Using Ribbons on MARS

Dr. Johnzo Blevins kills a VO

Here is a brief on using ribbon mics in situ at MARS. A lot of it is procedural, but it’s a combination of technical things and learning proper studio procedures. Signal flow can’t be haphazard either. I’ll break it into bullet points. 

·      Mount it properly. All microphones should be handled gingerly, but especially ribbons. The holder is mounted on the stand before the mic comes out of the box. The box remains on the cart or other stable surface until the clip is properly threaded on the stand (do not cross thread.) Reverse the procedure to put away the mic. Never hold any mic near the ribbon or capsule. Use only a suspension mount (Royer/white box). Ribbons are always stored vertically. (The ribbons will warp!)

·      Place the included sock over the mic when moving it. Wind from motion can break the ribbon. Also be aware of ventilation. After the mic is in position, remove the sock for use and always use a windscreen.

·      Phantom power will break or stretch any ribbon when shorted through a bad cable or during patching, even if all cables are good. Simply turning phantom power off on outboard mic pres is not enough. The way our half-normaled TT bay is implemented, phantom power will be present at mic lines, even if patched elsewhere. Normally, C24 mic pres 1-8 have phantom on, 9-16 off, so there will always be phantom power present. Additionally, some pres are difficult to confirm whether or not phantom is on, especially for students or those with poor eyesight. If one of those is on, 48V will be present in multiple locations, not just where you assume it would be on paper. Even if all phantom power is turned off, it is a rare session that does not use a condenser mic, which requires it; so that’s a moot solution.

DW Fearn talks about phantom damaging ribbons through patching and bad cables in the following video, start it at 16:37 for the good part:

Note that he said the 48V exposed ribbon “mic will make a trip back to the manufacturer.” He said that several times. I have met this man several times. He does not repeat anything unless it is really important.

The solutions, in brief, are as follows and all are equally important:

·      When setting up any session, you must be trained not to plug in mic lines at the panel. The Second Engineer confirms that the mics and cabling are correct in the Studio as per the signal chain. The Engineer will confirm with instructor’s approval, in the Control Room, that the patch bay is correct and all gear in the chain is set correctly for getting a basic sound. This includes mic/line switching and phantom settings. Pro Tools inputs must not be armed. No mic lines are plugged into studio panels before the above have been done and the Engineer walks through the studio to confirm mic placement and cabling. This is procedural but crucial. It is also professional.

Engineer and assistant confirm signal chain

·      At this point it is mandatory that a Cloudlifter is inserted between the ribbon mic and the panel, before any mic cables are plugged in. Since a complex session will have many cables, it is important that the Second confirms the Cloudlifter is connected to the correct mic, before plugging anything into the panels. The Cloudlifter requires phantom, which is counterintuitive, so the ribbon channel must have 48v. As you see it is easy to make an error and ruin an expensive mic.

·      Playing around in an expensive facility designed to record musicians with expensive microphones is not an option. Getting a job as a sound professional requires practice, knowledge, experience, discipline and ears. Break a ribbon in the real world and you go home and don’t come back.

Be prepared to get on your knees to check cables. It’s good practice because you need to get good fast at understanding signal flow. You have to internalize the logic of it. No one in the recording/sound world wears a suit because it is not beneath any professional to kneel in front of a patch bay, panel, kick drum, guitar amp, piano, double bass, etc..  You are aspiring to be sound artists, but you are also serving artists, musicians, talent. Lose the attitude and learn the techniques, and while you are at it, learn to wrap cables correctly, too. (I’ll post a video of that some time soon.)

Check this link for an example of a session plan showing special treatment for ribbons.