Royer Labs, specialists in ribbon microphones, has announced a new ribbon mic, the R-101.
One of the long-standing weaknesses of classic ribbon mics, and a key reason for their “demise,” was the inability of the traditional ribbon diaphragm to handle high SPLs. Shouting into a ribbon microphone was never a wise practice.
The figure 8-pattern R-101 uses a 2.5-micron aluminum ribbon in an “offset” design for use with high-SPL sources so even loud jocks can get that classic, smooth ribbon sound. It will handle instruments as well.
According to Royer the R-101 can handle up to 135 dB and has a multilayer screen to further spare the ribbon from vocal abuse. It ships with a shockmount.
