is due to the fact that ribbons are relatively flat in their response compared to other types of microphones. I’m not saying that condenser and dynamic microphones don’t have their place when mic’ing guitar cabinets – a well-placed AKG C 414 can produce a great-sounding recording! But if you want to capture your sound without adding much tonal color from the microphone, a ribbon is a fine way to go.
Why is this so? Many users feel that ribbons respond like our ears – and if you’ve used a ribbon in the studio, you know that’s an accurate description. Every microphone, from a Shure SM57 to a Neumann U87, has its own EQ curve. If we looked at a graph of the EQ of a ribbon microphone versus a condenser, we would see the ribbon is more neutral. Because you start with basically a neutral mic tonality, if you decide to add a bit of high-end to the recording, it still sounds natural without becoming harsh.
In the past, many believed ribbon mics were too fragile to handle the high decibel levels of rock music. On the contrary! Eddy Kramer, known for his work engineering Jimi Hendrix records, used a ribbon on Jimi’s cabinet in the studio. Can you imagine the decibel levels coming from that amp room when Jimi was laying down “Third Stone from the Sun” or “Voodoo Child?” Staggering, one would presume!
Still, ribbon mics gained a bad reputation because the delicate ribbon element could be damaged by just blowing on it! In fact, broadcasters of the thirties and forties sometimes blew into old RCA mics in an attempt to stretch the ribbon element to achieve better low-end on their voices. Needless to say, the ribbon would need repair, which wasn’t cheap. So after World War II, when recording engineers were able to get their hands on sturdy Neumann and Telefunken mics from Germany, it seemed to make sense to use those more durable models in the broadcast and recording industries. Ribbon mics were consigned to the back of the microphone closets of many studios. They became hard to find, and the people that knew how to repair, build, or even use them became even more rare.
Toward the end of the twentieth century, David Royer, a brilliant audio designer of rare and respected custom condenser mics and preamps, developed the Royer Labs R121 ribbon mic, which laid the groundwork for the future of ribbons. Engineers and musicians began to use these mics to make recordings and the R121 became a secret weapon for many engineers. Around the same time, Wes Dooley of AEA (Audio Engineering Associates) reintroduced the vintage ribbon mics from the past. Wes first created the R44C, which was based on the classic RCA 44 ribbon model. The R44C immediately grabbed the interest of the recording community, and has become a studio mainstay. AEA’s ribbon designs are more “traditional” and darker than Royer’s, with a lovely, full natural sound.
Recently there have been many ribbon mics introduced into the market at various price levels. Because of the honesty in tone these mics can yield, you’ll find many of today’s respected guitar players using them in the studio as well as onstage, either alone or combined with a dynamic mic (such as a Shure SM57 or a Sennheiser MD421) or a condenser.
If you’re interested in checking out audio examples of an AEA R84 and Royer R121 in action, go to myspace.com/joelgragg and listen to “Redemption Draws Nigh.” I used the R121 on the lead with a Telecaster through Jensen-voiced Fender Blues Junior amp. An AEA R84 was used on the rhythm guitar, which was an old Harmony hollowbody through a 5-watt Silvertone amp. This should help give you an idea of how ribbons capture tone and texture.
If you haven’t used a ribbon microphone to record your amp, try one out!
Joel Gragg
Joel Gragg is a Sweetwater Sales Engineer who has experience as a singer/songwriter, engineer/producer, and guitarist in the Nashville music scene. He can be reached at 1-800-222-4700 or at joel_gragg@sweetwater.com.
Revv G3 Purple Channel Preamp/Overdrive/Distortion Pedal - Anniversary Edition
The Revv G3 revolutionized high gain pedals in 2018 with its tube-like response & tight, clear high gain tones. Suddenly the same boutique tones used by metal artists & producers worldwide were available to anyone in a compact pedal. Now the G3 returns with a new V2 circuit revision that raises the bar again.
If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
