Nude Microphones blumlein ribbon mic

[jorri]

https://mixdownmag.com.au/reviews/revie ... onics-bl8/

Does anyone know these. How would they compare to a Royer stereo mic or even other ribbons.
Been interested in a blumlein technique for drums and had my eye on the SE VR1 pair to do this. Coles would be good but its way out the price range. Royer R121 was an option I didn't so much like on drums although its great on the guitars, but it looked like their blumlein mic wasn't the same thing anyway.

What's the opinion on blumlein overheads anyway? Do people prefer spaced pairs? I tend to want to pull width of drums in a little, in favour of other things in a mix being wide. Also tend toward using overheads as a cymbal mic, and was thinking of ways to achieve a '3d depth' without necessarily being stretched wide in each ear.

[Dok]

That looks like an identical copy of the Cascade X-15: http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Cascade/X-15

Not sure if it's really the same but these inexpensive ribbons tend to use the same bodies on occasion and ribbon mics are rather simply constructed. The one I owned had Lundahl transformers in it, which was apparently an upgrade.

The mic was fine for what it was, but I think you really need a good, high impedance preamp with lots of clean gain. If you are just using your interface preamps, you may be disappointed. I found that I preferred a mono overhead mic for my purposes so I moved it on. If you can get it with a good return policy if you don't like it, it's worth trying! I really like ribbon mics and it's good to have some useful examples around.

[Larry Mal]

That looks like an identical copy of the Cascade X-15: http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Cascade/X-15

Not sure if it's really the same but these inexpensive ribbons tend to use the same bodies on occasion and ribbon mics are rather simply constructed. The one I owned had Lundahl transformers in it, which was apparently an upgrade.

It really does look like that, doesn't it?

So, Cascade is no more, there was a death or something, those designs now seem to be Pinnacle microphones, for all I know the designs are made by Nude- never heard of them.

I have a Voodoo VR-1, and I use this mic boost with it. Relatively inexpensive.

[jorri]

That looks like an identical copy of the Cascade X-15: http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Cascade/X-15

Not sure if it's really the same but these inexpensive ribbons tend to use the same bodies on occasion and ribbon mics are rather simply constructed. The one I owned had Lundahl transformers in it, which was apparently an upgrade.

The mic was fine for what it was, but I think you really need a good, high impedance preamp with lots of clean gain. If you are just using your interface preamps, you may be disappointed. I found that I preferred a mono overhead mic for my purposes so I moved it on. If you can get it with a good return policy if you don't like it, it's worth trying! I really like ribbon mics and it's good to have some useful examples around.

ah, thanks! yes that looks identical. The frequency response isn't even vaguely related to Royer. Its not in the slightest bit flat. I have an SE X1R already (so it has a very condenser-like frequency response and that's why i want to upgrade to the VR1) , and a cheap Apex ribbon that is the warmer type of ribbon that i barely end up using.
Already got one FetHead and Klark mic booster that doesn't change the impedance. Was thinking of another Fethead, although the SE ones seem to be good out the box for impedance.

It looks like VR1 is close to the X1r, so maybe its a case of slightly unmatched pair having a better outcome for a comparable amount of money. I tend to like multi-micced kits, so at least it gives me a possibility of a few space pair options. Another idea was finalising the set with a condenser like an Oktava MK220 for close duties (a floor tom maybe) and other instruments so it would allow me to get that.

[øøøøøøø]

Ribbon mics are the easiest technology to make work

And one of the hardest to make work *truly well.*

The outstanding ones tend to hang around after making reputations over time

Fair or not, I tend to treat newcomers and under-the-radar items with skepticism

That’s assuming you want something objectively good. If you just want something subjectively cool, you might find that anywhere and it will mean different things to different ppl