I heard that Jack White loves using Ribbon Mics exclusively while recording electric guitar. Though, I play nothing like he does, I do like his guitar sounds more often than not. By recommendation, I decided to use a Shure KSM313 Bi-directional 'Roswellite' Ribbon Mic in front of my Vox AC15 the other night while recording a few guitar parts. Shure hand-makes these mics with a super-elastic paramagnetic material, modeled after Crowley & Tripp's conventional foil ribbon designed to produce 2 distinct impedance gradients on each side of the transducer. I started out by placing the mic dead-center, about 8-inches away from the grill... and it sounded so good right off the bat, that I didn't move it. The front 'logo-side' of the KSM313 captured a full, round sound slightly mid-range and on the dark-side. I recorded some 'jangly' guitar chords this way and it hit the spot! When I turned the mic around, I recorded a few single-note guitar melodies, slightly overdriven, it seemed to capture a bit more of the higher frequencies, while still retaining alot of the low-end. I'm going to continue trying out various Ribbon Mics on guitar in the coming months after my positive experience with the KSM313 and I recommend using it on your next electric guitar recording. Also check out the other 'Red' gear we have in stock at Rock N Roll Rentals. (see also Nord)
by Jared Paul Boulanger
