Royer's R-101 Budget Ribbon Studio Mic: An Intro to Royer

Any gear head will tell you that despite the amount of upkeep and special attention they require, ribbon microphones can produce a tone that can not be matched by any small, medium, or large diaphragm condenser, and therefore are worth their minty price tag. The richness and stability of the tone, as well as the ability to withstand outrageous SPL's makes the ribbon mic a must have. Drum overheads, electric guitar amps, and brass instruments are probably the most common applications, but when put in breathing proximity to an acoustic guitar or vocals - a characteristic 'vintage' sound reminiscent of the RCA heydays is produced.

Royer Labs, creators of the studio-staple R-121, have released a ribbon mic at a price almost $500 less than  the 121, making it their most affordable mic. Despite the lower list price -  their infamous 'offset-ribbon transducer' patent was still able to make its appearance in the R-101. Unlike the Californian sister mics of the R-101, the capsule is manufactured overseas (surprise!). However, this does not at all discount the capability of this mics performance.

I was able to try the R-101 earlier this month at Werd Recording Suite to record a piece for the bassoon entitled "Sonata" by Johann Friedrich Fasch, only it was played on a saxophone.

The heavyset mic is set - front side toward the bell for the 'less bright' tone. 

Breathe in, press record, monitor carefully, press stop, exhale. 

Not surprising, that ribbon tone in through my 80's-era Studiomaster pre's and out through a pair of Adam A7s displayed a tone that warmed my blood and almost stopped my heart - almost.

The presence of the saxophone's reedy resonance showed characteristic of a Royer mic, but there was something different - a darker tone. Personally speaking, it was not the best tone for this application. Perhaps the back of the mic would have sufficed.

Overall I was satisfied, but not thrilled about this mic, but for the price - it would be hard to say no to add the R-101 to your mic collection. 

Check it out for yourself at Rock N Roll Rentals for $24 weekly or $48 monthly!

As an added bonus, a clip of the recording:

Written by Audio Engineer/Producer Ali Ramzanali

Boss PS-6 Harmonist Stomp Box

Boss PS-6 Harmonist

By Oscar Reyna

As Boss likes to do, they have taken one of there older pedals and updated it. In this case they have taken the PS-5 Super Shifter and tweaked it a little. The result is the PS-6 which is somewhat of a multi-effects pedal that allows you to harmonize, pitch shift, detune, and super bend. This pedal allows you to do 3 voice guitar harmonies with the option select the key. A variety of intelligent pitch shift modes recall the Digitech Whammy pedal. Boss’s new technology, the Super Bend, lets you make up to four octaves of pitch bending by stepping on the pedal as if you were engaging it, which is also a feature of the Digitech Whammy pedal. You can also control pitch with the use of an optional expression pedal. The detune function is capable of creating a lush chorus sound without sounding totally cheesy. The PS-6 is a great and versatile pedal for the price (about $189 street price) all in one small stomp box. Guitarists who are fans of the Whammy pedal and bands like Radiohead, Failure, and locally Exeter will definitely want to pick this up.

The BOSS Harmonist is available for rental and sale at Rock n Roll Rentals

"You got any a dem Nooomans?"

The answer is 'Yes', we have a wide variety of Neumann Microphones available for rent at our warehouse.  Neumann is an industry standard for high quality studio mics from Germany.  I recently took home a pair of Neumann TLM 102 cardioid mics to try them out while recording a string quartet on a song for my band The Sour Notes.  I set up the pair of TLM 102's in an X-Y configuration in the middle of the string quartet who were arranged in a 'half-moon' shape about 4 feet away.  I was immediately surprised how well the TLM 102's captured the sharpness of the violins without sounding too-bright, which many large diaphragm mics tend to do.  The mic's are a little 'hot' and on the mid-range-y side, but after some minor adjustments with seating the string quartet, like moving the cello furthest away, I was able to get a nice blend of high, mid and low end from them.  The mic's really made recording that day a breeze and with the right stereo panning you can get them to sit nicely in the mix with plenty of room to breathe.  I'd recommend these mics to anyone recording strings, acoustic guitar, hand-percussion, tamborines, etc...  To my ears, they seem to work well with the types of sounds you would want a little dark while retaining it's clarity.

