Question for you guys- I hope this doesn't sound too stupid or dumb but when it comes to ribbon mics I am both, so please fish me out of the shallow end of the gene pool before I drown in the bongwater.
I am looking at these new cheap ribbon mics- specifically the ShinyBox 23 and 46- the Nady versions are doing well on TapeOp reviews, but ShinyBox is offering ribbon repair under warranty at a cool $165. Here's a link for some 411 recon:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopic.php?t=21307Now despite the (well, actually more than) occasional "it beat the RCA/Royer/Beyer for this particular app" and the ubiquitous "stay away from the Oktava for QC and general sonic reasons, but the ShinyBox/Royer/PPA are the same mic, and all good" quotes; I am under NO illusions that these knockoffs will be the sonic equivalent of those mics. BUT based upon the few sound samples available and the fact that I have worked with 121s in the past in nice studios I have no doubt that they will smoke 57s and my collection of cheap condensers...epsecially on guitar and on my wispy male voice. (Did I mention that I think 57s suck ass?)
BUT I am using a Joe Meek ThreeQ as my home preamp- does this baby have enough juice to power these bitches? The manual casually implies that it does by stating the obvious: "when using dynamic or ribbon mics, do not turn this (phantom power) on..." but I am not sure.
Here is the link to the ThreeQ manual- the preamp specs are on page 4- I am not being lazy by not printing it- I just have no clue what to look for so I leave it to you experts. When I was using the ribbons before they had Millennia and UA gear that seemed to handle the ribbons no problem.
Also- what's up with ShinyBox offering the optional transformers? Based on their website sound samples I can't really say they make a difference in quality; just a difference in sound. Maybe better for certain apps, but nothing that would patently make them sound better in a mix.
OK thanks for the time, cheers Trent