I've been a meat and potatoes DIY recording artist for 10 years or so and have stuck with the more neutral sound of the SM7B. I took a chance with this as my first Ribbon mic, and I love it. My vocals are so much more sensitive sounding, so much detail captured. Paired with some great analog-sim slate plugins, this baby is shining. My recordings now have a lot more spice with the GAP R1 Active MKIII !!! Love.

I got the pleasure of taking on a project recording 56 church bells in an isolated warehouse. These many bells are referred to as a carillon. Four octaves worth of bells.

I tried 7 mics as a shootout.. this R1 ribbon by far sounded and represented the integrity of the bells throughout the octaves. Very happy with this purchase. I bought two to capture 2 simultaneous distances. Thanks sweetwater for hooking it up on a timely manner and to golden age for a great product in this price range.

With years and years in the recording industry I can honestly say this mic is absolutely incredible and not just for the price which is great for a mic of this caliber. I would easily pair this mic up against most any mic out there. Very pleased!!

I now have this mic 90 degrees off axis above my Origin Large Diaphram mic and in mid - side mode these two mics sound so great when recording my Epiphone Inspired by Gibson J-45. I then took it to the next level and use this config recording ambient sounds while miking my Yamaha Mini Amp with the Royer R1 and SM57.

Example recording on these sounds at switchingyard and the first song that I used this config is called "Red Dinger".

I wanted another mic option for my small home studio, and WOW! The sound is natural, beautiful, and highly detailed. It captures my vocals with a warmth and presence better than any of my condensers, which can sometimes sound harsh. Definitely one of the best bang-for-your-buck deals I have found at Sweetwater in a long time.

If you are looking for a use-able figure 8 pattern mic....idk if this is it. That was my original notion to use as an interview mic with its figure 8 pattern. The switch side sounds "underwater/dull" but the non switch side sounds really good. Sweetwater is great and allowed me to return my 1st ribbon mic, and the 2nd mic sounds exactly the same. the switch side sounds dull, non switch side is spectacular for voices if you want a deep rich sounding mic. Only used on voice, no other application, just dissappointed in that the mic doesn't sound amazing on both sides of figure 8 pattern.

The back of this mic actually sounds better to my ears. The front is very dark and a little boxy, while the rear sounds relatively brighter. Of course context is key, so if you need to darken up an overly bright source the front is probably best, but for vocals and guitar I definitely prefer the back.
Not my favorite mic, but pretty good for the money, and it does look killer. Generally needs a fair amount of EQ before I'm happy with it, and I almost always use it paired with another mic, but it does bring something different to the table than a dynamic or condenser. My favorite application for it is a stereo pair in Blumlein as a room mic for drums, it is undeniably good for that role.

This has sounded GREAT on Guitar cabs and as a Drum Room mic so far, I haven't had the chance to test it on vocals unfortunately yet. I took off 0.5 stars because if you look around on the web, apparently the MK II or 2nd version of this, used to come with an aluminum flight case! The insert document (single page in very broken English) specifically says that the included harder foam packaging and cardboard box, ARE your method of/case for storing the mic!

Very lame. Charge a little more and bring back the flight case, GAP!

When I can my go to in a studio is a R121 + SM57 on a guitar cab, this R1 MKIII + a Beta 57A was that sound right on tap. Love it!

I bought this mic after hearing several recommendations that a ribbon mic performs well capturing the best sounds of a violin while rejecting the harsher tones that condenser mics often amplify. I have not been disappointed. I am wowed. Getting a warm sound is instantaneous with only a bit attention to position the mic to pull out the very best tones. Excellent quality to cost benefit. I highly recommend this mic. Great addition to any recording studio.

Great ribbon mic at a GREAT price. Will be getting another. Golden Age is making some quality gear at very affordable prices. Running this mic thru GA Pre73 MK111 and the GA EQ-81 (then compressing thru the Lindell Lin76). Perfect on vocals and acoustic guitar. If you are considering this mic, just do it. Easy dealing with Sweetwater--as always.

I bought two to use as overhead mics and man they do an outstanding job rounding off the harshness that cymbals can cause as well as giving the snare and the rest of the kick a wonderful sound quality. I used one for vocals with my wife singing. It's super full sounding. We decided on using another mic for her. I think it would best suite a males vocals because of the depth it brings to the table. It sounds great on acoustic guitars. For a ribbon mic under $ it's a no brainier to purchase.

