BOUTIQUE RIBBON MICROPHONES AT A DIGITAL PRICE

  The Rocket
This modern Classic figure 8 Long ribbon variable Path ribbon microphone with an extended smooth frequency response will make any source shine from drums,vocals, Piano, acoustic guitar this mic will reproduce with warmth and realism anything that you put in front of it!

Stock    ”The Rocket”  $199.00

 F-mod ”The Rocket” $420.00  Lundahl Transformer and 1.8um Ribbon

 U-mod ”The Rocket” $449.00 Samar Transformer and 1.8um Ribbon

The Grill
This modern classic ribbon mic wich like the famous Royer 121 Is Based on the Bang and Olufsen BM5′s figure 8 Medium ribbon long path and tubular slotted body design resulting in a smooth warm sound with controlled proximity effect perfect for close micing Electric guitar cabinets ,Horns, Strings, Drums virtually anything where warm natural sound is required.

The Grill stock     $179.00

The F-mod “The Grill”  $379.00 Lundahl Transformer and 1.8um ribbon

The U-mod “The Grill  $399.00 Samar Transformer and 1.8um ribbon

VISIT MY WEB SITE AT

http://www.openplanrecordingstudio.co.nr

CONTACT ME AT openplanrecording@hotmail.com

BOUTIQUE RIBBON MICROPHONES AT

AN DIGITAL PRICE

The fully modified microphones have been created with the goal of sonic integrity and acoustic transparency in mind. The single layer head basket , the use of Lundahl 2912 transformers and 1.8 micron 99.9% pure Aluminum ribbons made by hand and tuned perfection here in Australia with a quality control ethic that can only be achieved in a boutique environment.  All of the expensive metal work is based on tried and true ribbon microphone designs and are manufactured in the best microphone factories in China.  The microphones below  are the result of  research, development and creative experimentation to achieve a boutique quality microphone at an affordable price that can stand beside microphones costing many times the asking price!

                               Ultimate mod Pill Ribbon  mics

 Featuring various Acoustical modifications, Point to point  solid core wiring , Australian made ribbons at your choice of either 1.8 or  micron 99.9% Pure Aluminum, perfectly matched American Made Samar audio design toroidal transformers   

$420.00 each or $799.00 matched Pair!

Full mod Pill Ribbon  mics

 Featuring various Acoustical modifications, Point to point solid core wiring , Australian made ribbons at your choice of either 1.8 or 2.5 micron 99.9% Pure Aluminum, Swedish made Lundahl transformers

   $379.00 each or $720.00 matched Pair

Stock mics

$159.00 each or $299.00 a Pair 

Full mod Lollipop Ribbon  mics

 Featuring various Acoustical modifications, Point to point solid core wiring, Australian made ribbons of  1.8um  99.9% Pure Aluminum, Swedish made Lundahl transformers

              $379.00 each or $720.00 a Pair 

                                   Ultimate Mod Lollipop Ribbon  mics
Featuring various Acoustical modifications, Point to point  solid core wiring , Australian made ribbons 1.8  micron 99.9% Pure Aluminum, perfectly matched American Made Samar audio design toroidal transformers  Ultimate mod Lollipop Ribbon  mics

              $399.00 each or $770.00 a Pair

    Stock mics

      $179 each or $330 a pair !!!

TO ORDER EMAIL ME AT

openplanrecording@hotmail.com

LISTEN TO THE FULL MOD MICS SIDE BY SIDE THE REVERED $1900.00
ROYER 121 !!!   I ALSO PUT AN SM57  IN THE SHOOTOUT AS A POINT OF REFERENCE AS IT IS A MIC WE MOST ARE FAMILIAR WITH.

 

AUDIO FILES OF MODDED VS STOCK LOLLIPOP AND PILL!!

Pete Mitchell takes the Full mod Lollipop and The Pill for a test drive

O.P.R Lollipop VS The Pill on Sax!!

Meet the mics;)

THE PILL

This Long ribbon microphone similar sonically to the AEA R84 as it shares a similar ribbon motor design and physical shape. It’s warm characteristics and wide frequency response make it ideal when you want to capture the full sonic spectrum and detail  of your source with analogue warmth realism.

THE LOLLIPOP

(THE BOOFHEAD)

Similar in sonic characteristics to the Royer 121. This work of art gives you that elusive and sought after mid-range  focus and analog feel that brings your recordings punch and power! Imagine creamy Electric Guitars Silky drums and percussion never abrasive yet detailed and full

SOME MUSIC FROM O.P.R USERS!