-Reviewed by Jared Paul Boulanger

Popular Gear So Far 2010

Most Popular Rental Items So Far 2010

PA/Live Sound 

 

Yorkville E10P:  DJs and bands alike love this compact powerhouse.  Amazing lows from a 10" speaker and clear highs.  For bigger gigs add a sub or 2 and you're set.

Yorkville LS2100P: A 21" Sub! w/ 2100 watt power amp.  It will shake the bottles off the shelves.

                          Instruments

Korg SV1:  Great Feel.  Great Sounds. Great Layout.  Sounds and feel on par with the Nord Electro, but its the layout that sets it apart.  You feel like you are in the cockpit as you turn the knobs and hit the buttons.  (And it has a tube.)

Amplifiers

Ampeg BA300/115: Thanks to Jaylinn from the Boxing Lesson for telling us to get these.  We can't keep them in stock.

Motion Sound PRO145:  Thanks Ken Tondre from the Compound for hipping us to this Rotory Speaker with regular 1/4" input.

VOX Night Train:  All tube 15watt head with Triod mode (7.5 watts.)  Couple with the 12" Celestian Greenback and you're set.

 

   Film / ENG / RTF

Zoom H4N: With great stereo mics and an additional 2 XLR ins, this recorder has been the in demand field recorder for video and bands.

TASCAM DR-680:  Tascam is making Pro gear again!  For serious field recording.

Canon7D: DSLR camera that has become popular for its HD video.

                    Recording Gear

Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5012: Everyone who uses this Pre amp with the Silk engaged comes back for more.

Apogee Duet: Apogee conversion in a compact interface.  Perfect for home project studios (if you are using a Mac.)

 

Microphones  

 Peluso 2247LE: It sounds like a vintage U47! w/ NOS Telefunkin tube.  

Shure KSM313: Shure bought Crowley and Tripp for their Roswellite ribbon technology.  High SPL and open ribbon sound.

Portico II vs. The Other Guy

I knew going into it, that having the opportunity to try out the Portico II for my home recording project would leave me regretful I could only use it for a few days, on a few instruments...

I own a far less-expensive Mic Pre at home that I decided to compare the Portico II against while recording bass guitar with similar knob settings on each unit to get an idea of what the difference  in quality would be.  First of all, if you're recording bass guitar, you might find the Portico II to be the ideal choice, because of it's additional EQ and Compressor Settings, which in my opinion sounded amazing direct input or from the mic'd bass amp.  Compared to my own Mic Pre Amp, which did not have these additional features, the initial sounds I got from the Portico II were simply wider and more well-rounded before I even hit the 'Silk' Button, which added a little extra uniqueness to it.  All in all, the Portico II is a great '3-in-1' component that would most like satisfy any home or studio recording set-up on a variety of instruments.  If you can afford to spend the extra money to rent one of these, it'd definitely kick your recording up a few notches.

-Reviewed by Jared Paul Boulanger

F.M.R. A.R.C. ; Articulation, Resonance and Clarity

FMR ARC

This is a great unit for getting clean sustain at high volumes. I used it last night at the Broken Spoke here in Austin TX. The rig is a 69' Telecaster through an early 70's Vibrolux. The fidelity was great for a live show. Don't know how it would be for recording but FMR makes great studio gear already, the R.N.C and R.N.P to name a few. The A.R.C. is FMR's first foray into the world of stomp boxes and it rules. You can get the sustain without the crunching that happens with other stomp box compressors. Easy to adjust on the fly because of the big knobs. This is really cool if you're playing through a loud, powerful amp in a small venue. Great stuff. 

-Reviewed by Gary Newcomb
after playing at the Spoke w/ Dickie Lee Erwin 07/13/2010

Universal Audio 1176LN Leveling Amplifier

In a recent mixing session I had a vocal track recorded through a Shure green bullet mic live. Inherently, the mic had a great over-driven sound but also picked up a lot of ambient drums and guitar. I used UA's 1176LN to compress the track. I used a 12:1 ratio and right away could hear the vocals more in the foreground of the track and substantially decreased the ambient noise. Just what I wanted. The compression was very smooth and didn't really suck the tone out. I highly recommend this unit for bringing up weak or over-driven signals to tape or in the mix.

reviewed by Matt Puryear.

Unit available for Rent or Sale at Rock n Roll Rentals