First off I order two of because I want to do some stereo recording with them. Secondly I'd like to thank my sales rep. Perry Davis for always taking care of my orders. It took less than a day to receive these mics. That was a bonus. They came out of Sweetwater's AZ site, shipped to California. Thank you Sweetwater for that.
These mics were bigger than I thought they'd be. They are on the heavy side but in a good way because of the high quality. The -10db pad works very well and so does the Low Cut Shelve. It captured my acoustic guitar with a nice full sound, especially when the low cut was used. It took away the low end mud. Same with my vocals. I can't wait to try them on drums as overheads. I'll update in a few months......
Thanks again to Perry Davis
Andy Tullis
3 Dog Recording Studio

I purchased the Golden Age Project R1 Active MKIII Ribbon Mic specifically to use to record trombone. I have had very good results in the past recording with medium to high-end tube mics, but those cost about 10 times as much as this one! I had tried using some of the lower end large diaphragm condensers that are so common now. They were ok but didn't really float my boat. Then I bought the GAP R1 Active Ribbon. Wow! I know it's not like I suddenly have an RCA 44 or another of those great old tube mics !! For me and my home studio projects, it's fantastic.

For the price, this is an impressive mic. It has a natural warmth that I was hoping for.

For its price, this ribbon microphone is outstanding. The quality of the pickup of the vocal range, particularly the low bass sounds just tickles my eardrums. You do need to get a separate shock mount because any vibration whatsoever is picked up. The sound quality is amazing though and highly worth it.

For its price, this ribbon microphone is outstanding. The quality of the pickup of the vocal range, particularly the low bass sounds just tickles my eardrums. You do need to get a separate shock mount because any vibration whatsoever is picked up. The sound quality is amazing though and highly worth it.

I have owned some of the best ribbon mic. RCA 44,77,74, Royer, AEA etc and this mic holds up for sure. Kind of a cross between the detail of the Rovers and the fullness of the AEA/RCA. I bougt 2 and will deploy them as drum overheads as well as brass, gtr amp etc. I had direct dealings online with the company's owner in Sweden when I had an issue with another GA mic. Pretty amazing customer support. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!

Bought this to try as a mono drum overhead. Of course as soon as it arrived I tested it was working with some acoustic guitar. It really sounded amazing. Almost didn't bother setting it up on drums and thought maybe it would be a good mic for acoustic etc. Once I did use it for drums it worked incredibly well. I will probably need another. Might not sound as good for you if you don't have a nice mic preamp. I had to crank the gain for acoustic and Im not sure a focusrite Scarlett pre would have been able to get a solid signal. This with the WA73 sounds incredible.

Wow !! Really great mic for the money, love it on vocals, mono o/h, guitars...

This ribbon mic' is amazing! I used it to record some nylon string acoustic guitar parts, and achieved great results. It_s amazing how much this thing picks up,my son was in a different room while I was getting ready to record, and had to tell him to stop rustling papers and moving around because the mic was picking it all up. I also appreciate the frequency range on this thing. The price on this ribbon mic' is beyond great.

I read as many reviews of this as I could find, and here is what I found to be true from what others have said: The warmth, silky mids/highs, and easy-e.q.'ing is true. My voice has never been captured as well, and I'm thrilled. The sibilance is reduced greatly if not gone in most instances, and by watching how I sing "s" words, it's completely eliminated. That's the good. Here's the part that might be disappointing: There is substantial floor noise when recording vocals - especially softer vocals like mine. I was a bit surprised, but as one person said, "You don't get something for nothing," in referring to active vs. passive ribbons. However, in the digital world, recording levels don't have to be the same as analog. By reducing the volume of my pre (a simple Focusrite solo) - to way lower than any condenser I've used - the dial is at about 11 a.m., the floor noise is eliminated, and even with my soft singing, there is enough signal to be perfectly fine in a mix - I'm singing about 6" from the mic with a pop filter, neither hp or -10d engaged. I can't get close to the desired -12, but with the way I mix, I leave plenty of headroom for the mastering stage, so even when using a condenser, my vocals were compressed to average about -24.

Bottom line: I'm really glad I got this mic; won't be selling it, and the results are very exciting.

Additional note: I had the MKII (a week prior to this, I had purchased the MKIII from a different business, but they shipped the wrong one) for a couple of days, and while it sounded great and my Focusrite had enough power, there's just something more warm and less harsh in the MKIII than the MKII when I compare the vocal tracks, so I'm happy I didn't keep the II and went the extra hassle and wait to properly receive the MKIII.

I am just reviewing the ribbon mic now.
So far the mic is going to be my go too
Microphone.

In our 3 studios this has become our favorite vocal mic..yes vocal!
It produces such a balanced tone we were surprised
For cab mic up it's a dream…but we have everybody using it for smooth vocal clarity
A winner!