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THIS IS WHAT USERS HAD TO SAY

ABOUT THESE MICS !!

I have had my modified Lollypop for several months now and I am delighted . I did some tests recently versus an Audio Technica AT4040 and a Rode NT1000 on voice, steel string, a fender stratocaster, a Les Paul and violin. On most instruments and voices it sounds significantly more attractive, more body, more overtones and more natural, but on strings it blows my other mics out of the water completely.

I highly recommend this mic. You won’t be disappointed.

Erik

Hi Mark,

The ribbon mic arrived safely a few days back.  I must say it sounds stella. I gave it a quick test on a nylon stringguitar and was more than impressed.Yesterday a friend who is a remarkable recorder player (he has made an album with guitarist Doug Devries among other things) came by to check out some different mics and mic arrangements. Anyway we put up the following mics, a shoeps cmcmk4, Neumann M149, Neumann U89, an LD Audio technica (not sure on the model), a Milab DC96, and your ribbon. Guess what your ribbon came out pretty much on top for that application. Mind you I had the ribbon going through a Forsell SMP-2 fet preamp which has a special phantomless channel with no capacitors in the signal path for ribbons, most of the others were going through a focusrite ISA828. But still regardless I think it’s a winner.  Actually after my very first listen I was tempted to order another immediately, so if you have another there I would like to make a pair.

 Hope you have another available. I still wouldn’t mind doing a shootout
 with my friends ribbons though, maybe I can move that forward.

Cheers Greg

G’day Mark

The Mics sound great! Tip top indeed!

Cheers

Oliver

Hi Mark,

I am really enjoying the mics and their flexibility.
Thanks again Mark.
Speak soon.
John.

I’ve had good results using the Boof Head with the David Bowie vocal recording technique …

Close miked condenser [un-gated] with a distant ribbon room mic [gated] where the gate only opens past a set volume level to achieve a burst of ambient room sound for strong passages …

As well as an acoustic guitar mic where it works really well.

Pryce.

Hey All,

I hav a pair if Mark’s ‘lollypop’ ribbons, with all the mods (2.1(?) micron ribbons ATM, thinking of changing to the 1.8 though). They are killer, I’ve used em on my 147 leslie, guitar amps, drums (room mics) an as room mics for whole band recordings and am always pleased with the result.

On the leslie I have been recording mono with 1 mic on the horn and one on the bass rotor, no compression and no EQ sounds just like the leslie, V Happy.

Thinking of getting a pair of the ‘Pill’ mics as well!

There really is no question as to whether you should buy ‘em, they’re exceptionally good value for money, and my pair have become indispensable in our studio and are THE go-to mic in many situations.

Cheers

Rob Hornbuckle

Utopia studios
Moorabin

Hi all, I purchased one of Marks ribbon mics about a week ago. Tried it on acoustic guitars nylon and steel string and was very impressed. It sounds very smooth. I put it through my UA610 valve pre and also a focusrite pre which has switchable impedance settings suitable for ribbons and it sounded great but it also sounded good with my Yamaha n12 interface pre’s. Tried also Mid-side set up with my Neumann capacitor mic and the results are just as good. Was very surprised also with vocals, almost a creamy sound. This is my first ribbon mic and i know you can spend thousands on Royer’s and Coles etc but for what it cost (a fraction of the others mentioned) i am extremely happy. I would like to hire a high end ribbon mic for a day to do a comparison, i think sing sing might do it?
frets

SEE MY OTHER POSTS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE BEAUTIES !

VISIT MY WEB SITE AT

http://www.openplanrecordingstudio.co.nr

CONTACT ME AT openplanrecording@hotmail.com

TRANSFOMERS… More than meets the eye!

TRANSFOMERS… More that meets the eye!

Dr Mark(Marik)Fouxman  of http://www.samaraudiodesign.com/Home.html who is highly regarded in the pro audio community as a Musician, Microphone Modder\Desigener and is the creator of the Mf65 a premium handmade ribbon microphone ribbon microphone with an extremely wide frequency response manufactured in the US with extreme attention to detail! Initial lab testing of the MF65 prototypes reveals a frequency response from 20Hz (-0.3dB) to 25kHz (+2.5dB). (The lab equipment used in this test is not calibrated beyond 25kHz; further tests are forthcoming.) The output transformer is a tape-wound toroidal custom-  designed for this microphone.

