Hey Adrian, just want to say I've watched this video at least 10 times. I'm on the market for a ribbon mic to record myself on trombone, and this is one of the most helpful videos I've found. The R84 sounds absolutely amazing. Thanks for putting this together!
That's lovely to hear Ben. I'm glad it helps out, it certainly solidified some opinions for us. Sorry you had to see my ugly mug 10 times to hear Ben play :) The Royer R122 is generally considered the standard, but we really like the N8 and R84. They each had their own flavour. I loved the N8 as a commercial sound, it almost sounded mastered from the moment we tracked it, the 84 as a vintage sound, and the R122 as a good one that keeps producers happy as it's very EQ friendly. I sold the r10; it was lifeless and multiple producers and engineers didn't like it in mixes.
The R122 sounds seriously great to me, such a warm full sound. R84 is excellent as well. It'll take a while before I get into a ribbon mic, I'm currently on an Aston Stealth running through an SSL 2+
Thanks Bradley, interesting thoughts. I love the R84, it has a real feel of the Capitol Studios recordings of the 50's and 60's more than the others. I loved the R122 as a clean studio sound, and i use it consistently, and the N8 for me had the most mastered feeling of the lot, and for me was the pick of this lot in this very esoteric test. I've done some EQ matching and will make a video and release the presets for anyone that wants to be able to resemble these sounds with an sm57 etc.
The R122 seemed to be the brightest, almost edgy on the loudest, highest parts...while the R84 had that classy, well-rounded sound that we have come to love on the most timeless recordings. The R10 and N8 sounded a bit set back by comparison...could have just been input gain though. Thanks for the comparison! Yours was one of the RUclips comparisons that helped me decide on the R84. So impressed, more recently, I added the N22 to my line-up. Thanks for the comparison!
Hey Danny, Glad you you enjoyed it and got some use out of the comparison. There were certainly a lot of interesting things that showed up in putting these side by side. The R84 has that very ‘vintage’ pleasing sound and great as an all round solo and room mic, I hope you’re enjoying yours. They are really such a great sound l. The N8 and N22 (not shown) were such beautiful mics sounding mastered with a beautiful sheen after each take and I almost ran out and bought an N8 (the one here is owned by our trom player) because it showed up that well. RUclips compression really doesn’t do it justice, but the comparison was striking before uploading. I own the Royers and the R84, and the Royer 122s are my go to as a lot of producers find them easy to EQ and they are very adaptable. You can EQ the top end or run it through a ribbon pre and it really shines. The R10 was really disappointing in my humble opinion, it sounded flat and boring, and nothing like the liveliness of the others but some are liking it. That’s the joy of it, we all find something different. Hope you’re enjoying the adventure, and have fun with the AEAs, a great investment.
Great chops . When recording an overdub one man horn section you have to consider the space of the room, like ask yourself how would four horn players sound in a small space . When doing this I like to back out the room for more space for sound traveling and resonance. Gotta love Basie
Wow man thank you that's honestly one or maybe the best review I have seen or listened. We can really hear the difference on the same thing played. AEA R84 is way better for me since I'm looking for a dark sound. Now you should do the test between the R84 Passive and the Active and I would be definitely grateful ahah
I'm now looking around the house, deciding which trumpet to sell for a 122. The R84 was good, but It felt like there wasn't enough substance holding up the crispy outside. Like the inside of a potato not being cooked all the way? Not sure how else to describe it. The other two sounded one-dimensional to me.
Thanks Adrian, really great video. and really great mics every one of them. I first listened to this on my mac mini speakers[ ha ha ha], then I had to turn on my Yamaha monitors to really give this a proper ear,. I personally will not be recording any brass so as awesome as the R84 is for that, it wouldn't be in my small arsenal. As you can see the different ears and preferences in the comments they each have something that everyone finds appealing. I play guitar in a band with a 42 year veteran engineer (Joe Ferla). For my own curiosity, I'll have to ask his what he might have to say of these
The AEA R 84 For me ! Royer R122 too bright for a Ribbon. I like the vintage sound of a Ribbon thaht's why we love them.. What do you think about the Cathedral Pipes Seville ? Thank's for the nice vidéo and arrangement. PS: would love to hear some saxes with the test... ;-)
Royer 122 captures the full tone detail and clarity, AEA is warm and has that true vintage vibe (clifford brown with strings), R10 sounds thin in this comparison!
Nice thanks! My thoughts on full section samples. The R122 mix was full and all parts present high to low. The AEA N8 was clear on the high end but missing lows --- sounded like it was playing on a gramophone. The R10 was full and nice in the low-mid range but lacked some of the sizzle of the trumpet. The AEA R84 mix nice low to high and seemed easiest to hear all the individual parts. Overall I found the R122 my favorite. I liked the R122's full frequency range and the way all the parts blended together.