I wanted to have two microphones to stereo record my mandolin, and acoustic guitar (neither have pickups). I wanted a full bodied warm acoustic sound. I use an Audio Technica AT-2030 along with this Mic and the two together sound just as I had hoped.

I'm a serious hobbyist class song writer who used to play at The Hotel Utah in SF in the 80's. Now I blog where I post on average 3 new song ideas a week at switchingyard.art

Seems to be a really good mic so far. (for the money) I shouldn't make that comment because now you think its not so great compared to a higher priced ribbon mic. For the price I bought 2. They sound wonderful on everything I tried on it. Some areas a little boost of some high end EQ made it sound even better. (going thru a Black Lion Audio Rev2x2)
The fact that it is active gives me plenty of gain.
(I own an Ocktavamod Michael Joly MXL-R144 and I thought that was nice but this is better. With the MXL I needed to add a cloud-lifter or tritan fethed preamp to get more signal out of it.)
But not only is it better, it looks cool. I ended up going onto amazon and buying the Tetra-Teknica extra-extra large pop filter for it just for safety sake.

3 cons (not sound quality related). #1 The manual mentions a case but what they send you is a nylon bag that makes removing a pain. It's almost too small to manage around the mic stand thumb screws I feel like I'm trying to be extra careful but have to wiggle a little too much for may taste. ( I ended up buying a pelican case for both of mine instead.) #2 Which brings me to the thumb screws. When loosened the nut and the all-thread starts to loosen on the mic, I had to take it apart and add a lock washer instead of the flat washer. And tighten it more than the factory. #3 They send a 10' mic cable which is screwed to the side of the stand. I removed that and just use a velcro strap. Why send a mic cable. I would've loved to save even more money (and shipping weight) for GAP not to even bother with one. ya gotta figure, anyone in this business probably has XLR cables and wouldn't expect one anyways.

I WILL SAY that GAP did cut a few corners when it came to the physical construction rather than on the electronics of this mic. Case in point: when I had difficulty removing one end piece in order to remove the MK III from the rather 'cheap' holed that comes stock that screws onto the mic stand, I was unable to fit a wrench over the inside nut holding it in place. .

They did NOTHING to cut corners in terms of sound quality. The sonic product???? WOW. NICE!!!! The presence is so incredible. Parts used in the housing of the electronics not including the screen and mic itself. VERY NICE there BUT they cut corners however elsewhere imo, ... to enable them to sell this mic at this price, just not in the electronics resulting in the sound output using NO fx; no mic preamp, just the mic.

Whoa. Wow. THIS is a NICE sounding mic. I am liking it a LOT.

5 stars plus for sound quality. 3.75 stars for a few mechanical construction pieces of essential parts to hold it all together. Aesthetically?> SWEEEEET. THIS is a NICE mic. I am glad I bought this before they do something to raise the price of it. Personally, I'm very impressed. I have pro-grade, late 1980's million dollar plus recording studio exposure and this would have been or fit fittingly right in their mic locker among their best sounding and they had some top tier mics. I am a proud owner of this microphone; and there is no, "great value for the money" about it. It is a top tier sounding mic with high grade, well manufactured electronically, but so-so misc parts to keep costs down is my guess. Such sweet electronics.

I'm no pro. A tiny home studio. A 3 year old daughter that keeps me very busy so I haven't had lots of time to really test it completely and I've never tried a more expensive mic like a Royer. What I've found is I really like what I hear coming through my headphones while singing or picking my guitars. A 64 Gibson or my CA carbon baritone. Recoding myself singing with this mic and playing my guitars plugged in ( 3 pad K&K glued under the top) I get very, very little bleed through of the guitar into the GAP ribbon mic. Makes adding EQ, compression etc to each track so much easier. Still need to try it on Hammered Dulcimer, banjo and mandolin but I feel confident I will like it. At this price some one with limited funds like me can afford and enjoy. I can't ask for more.

This mic has become a mainstay in my studio. I use it on everything from acoustic guitar and electric guitar, to pop vocals. Due to the active nature of this mic you get a little more high end than you may be expecting from a ribbon microphone, but never harsh whatsoever. For a recent session on female country vox, I put this and a 47 style tube LDC against each other and the artist preferred this. Sounds great through a Rupert Neve 511 or a CAPI VP28. I would highly recommend this mic.

Great price for a nice mic. My favorite uses are for acoustic guitar and drum overhead/drum room.

