AEA R92 
by Anonymous from Seattle WA, October 2005

I'd been interested in trying a ribbon mike on my jazz guitar recordings. I generally use a Polytone Mini Brute miked with a condenser, amplifiying my Guild Artist Award and Gibson L-5.

After finishing my first album, I decided that the results were too bright, so I was ready to pull the trigger on a Royer 121 until I read some reviews of the new R92. Satisfied it was worth the risk, I ordered one and have to say it's exactly what the doctor ordered.

Running the mike through an FMR RNMP, I find I get ample gain with the pre set around 50db, mike about eight inches from dead center of grille. The amp is in an iso booth with an absorbsion baffle behind it, and another about two feet in back of the mike for room control.

Both sides of the capsule offer their particular characteristics, but I prefer the back side - particularly with the L5. The sonic results can best be described as buttery, subtley compressed, darkly rich and smooth throughout the frequency range. Better still, only a minimal amount of eq is necessary to get the track to seat easily in the mix.

I just finished tracking a piece using the R92 on an acoustic archtop, about 2 feet back, evenly angled to upper and lower bout. I added a very small amount of outboard compression to get the gain around 60db, and the instrument's high and lows even. I placed two baffles behind the mike to control the 'room.' Again, the AEA shines, yielding a full, rich track requiring little effort to lay in the mix.

I usually track electric bass direct. But just for grins, I tried the AEA on an amped track. If I didn't know better, I'd think the part was tracked to tape. It had a lot of the 'whomph' and overtones one generally associates with an analog recording.

I've found my new best microphone friend. Highly recommended for a new brush in the paintbox. Hell - you might find yourself painting with it all the time!

Dan G>

Click here to Read the inSync Review for the R92

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