The MF65 ribbon mic retails at $2500.00.

Marks same extreme attention to detail has also led him into developing the ultimate upgrade transformer and the only toroidal ribbon microphone transformer available to the after market, in his RT series transformers wich are perfectly custom matched to any ribbon microphone design type! It is for this reason that I have adopted Dr Mark Fouxman’s RT Series toroidal Transformer in my Ultimate Mod Series of O.P.R Ribbon microphones!

Some words from the Mark Fouxman

Why do we choose to make toroidal transformers? Our transformers are made using tape-wound toroidal cores. For different sonic signatures and depending on the application we use different core materials. The toroidal transformers have almost perfect magnetic properties and don’t have an air gap. This, together with the fact that the flux stays within the core, helps to reduce leakage, distortions, greatly minimizes losses, and offers better coupling. The efficiency is greatly increased and for given inductance toroidal transformers need less turn count, which allows using thicker wire. This greatly reduces copper resistance and associated losses, noise, and effect of loading. Another important feature is they don’t need shielding. So, if toroidal transformers are so awesome, why does nobody else make them for audio applications? First of all, they do. The classic Coles 4038, as well as range of Oktava and Royer ribbon microphones use toroidal transformers, but none of them is readily available. In general, the answer is very simple—this is because they are much more expensive to wind and produce. Because our main goal is not a cost, but quality, we chose the toroidal transformers because of their unparalleled sonics, low distortions, and 3D sound qualities! I spent many years of my life of thinking and researching ribbon microphones, so my goal is not the price, but the ultimate performer carefully matched to every single type of ribbon microphone.

 Audio examples

Here are some audio examples with two identically modded Pill  and  Lollipop ribbon mics the only difference being that one of each type of mic has a Samar and the other has a Lundahl 2912, These are both great choices for ribbon mics by the way!!

The audio was rms level matched by inverting the phase and finding the deepest null point as normalization was not the most accurate way to evaluate the differences as the Samar has a broader dynamic range and less compression which all contribute to its lower noise and 3d sound character, you can actually see the differences in the wave forms below.

The top wave is the Samar transformer equipped ”OPR U-Mod Pill” and the bottom line is the Lundahal 2912 “OPR F-Mod Pill”

KALACOMA,O.P.R RIBBON MICROPHONES AND ANXIETY!!!

Kalacoma are a 5-piece band from Melbourne, Australia writing music which draws on a love for vintage tones and the avant garde.

Focusing on vocal melodies and intricate rhythms, Kalacoma moves from dark and sprawling to minimal and intimate while fusing acoustic and electronic in a live music environment.

The band are currently recording their EP at the Shamrock House and will have more tracks for you to listen to very soon.

Heres a brief description of how Nick Herrera recorded ‘Anxiety’ by Kalacoma using O.P.R ribbon microphones!

released 02 February 2012
Nick Herrera, Samuel Hall, Dhari Vij, Alan Erpi & Marin Sekesan.

By Nick Herrera

guitars – Laney head + Cab – Strat

- Centre of the cone, on axis i used the lolly pop ribbon, because the ribbon is a darker mic it was better for the purpose that i aimed it at the brightest point in the speaker.

- Slightly left of centre coupled to the same speaker and phase coherent to the ribbon i used a sm57

- on opposite speaker, slightly off axis and not phase coherent i used an NT2 condenser set to Cardioid.

i used the ribbon for the bulk of the tone, the 57 gave some extra tops and the NT2 was used to add character and depth of field (given that it was not phase coherent)

not much eq or compression was applied to these signals, but purely finding the right mix between the mics.

- Drums

(this is a tricky one)

- Kick – D6, about 6 inches from the reso head and about 4 inches from the edge of the drum – this acts as my low end for punch and clarity.

- kick/snare – i used the pill ribbon with the darker side facing the bottom of the snare and the brighter side facing the beater head of the kick, placed directly between the two – driven into a tube pre for extra saturation, this approach gives a hip hop sample style tone, with the crack of the snare wires naturally rolled off by the ribbon and using the proximity effect u get a natural extension of bottom end from the kick.

- Snare – sm 57 about 4 inches from centre. dead side facing the ride.

- high hats – AT4041 condenser

- Floor Tom – Pill ribbon around 50cm away at a 45 degree angle with the dead sides facing the ride cymbal and the snare. this again gives isolation to the tom and a natural bottom end resonance.

- Ride – NT2 Set to Omni – gives a nice open sound and picks up the rest of the kit as well so that upon compression the ride would swell to the beat of the song.

