Recording 06/2000

ManualsBrandsRoyer Labs ManualsMicrophonesSF-12

RECORDING JUNE 2000

complete and info r m a t i ve — a l t h o u g h

the presentation was lack i n g . S o m e

of the materials we r e stapled at the

e d g e s , and some information wa s

changed with correction fluid. In all

fa i r n e s s , these are handmade micro-

p h o n e s , with only a few others being

made in the same we e k , so printing

n e w spec sheets might be out of the

q u e s t i o n . [R oyer reports that a new

m a nual is in prep a rat i o n .— M M ]

Sounding it out

R i b bon microphones have a re p u-

tation for taking the harsh edge off

horns and perc u s s i o n , and my firs t

test of the mic was a drum set. Th e

o n l y other acoustic instrument that

has the same kind of fre q u e n c y

range would be piano, but it lack s

the different tones. A simple stere o

setup immediately points out any

sonic colorings.

The first thing I noticed was the

ve ry low output of the micro p h o n e .

Concerned because of the legendary

f r agility of ribbon micro p h o n e s — a n d

the fact that the delive ry service has

k i cked some of my other pack a g e s

a c ross the country—I contacted

R o ye r. R i ck Pe r ro t t a , the company ’s

p re s i d e n t , replied within 24 hours

and assured me all was we l l . N o w

t h a t ’s customer serv i c e !

The output of the Microphone is

specified as being -54 dBm, w h i c h is

about 20 dBm lower than condenser

m i c ro p h o n e s . You will need a healthy

p reamp for this micro p h o n e .

I set up a click tra ck and played fo r

a minute or two into a pair of

Neumann KM 184s in an XY configu-

ra t i o n , AKG C414s in XY and

Blumlein for comparison. All the mics

we re run through BLUE. B l u eb e r r y

c ables to an Ap h ex 107 mic pre , t h e n

off to a MOTU 1224 digital audio

i n t e r f ace and Sonic Fo u n d ry softwa re .

E ve r ything was tra cked as hot as pos-

sible with no compre s s i o n .

The differences we re immediately

a p p a re n t . The KM184s and the C414s

we re re m a rk ab ly similar. If I hadn’t

k n own better, I would have thought

the drums had been remixed when I

listened to the Royer tra ck s . The high

hat and cymbals we re back where

t h ey belonged, the snare was fuller,

and the kick was more present and

t h i cker than with the condensers .

O ve r all the kit was more balanced.

This is most like ly due to the ribb o n

m i c ’s lack of a presence peak. N o t e

that this isn’t implying that the

C414s or KM 184s might not beat the

R oyer in other applications.

The next comparison was an

acoustic guitar: the SF-12 compare d

to a pair of AKG C414s in an XY fig-

u re 8 (Blumlein) setup. H e r e the dif-

f e rences we re less re m a rk ab l e , b u t

remember that the guitar has a

mu c h narrower range and less dis-

tinct tones than a drum set.

O ve r all the SF-12 had more body,

and again a slightly less pro n o u n c e d

high end. It also took less time to set

up—just aim the badge at the sound

s o u r ce and go.

N e xt up: a handbell ch o i r. Th e

handbells we re set up in a hors e s h o e

p a t t e r n , and I placed the micro p h o n e

about eight feet in the air ab o ve the

d i re c t o r.

The first thing I noticed had noth-

ing to do with music: the tap, t a p ,

tapping of feet. This micro p h o n e

seems particularly sensitive to vibra-

t i o n s , so a shockmount would be

h i g h l y re c o m m e n d e d .

Handbells have a ve r y complex

sound that’s taxing on the whole sig-

nal ch a i n . The Royer re a l l y shone

h e re . This is an application where

another choice of microphones could

q u i ck l y become bright, h a rs h , b r i t t l e ,

and perc u s s i ve . The SF-12 was the

hands down choice of the dire c t o r,

who seemed to appreciate its full

bottom end and mellow high end.

The wo r d ‘ even’ comes to mind.

I also got a chance to use this

m i c rophone to re c o rd a march i n g

b a n d , on which ribbon mics would be

a natural choice—and the Royer did

indeed shine thro u g h . It immediately

m e l l o wed the bra s s ,

s n a re s , and cy m b a l s ,

w h i c h can quick ly

become hars h . If you find

yo u rself looking for the

sound of older Chicago

re c o rd i n g s , this would be

the place to start.

Analysis

The nice thing about the SF-12 is

you are not limited to a coincident

f i g u re 8 pattern. It can be turned 45

d e gre e s , and vo i l a — you have an

i n t e r esting MS setup. The intere s t i n g

thing is that most MS setups use a

c a rdioid mic for the mid tra n s d u c e r,

but unlike a card i o i d , this mic’s off-

axis coloration is negligible. In fa c t ,

you are not limited to a stereo setup;

t h e re is no reason not to use half t h e

m i c r ophone on a vocal tra ck .

I would consider placing this

m i c r ophone on any t h i n g , a l t h o u g h

electric bass or kick are the best can-

didates in a ro c k setting. The low end

is always thick and solid, n e ve r

b o o m y.

While this would not be the mu l t i-

p u rpose all-around first choice mic

to put in a locker (becauase it lack s

sw i t ch a ble patterns), I love the

s o u n d . This is a microphone that will

m a ke you question what “ n a t u ra l

s o u n d ” i s .

Price: $2150 (optional shockmount

$72)