Royer R-121 (Nickel) Reviews

4.9/5.0 based on 8 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Ted Hunter

I bought a pair mainly for use as room microphones for my drums and for use on guitar amps, but they're so versatile they've really become my "desert island" microphones. I still find plenty of uses for my other microphones, but I'd be comfortable using my R121's on just about anything.

AJ Becerra

The Royer R-121 sounds great on any source! I personally love them on electric cabs and for drum overheads. I use 121's on EVERY session I do and it is SO easy to get a great sound of them. You cannot make these mics sound bad!

Steven Dilmore

Everthing. Everything. Yes, everything. Drums, piano, guitar, marimba, bass, trumpet, vocals, harp, helicopter?just to name a few things I've found the Royer R-121 works wonders on. Not to delve into the world of Quine logic here, but this is axiomatic: If you have ears and you want to record then you need this microphone.

Scott Augustyniak

Because I have inexpensive mics and an interface of similar quality, my recordings usually require a lot of processing and frustration in search of a decent tone. But the other night, I brought home a Royer R-121 ribbon mic. After plugging it into a True Systems P-Solo Ribbon pre, I threw on the headphones and grabbed my ukulele. When I heard the sound of the first strum come through my headphones, my jaw about hit the floor. It was so accurate, it sounded like I was standing in front of myself playing! After recording some ukulele, I had to grab my acoustic guitar because this GREAT SOUND meant I was having GREAT FUN! Lesson learned that night: You get what you pay for. And after that test, I knew the R-121 would be a permanent part of my mic collection.

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Customer Reviews

Joshua Ray
from Minot, ME USA
April 24, 2012 Music Background:
Songwriter,Studio Owner, Producer, Recording Engineer.

It's true!

This mic is the real deal. I couldn't believe my ears especially when using on electric guitar. It's very cool on drums and acoustic instruments as well. Great mic that's worth the investment.

Christian Thomas
from Caldwell, NJ
January 11, 2012 Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Quasi-pro Musician

Get to know it!

This mic is a common sense mic. Place it where it sounds great and it will sound great. You may have to throw out your dynamic or condenser mic paradigms but you�ll soon find this an irresistible option once you�ve figure it out. It�s hard to make it sound bad. I have a unique �singer/songwriter� voice that has some harsh upper-mids that my MA-200 was picking up well (not its fault). The Royer smoothed everything out without sacrificing fast transient response, clarity, or �air� in the recorded track. Play around with it and it will not disappoint you. The more you get to know it, they more you�ll see how priceless it is to have in your mic locker.

*Do make sure you treat yourself to a mic-pre with plenty of gorgeous clean gain. I used a Daking Mic Pre One.

Charles Denler
from Colorado, USA
December 28, 2007 Music Background:
Composer for film and television

Well Seasoned

I have been using my R-121 in my studio for about 2 years. It has been my consistent go to mic on almost every session. It excels on horns, and is breathtaking when close recording hand percussion. I used it on my flugel horn a few years ago, and the track won me an Emmy! One of my absolute favorite mics!

M.J. Ward
from California
May 19, 2007 Music Background:
Studio engineer, producer

The finest

The Royer R121 is the finest, smoothest mic for electric guitar. This mic is has two distinctive sounds, depending on which side you point it. It's like having two completely unique sounds that are both astounding. I own almost 30 mics, and this is the best of the bunch. I have used it for recording strings, piano, guitar, vocals, drums, accordion, wind and brass horns, and oh, my, it has sounded incredible for every last one. This mic is to die for. If it were a woman, I'd marry it, if it were an idol, I would worship it. Come to think of it, I already do.

IMAGO RECORDING STUDIOS
from Lexington, Ky
February 28, 2007 Music Background:
Recording Engineer, pro musician, and Independant producer.

OH WOW!!!!

GENIUS....Dave you're the man. I use these mics on everything....literally. This is my studio workhorse. It is so three dimensional that it really does put you in the mix. I have a femal artist that I'm producing that loves this mic for vocals. Very Very warm and vintage. If you have these mics I would also recommend getting the AEA Ribbon Pre. It's a great price and it compliments these mics perfectly. I also love the Presonus ADL 600 and the Focusrite Red Series on ribbons.Get a couple.

Sean Loepp
from cary nc
October 24, 2006 Music Background:
recording engineer, live sound foh enengineer, guitarist

this mic puts you in the room

If you've been searching for that perfect guitar tone but you just can't quite get there, this is what you've been missing. It's not the cheapest mic out there so it wasn't my first choice but after testing this mic for five minutes I knew I found what I was looking for. This mic puts you in the room, needs little eq and sounds great through many mic pres; avalon 737, BAE neve 1272, Trident S20 just to name a few.

Jon
from Joplin, MO
October 21, 2006 Music Background:
Producer, Recording/Mixing Engineer

Butter

This is THE mic for recording electric guitars. I know it does all sorts of other things very well, but I use it on elec guitars a ton! I primarily use the R-121 on a Vox AC-30, through a UA 2610 preamp, through Apogee converters. Sometimes I'll throw an SM57 or a Sennheiser MD421 right up in the middle of the cone and stick the Royer a little off to the side and behind or on the other cone matching the distance to keep it in phase. Either way, I'm usually tracking within 5 minutes of taking the mic out of its pretty little cherry box.

In the mixing stage, the quality of this mic comes out more than you even knew it in the tracking stage. It sits in the mix better than you could ever imagine, sounds so natural, so lively, and I hardly even have to eq.

Bottom line, this mic is pure butter. It's worth every penny if you're ready to record electric guitars with very high quality.

Brandon
from Seattle, WA
September 28, 2006 Music Background:
full time engineer

The R stands for it Rules!

If you record electric guitar, you need to have this mic. If you're used to the usual dynamic mics, you will poop yourself when you first find the sweet spot on a 121. You could be smart and get 10 sm57's or you could be really REALLY smart and get one R-121. Will "poop" get past the censors?

inSync Review

Michael Goodrich
8-13-2008

Ten years ago, most people, myself included, knew two things about ribbon microphones. First, they provide wonderfully detailed sound. Second, they're too fragile to be a viable option for my studio. Enter David Royer. He set out to create ribbon microphones for the working man. In 1998, he introduced the R-121, which delivers all the wonderful ribbon mic detail with the strength of a modern microphone.

The first thing I noticed was the beautiful wooden box that housed the microphone. Then, when I opened that box, there was a nice velvet-like pouch holding the microphone. While all this was a nice touch, the question still remained: how does it sound?

If I only choose one word to describe the R-121's sound, it would be "thick." The detail in the lows and low mids provides everything you need to have a sound as thick as it is clear. The proximity effect on this mic will add even more bass and still retain all the clarity. I was absolutely blown away by the sounds of this microphone. Imagine, I recorded my guitar and it sounded just the way I heard it. I never thought thick tones could come so easily. Add a standard instrument dynamic mic to bring back some more high-end, and you have instant rock guitar (thought it goes far beyond just rock). It was like I've always dreamed. I can't wait to try it on everything else I own.