- 2x lollypop ribbons placed in a blumlein arrangement and placed in an adjacent room with a large reverb. these mics because they are phase coherent in the placement give a balanced and wide representation of the drums as a whole with little or no direct signal.

to get the fluid motion of the rhythm for this track a series of side chains were created to make each hit of the beat come from a different source. you may notice that the dimension of the beat within one bar changes as a constant. it is the side chains causing certain mikes to react  and pull back to allow other mics to carry the sound at no point during the song are all mics engaged, but rather they dance around each other.

- Bass – this was line in using the sebatron vmp 4000e and also had the NT2 and D6 on the cab

- Vocal – NT2 using the UA twin finity pre amp set to 50% tube 50% solid state.

- Cello – 2x loolypop ribbons placed in an ORTIF array about 50cm from the body of the cello.

all instruments were bused to tape using the revox B77 Stereo tape reel, most post effects were applied prior to hitting the tape, compression and EQ was used sparingly to increase fidelity while tape saturation helped to control the dynamics and improve on the tone.

INTRODUCING THE O.P.R F_MOD PILL LIVE!!!

INTRODUCING THE PILL F_MOD PILL LIVE!!!

Todd from the  “The April Maze” contacted me about a modded ribbon mic for live use  captured live use as he had been working with  the Stock O.P.R Pill with great results!(see the video clips below) So I began working on a fully modded version of ” The Pill” which is robust enough to withstand the hardships of the Road but with some the extra dimension and detail of the fully modded Pills! All of the stock screens and waffle plates remain in this version as they are great protection in the sometimes hostile live environment and instead of the usual 1.8 um ribbon a 2.5um ribbon is employed for greater durability, the transformer is upgraded to the pristine Lundahl 2912, Last but not least Todd was after a unique groovy 70′s look to his special ribbon mic which I finished  hammer-tone silver!

 

Audio examples Coming soon!!

 

Todd With his Hammer-tone Silver  F-mod Live!

 

O.P.R Ribbon mics live!! The April Maze!

Check these magic live performances of  “The April Maze” captured live with a Stock O.P.R Pill mic along side a zoom mic and recorder! Incidentally The April maze and my self are working on a fully modded version of the Pill which is robust enough to withstand the hardships of the Road but with the extra dimension and detail of the fully modded Pills! so don’t hesitate to contact me if your interested in something like this for your self! Audio examples coming soon!………..UPDATE!!!! The O.P.R Pill F-Mod LIVE  is complete and The April Maze are currently road testing it!

More about the April maze At the link below!

http://www.aprilmaze.com/fr_home.cfm

FOILS AINT FOILS! O.P.R RIBBON MICROPHONES

I just made a video that shows a visual comparison between 1.8 um 99.9% Aluminium vs Stock Chinese ribbon mic Aluminium that is found in Lot’s of chinese made ribbon mics on the market. The video is shot at full speed and in slow motion to make things clearer. You will notice the extra sensitivity(movement) in the 1.8 um ribbon when both of the ribbons are excited. The ultra thin 1.8 um ribbon results in higher detail and lower self resonance in fact although a lot of people out there swap out the transformers in these mics, it is even more important to upgrade the ribbon as the transformer is only going to sound as good as what it is fed.

DREAM VOCAL ON THE O.P.R F-MOD PILL!!

People have been requesting some vocal samples of the F-Mod Pill in action and Robert B. Dillon drummer and Sound engineer of Melbourne of Blues band DREAM BOOGIE has been kind enough to share one with us!

about DREAM BOOGIE

http://www.myspace.com/dreamboogie/

BIO

DREAMBOOGIE – formed early in 2010, and named after vintage American jazz/ blues writer Langston Hughes’ famed poem “Dream Boogie”.

