Nady RSM-5 Ribbon Studio Microphone 

Comments about Nady RSM-5 Ribbon Studio Microphone:

great mics fror recording guitar, drums, vox. unfortunately will not be "in stock" again until April 2013. What the heck is up with that?

Comments about Nady RSM-5 Ribbon Studio Microphone:

I was in an audio production class and heard about ribbon mics, but the one's my prof recommend were a few grand. So I looked for some cheaper ones. This is it. I use this and a 57 to mic my blues deluxe reissue and the recordings sound exactly like my amp. SO BUY THIS, it's cheap as balls!

Comments about Nady RSM-5 Ribbon Studio Microphone:

Okay, this is my second Nady ribbon mic. Before this I bought the rsm-7, which has a much more bass heavy timber. I much prefer this microphone to any other in my collection for micing guitar cabinets or organ, basically if I'm recording from a speaker (still haven't tried this on bass guitar though) I will use this mic. the only mic I have that I can close mic a guitar cab, and have the sound in the headphones sound just like it does in front of the amp with the headphones off.

Comments about Nady RSM-5 Ribbon Studio Microphone:

Before I bought this, I was concerned about the roll-off of the the high frequencies that everyone talks about with ribbon mics. This is not a concern--it sounds great. Everyone who hears it agrees.I replaced the transformer with a Cinemag tranny and that improved the frequency range a bit, but it was not a night and day sort of change. More of a nuanced change to the sound and it was an improvement. So it added another $40.00 to the price of the mic--I am still WAY ahead on the price of this versus pretty much any other ribbon mic.I plan to get another one so I can use them on stereo sources, like drum overheads. Use a pop filter with this to protect the ribbon.Check your mic right away when you get it to make certain the ribbon is tensioned properly: plug in the mic (DO NOT APPLY PHANTOM POWER!! Phantom power might fry the ribbon) and gently rock the mic back and forth... if you hear a clunking/ clanging sound, the ribbon is not tensioned properly and you may want to send it back for a replacement, unless you are really brave and want to tighten it yourself. If you choose to do work on it yourself, scour the web for info first, there is a lot of useful stuff online. The ribbons are VERY fragile and tear easily. BTW--if there is no clunking/ clanging sound when you rock the mic back and forth, you are golden!A lot of people complain that you need tons of gain with these. Okay, so they are not as loud a source as my condensers, but this mic seems pretty consistent with my SM57s, so don't let that 'needs lots of gain' thing hold you back.For the low cost of this mic versus the new mic flavor it provides, it is a no-brainer. I think everyone should pick up one or two of these unless they already own a ribbon mic they love. It really is a worth while purchase.

Comments about Nady RSM-5 Ribbon Studio Microphone:

I bought two of these. The mic clips are worthless, but the mic has good quality construction. I use my SM57 clips and a Brumlein bar. I've been using two large condenser mic's, two SM 57's, and one other dynamic mike. This mic has the detail of the condensers, and the nice fat sound of the dynamic mic's - the best of both worlds. It makes my other mic's sound pretty lame once the highs are added via EQ. I took the inner screens out to see how it would sound without them. It had a lot more highs, but I didn't think it sounded as good without the screens - not as sweet on the highs when compared to those added by EQ with the screens left in. It seemed to resonate a lot with some of my guitar strings without the screens. I have a solid wood guitar and it resonates a lot. I put the screens back in and I think it sounds better. It sounds very good with singing. For acoustic guitar, it also sounds much better than my other mic's, but first I had to turn up the highs and drop the lows on my UB802 mixer. I plan to use these mic's as my first choice for vocals and acoustic guitar. If you buy these you should make sure you have something to EQ them with, and a preamp with at least 55 or 60 dB of gain. You could probably get by with 50 dB.I tried adding highs using software and it didn't seem to work nearly as well as adding highs with the analogue UB802. Overall, I feel very happy with the mic's. I thank Nady for providing Ribbon mic's at a price I can afford.

Comments about Nady RSM-5 Ribbon Studio Microphone:

This mic is already priced right, but I added the 20% off mailer to it and got it for a steal. I'm a longtime musician and tech and I do a lot of recording. I build my own tube mic pre's and this mic works wonderfully with them. As a VERY EXPERIENCED music electronics person, I can say I was surprised at how well theses mics are made. Nice and heavy construction, and surprisingly meticulous workmanship. I couldn't find anything wrong with this mic. It didn't really fit into the included zipper pouch, though. As money allows, I'm going to add at least one more of these mics to my already extensive collection. Well done!

Comments about Nady RSM-5 Ribbon Studio Microphone:

These mics are hot once you take the extra wind screen out. This of course voids all warranties. They become more sensitive...and that's it... "more sensitive". They pick up every nuance from floor rumbling lows to warm sparkling highs. Great buy for the money. I use it on everything.

Comments about Nady RSM-5 Ribbon Studio Microphone:

I just bought one of these and plugged into my powered hot spot monitor. It does give a smooth sound and it's the first time I've ever liked the sound of my voice dry. As per the previous review I tried the back side and it sound great too. The front is more midrange and the back bassier and with more highs. Got my wife to sing in one side and I sang in the other and it works great for that as well if your into harmonies and duets.

Comments about Nady RSM-5 Ribbon Studio Microphone:

I bought this mic because it was cheap (that's just how I do things). It works fine but is very delicate, as are all ribbon mics. The best spot for drums is in between the snare and bass drum. That allows it to pick up all cymbols and everything. Spread the word.

Comments about Nady RSM-5 Ribbon Studio Microphone:

If you get a good one, the Nady RSM-5 can be a decent performer with a Royer-like quality.Several RSM-5 mics have reached me with improperly tensioned ribbons - 80% of the ribbon length sagging out of the magnetic gap. Ribbon sag causes low output, a "clanging" noise when the mic is moved or used at higher SPLs and high distortion. When your mic arrives, listen in headphones then slowly rock the mic back and forth to bring each face of the mic parallel to the floor. If you hear a sudden "clang" or "clunk" the ribbon is too slack.By the way, the ribbon motor used in this mic mimics the Royer technique of offset ribbon placement. To avoid patent issues, the RSM-5 has the ribbon located toward the back of the gap when it is addressed from the front. Use the back side of the RSM-5 and you'll get the same "offset ribbon" benefit offered by the front side of a Royer ribbon. Ribbon mics are simple, but a big part of their sound is the output transformer. The RSM-5 can be upgraded with a simple microphone modification - the installation of a Lundahl ribbon microphone transformer.The Nady RSM-5 can be OK stock - if the ribbon is properly tensioned. It can be great with some microphone modifications.