Royer R-121 Ribbon Microphone Overview - Sweetwater

[mr4y]

Small doubt. There's some faint noise in the background. Might be AC Noise or Electrical Noise. Really irritating to hear.

[dkillian12]

I have 2 royer r121's that i use on guitar and overhead miking on drums. After working to get the right placement down they blew me away. they have a very nice organic sound with a bit of warmth. I tried the glynn johns technique as well as spaced overheads and about to xy them right now . but when i tired the johns through some neumanns my floor toms drowned everything out but with the r121's they sounded nice and even.

[FTE666]

man it is so frustrating to see review after review where people just talk about the product and don't show it in action whatsoever...

[GaragebandandBeyond]

@FTE666 I 100% agree with you on this. There was ZERO Demo time even though the title does say Microphone Demo".....WEAK.....!!!!! The guy did give the majority of the info I was after, but I still wanted to hear it. You should check out my channel, I make mic reviews with audio samples and I always keep the signal path simple so you get an honest idea of what they sound like. I don't use anything fancy. Check it out, you'll see what I mean. You should like it.

[cbialuski]

I have 2 122's and using those with some nice pre's like the m-2b,adl 600, Lavry ad10, N2V all produce stellar sound . Ribbons help get the boring digital sound above the crowd.

As far are this guy being a sales man, well ya... he's selling his product, and one of the best out there lol.

But these aren't for the kids with the cheap home audio . Royers are what you call, professional microphones.

[teenok007]

this guy does his job really good. hes speaks like you can trust him. i bet he is very sincere. thanks for that!

[ultimateinfinite]

I used this mother funkle on a twangy Spanish guitar with two 414s, worked a treat. Wasn't going for a modern sound.

[natea792]

Oh yeah, and as for room tone, if you spend $1000+ on a mic, you better have a good sounding room. If you want a completely dry sound, use a cardioid, don't blast the mic for doing what it should. As for being antiquated, it sounds good, so they worked on reliability issues and left it at that. Tubes were around in the early 1900's, but no one is complaining that a tube amp is a fragile antique. I'm not a spokesperson for anything, i just hate ribbon mics being either overhyped or blasted.

[natea792]

Seriously people, ribbons aren't the end all of microphones, but the 121 gives great results on electric guitar that many cardioid mics don't give you. Newer age ribbon mics are much less susceptible to breaking. Plus, if someone is breathing into a studio mic, they shouldn't be in your studio in the first place, and if they are singing, chances are they'll be far enough back and using a pop filter. if you use this like you're supposed to, it will usually give a good sound and not break.

[JFKaudio]

I would not buy another ribbon unless it was using the newer materials that can't break. We do plenty of percussion and kick, but the worst is that people blow into mics, and ruin them. Anyway I think they came out with a much cheaper chinese version of the same thing, so you get your wish.

[raal007]

@DavidEdwinCarr

ask bruce swedien, ed cherney and al schmitt that question bro (about preferring a ribbon to a neumann - the best neumann (eg 47,49, 67) for certain applications.

polar pattern that's useless? high noise issues? unreliability? your statement bespeaks your lack of experience. have you ever used a decent ribbon mic?

[DavidEdwinCarr]

@raal007 Good idea- ask the guys who are paid to say nice things about these overpriced pieces of 1930s technology. Why do I know they are all hype? Think about that one for a moment. I've got 25 years of pro experience and I've seen fads come and go and modern Ribbons are a very clever marketing idea that fool people into spending $1000s they should have spent on a good German condenser like a KM84.

[raal007]

@DavidEdwinCarr

payed? you must also know how much then... :) it must be fun making ridiculous claims on the internet with no one to call you out for supporting those claims. well, we know these people personally... and we use these mics regularly.

our mic locker has 67, 47, 49, km54, etc. and the royers see plenty of use. royer mics have been out since 1998. people (london symphony orchestra, clapton, stones) must be pretty dense to use these garbage mics because of a youtube video.

[DavidEdwinCarr]

@raal007 Ahh, the old Emperor's new clothes argument. "David, all of these esteemed people can see the King is wearing Garments of the finest material yet you say he is naked". Some people are born followers!

I'm saying Mr Jennings is talking Rot. Ribbon's were not a secret weapon for the Elite. Ribbon's don't hear more like the human ear. They are fragile and not Cardioid- the pattern serious designers strive to improve.

And they are stupidly overpriced considering the $25 worth of parts.

[raal007]

@DavidEdwinCarr ok this is getting stupid. we have nothing against cardioid or any other polar pattern. mics are tools and we use them as such. if you prefer cardioids because of their 'serious' nature, knock yourself out bro.

us followers will continue making hit records with whatever tools we have at hand, royers included. as for the $25 part argument, i don't know if you have an agenda or are just plain stupid. whatever the case, i'm outa heeeeeah.

[DavidEdwinCarr]

This guy is a Salesman and full of it! "Only the engineers in the know still used Ribbons" What a load of Crap!

Ribbons are Wartime inventions that were abandoned by all good English and USA Engineers once they began trading with the Germans again. After all, why would any engineer overlook a Neumann for a mic with a no top end, high noise issues, unreliability and a polar pattern that is useless 95% of the time.

Anyone who pays over $250 for a ribbon is a sucker.

[DavidEdwinCarr]

I'm with Equestional!

A ribbon mic is an expensive way to end up with an average sound- that is if you can get rid of the sound of your room from the rear of the mic and if you don't destroy it with a breath.

Ribbon mics are a Fad for home recording people with no ears and no idea of recording History.

Do the leaders like Sennheiser, AKG, Nuemann or B&K make ribbons? No because they transcend Fads.

I've got 5 old ribbons including an STC 4033 and when I want warmth I use a Sennheiser MD441

[crazynutzzz]

I've never used this one in particular, however I have experienced the Coles 4038 ribbon mic. It was used on my guitar cab on a studio recording, I was amazed. SM57

being a nice mic for the price, but It cant touch a good ribbon mic. You will pay a premium for a good ribbon mic, if you can swing it you wont be disappointed. Easy to use too, put it in front of your (a few feet away for amped stuff) instrument and record the true sound.

[Equestional]

ID RATHER BUY 15 SM57s!!!! WHOS WITH ME?

[songczar]

Obama's lied to us all so much we can't trust anyone any more. Where's the beef??

All you needed to do is demo one against the SM57.

[Fearghas88]

this one.. cuz its 1399 dollars. :D Sm57 is like, 160 ish.

[BlisterOnTheMoon]

This one or SM57.. ?

[ruffles272]

1200 or 100. Its your choice wether its worth 1100 more.

[TheStudioFreq]

I've used both the R-121 and R-122. So far the most natural sounding mics I've heard. To my ear Earthworks and DPA are the most precise, but Royer are the most full and natural.

Nice on vocals but where they really shine is on instruments. LOVED them on sax, piano guitar and drums. Can handle VERY high SPL (ie:guitar amps).

Interesting side note: these have a "figure-8" polar pattern. Facing back of mic to sound source gives a somewhat darker sound.

[romanowskistudios]

That's good to know, that your first re0ribbon is free!