An act that is determined to create their own voice in Blues music, Dreamboogie brings together musicians Rebecca Davey, Mauricio Ochoa, Connor O’Neill and Robert B. Dillon to present re-workings of classic numbers on their debut album “I’m Ready!”. They perform material by acts such as Howling Wolf, Robert Johnson, Junior Wells, Denise LaSalle and Buddy Guy, to tell stories about life, love and heartache.
Rebecca Davey: Vocals
Rebecca is a powerful vocalist and an entertaining performer with a commanding stage presence. Her ability to engage an audience with her unique lyric interpretation, demonstrates that the Blues is as much about storytelling, as it is about instrumental prowess.
Mauricio Ochoa: Guitar
Hailing originally from Colombia, Mauricio is an electric guitar honours graduate of the prestigious Berklee College in the USA. As a highly sought session musician, he has performed and toured widely in the USA and his native country, both as a sideman and a band leader.
Connor O’Neill: Bass
Connor has a Bachelor Of Music from the University of Tasmania, and the bass guitar rarely leaves his grip. Since his graduation, he has played in variety of acts, and toured widely in Australia, South Africa and the Middle East.
Robert B. Dillon: Drums
With a wealth of experience as a musician and recording engineer, both in Australia and internationally, Robert ensures a steady hand in the drumming department. Robert is respected stalwart of the music industry who has performed with some of Australia’s leading artists, both on record and live.

In the relatively short time that they have been performing together, Melbourne-based Dreamboogie have already made a significant mark on the Australian Blues scene, and the excitement is building with the release of their debut album. So far in 2011, Dreamboogie have toured NSW twice, performed on the Blues Train at Queenscliff, featured at the Australian Blues Music Festival in Goulburn, and performed regular gigs at venues in Melbourne and throughout Victoria.
Dreamboogie’s debut album “I’m Ready!” was recorded live at the famed Sing Sing Studios, Melbourne.

“Our fans had asked for a CD of where we are right now as a band, because they love the live show, and they wanted to hear that” says vocalist Rebecca Davey. “The stories are all real, they all tell the truth – every song means something to the band personally and to the listener”. Rebecca notices that people come to her after the shows and tell their own stories relating to the songs and what they meant to them. “That’s what Blues is all about: connecting. Blues is everybody’s story”.

DISCOGRAPHY: Dreamboogie – I’m Ready! (BMM 363.2)
GPO Box 4832 Melbourne VIC 3001 Australia P: +613 9642 2877 F: +613 9670 3977 ..publicity@blackmarketmusic.com.au..

RIBBON MICS ON SAX. THE PILL OR THE LOLLIPOP? THAT IS THE QUESTION!

 Pete Mitchell dropped in a few months back looking for a ribbon mic that could authentically capture his Sax without those buzz y harsh tones commonly found in condenser and dynamic microphones.Below are some the examples we recorded that day.

By the way Pete ended up going with the fully modded Pill as it gave the smoothest results complimenting his unique jazz approach

About Pete

Peter completed a diploma in jazz performance in 1997 having passed VCE Music Craft on guitar in 1995. During the diploma course he co-formed Take Four, a sax lead jazz / funk quartet which played over a hundred gigs in a year and was a huge success at the 1997 Merimbula Jazz Festival.

Recently Pete’s various duos, trios and quartets have played at many corporate, private and public events around town. He also plays with various other bands on soprano, tenor, alto and baritone saxophones as well as guitar (as required).

Pete has played on a number of occasions with Bomba (Nicky Bomba’s funky reggae outfit) and over the last twelve months has occupied the baritone sax chair in the house big band at Dizzy’s Jazz Bar on Wednesday nights.

A highlight of Pete’s activities was spending time and attending a private lesson with one of his all time jazz heroes, Branford Marsarlis.

To Read some more about Pete click here

To contact Pete for Bookings Email petethejazzer@yahoo.com

ON G

THE CHINA TUBE RIBBON MIC MOD!!!YUM YUM

Hi Hi all I just did a mod on an OEM tube ribbon mic that i thought I’d share with you. The mic came from one of the top suppliers of microphones in China if anyone wants to take a listen and post your thoughts you are more then welcome!

Mod details are
1.New Ribbon 1.8 micron(the original was 2.5um)
2. Primary transformer was changed to a Lundahl 2912
3. The head basket was converted to a single layer of mesh.

The mic now has a better transient response more clarity/less distortion
and an over all more Hi Fi 3D sound to it.
you can even see the difference when you look at the wave forms of the acoustic guitar examples.

http://soundcloud.com/open-planrecording-studio/sets/tube-ribbon-f_mod

THE NEW IMPROVED PILL MICS ARE IN

                                                    THE NEW PILL MICS IN ARE IN!!!

These new Pill ribbons come from one of  China’s best high quality suppliers. They come with true 2.5 um ribbons, higher quality transformers, soft bag and an awesome aluminium fight case!!

                                 The new transformer raises the bar for the stock Pill ribbon mics!

The tranny on the top is the new and improved version and the one below is the old.

AUDIO SAMPLES COMING SOON!