I've used this so far on tenor sax, baritone sax, alto sax, guitar cabs, vocals, a room mic for drums, and more. Very versatile mic. It might be my new one of my go-to mics for saxophone.

This is my second R1 and I primarily use it to record my guitar amp. The sound is excellent and very full. It take some experimenting with proximity to get that "SWEET" sound. It also helps to have a quality preamp and channel strip. These are built like tanks and look beautiful. The value is second to none. I'm a happy Sweetwater customer!

Being a very amateur recording hobbyist, I hadn't ever used a Ribbon mic, let alone ribbons from the likes of AEA and Royer. Nevertheless, based on what I've read and heard online, the Mark 3 seems like a good introduction to the "Ribbon" sound. Being used to cheap and bright condensers (or perhaps more graciously cheap & cheerful as the British say), the R1 Active by comparison sounds quite dull on instruments like piano and acoustic guitar. But it does tame the high end of cheap and shrill violins and it also gives a kind of warm and smooth sound to vocals.
While attached to a mic stand, because of the heavy weight and human error, the mic fell and hit the ground. It has a nice dent on the top. However, I don't notice any change in sound. Still works fine!
Being a relatively cheap mic, some aspects of the body and metal have a slightly "budget" look to them, but it's been solid so far and has been a great introduction for me to the "ribbon" sound. Just be careful with stands because it is heavy and may tip over if you're not careful.

I have had home project recording studios for the last 30+ years.
This is my first ribbon mic. so I'm in a learning process.
Since receiving this mic. in 48 hrs after placing my order I recorded a Fender '59 Bassman LTD. with decent results but after speaking with my rep. Brandt Miller he explained different proximity affects and I continue to experiment with the sounds. I'm very confident that this will become one of my "go to" mic's for guitar cabinets.
Yesterday I recorded some Alto Sax tracks and I was blown away with the accuracy of this mic. It's definitely a keeper! Not only is this mic. solid and high quality, it is quite a value considering the cost.

The microphone itself is stunningly beautiful and built like a tank! You can see the care and withwhich this company takes In it's product. Old school sound and quality! I didn't want to have any expectations for fear of being let down and this Mic was way beyond impressive. I've already ordrred the next level mic with the tube unit! Love it!

Great mic for drums or vocals.

The R1 does the job as well as mics twice its price. Golden Age really got the the essence of a great ribbon exactly right. I could go on and on, most important thing is the R1 is just a beautiful mic with a 5 star rating at a really fair price. Wow factor is WOW! Another thing, when we we reached out to Golden Age to inquire about some specifics, the owner Bo himself answered. Plus a follow up email after we purchased the R1. One hella mic from a great company!

Very quiet mic, smooth ribbon sound. Stunning detail for the price. Uses 48v phantom power. No need for a booster preamp, signal is strong into my RME Babyface Pro, even running into an old Behringer 1002B mixer the signal was plenty. The mids and lows are deep,rich,smooth and silky. Captures the highs yet has that "ribbon sound" on the overall spectrum, nothing missing or added. Couldn't be happier with my purchase, a total steal of a deal from Golden Age. If you need a ribbon, consider the R1A- great deal from Sweetwater, check it out.

We have a pair of Royer R-10's for studio use and recently purchased a new Golden Age Project R1 to use in a live gig situation. We didn't want to use one of our studio Royer's, was hoping to find a choice ribbon at a lower price, and luckily, the Golden Age was recommended by a trusted musician friend. Man, what an awesome mic at this price-point..it's performance hits all the marks. It's BIG, it looks cool, plus you get that real ribbon sound at a ridiculous price. It was fun doing some A/B source recordings comparing the R1 to the R-10's. The R1 sure shined...Golden Age knows how to make good ribbons, the proof was in the recordings. If you need a budget ribbon, Golden Age delivers at a great price. Bottom line...we love this mic, it rocks for the money!

Absolutely the best mic I've ever owned. I've always loved the sound of ribbons, but just couldn't afford the price tag. Don't let the low price fool you into NOT buying this mic. I presently have the Michael Jolly Hulk 990, an AT4040, an AKG, and the Share sm7b...this mic blows them all away and is now the only one I use. It is SUPERB on vocals (if you have a sibilance issue, like me, you'll also love the MKIII...sibilance becomes non-existent). It may seem a little "dark" on voice work, but takes EQ very well. As with most ribbon mics, it must be handled with care. Keep it away from jolts and humidity, and use a good pop filter. I would also recommend buying a foam-lined aluminum case for storage (it comes with a padded bag, which does NOT offer any protection against humidity). This is easily the most natural-sounding mic I've every owned. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!