That isn't really the way to use an N8 though, right? It's meant to be used at a distance. It would be really interesting to hear the AEA N22 in this lineup. Thanks for making the vid! I think the R-10 sounds stupid classy. My favorite!
Jon Fost Bai hey Jon. If you have a look at the near field use of the N22 they mean like right up against a guitar cab. In this test there’s a good 2 feet of distance. Certainly the trombone benefits from the bass response of the N8, whereas the N22 seems designed for a lot closer mic position than even this setup. But yeah, would be great to hear it!
For me about 2 feet sounds great on the N22 it's further out that it starts to sound not quite right. The N22 also does this awesome thing with the details of what you hear that works perfectly on close mic applications. The N8 sounds like it needs to be 4 feet out before it sounds right and even then I think it sounds best just capturing the room when blumleined. I don't have much experience with the N8 though. Does it not sound like it mutes some of the sound a bit?
GReat video!! Thanks!! The Trombone benefit from the rich low mids of the R-10. But the trumpet was missing a bit of shine with them. I think the R84 was better for the trumpet
The r84 seemed to have a flattened or even dipped midrange response which made it sound the best in the mix. However, I think the R10 was actually more true to the instruments individually....very present and clean.
Really depends on the application I just picked up the R10 for Electric guitar bass and acoustic…. Has a very high SPL I love the high end clarity you definitely noticed it on the trumpet… But if I was recording brass or saxophone I’d go with the R 121 ….. Great video😬
R84 had the most "Vintage" sound and on it's own I probably liked it most, by the N8 sounded like it was already mixed and ready for a track. No low mid build up like the R84 (which sounds cool on it's own, but not in a full mix). btw, I think the volume of the 84 was louder than the N8...
Hey Adrian could you send me the uncompressed files? I couldn´t find them on your website. I'm looking for a ribbon mic, mainly to record brass, percussion and strings. I've heard uncompressed files from other YT videos and the difference is huge. Hearing it back from youtube on my monitors the royer 121 sounded more balanced that the AEA ones. They sounded a bit warmer but when the trumpet hits the higher notes I can hear the resonance in 8k more pronounced on the AEA mics, I wonder if that's still the case on the uncompressed files.
Very nice demonstration and I listened very carefully the Trombone . According to my personal hearing abilities and devices i use to hear as * Neumann kh120 monitors to me, *The Royer R10* the sound is much more fully with enharmonic range. Both low frequencies and high are balanced and the articulation look much more sensitive . The Sound of trombone is shiny and complex .
R10 sounds more “vintage” to me but I would not choose it otherwise. The 122 probably sounded the flattest for versatile use but the R84 had the best ensemble brass sound
I own the R10, but man do those AEA mics sound like money. So warm and smooth. R10 wins hands down for best budget ribbon though! I'll sacrifice the warmth for the price. I can try and EQ and bring down the highs a bit on the R10.
Prefer the passive ribbons overall, the AEA 84 delivers the most consistent musical performance, and has a romantic traditional sound quality and the touch of air it captures is right on. The others seem to shine on some things and not on others.
Could you us an idea of what audio interface you are recording with and any other details? I have a royer r10 and for the life of me cannot get my sound near to what you have
All equipment used is in the video description. I use a little Fabfilter Reverb, but the rest is very neutral, with no outboard gear. I sold the R10 because was very much a bland sound. From a brass players perspective it was very unflattering, and almost detrimentla. Lots of comments here say how much the R10 was a winner; I haven't had a brass player yet agree with that yet.
@@AdrianVeale interesting and also disappointed Bc I have big recording coming up and was planning on using the R10 for the brass ensemble. If not the r10, what would you recommend. I do have 2 of them so I’m looking at 2 mics for about $1k
@@andrewnegru No need to be disappointed. The good things about Royers are that they take EQ well; Don't forget that my comparisons are much more expensive mics that I already own. You just have to add some tasteful EQ to make it sound more like the expensive ones. Pop me an email by going to my website at adrianveale com (add a dot and remove the space) and contact me there. I have an EQ profile for the fabfilter Q2 that'll make it sound awesome.
Thought both AEAs sounded better than both Royers. I thought the N8 sounded the smoothest and most natural. The R84 was also smooth but with a little more old school mid-range.
for me it’s the r84 ALL the way. to me the AEA’s sounded tighter and had more vibrancy to the sound than the Royer’s. and i just prefer the r84 because it sounds a little more dense in the low end
Hi Spencer, I use an Apogee Element 88, so I use the direct preamps in that, and it’s really not driven at all. There is no outboard gear, just a touch of reverb through the Fabfilter. This is very neutral though, as the room is too dry to really give a good impression of these mics.
@@AdrianVeale Because of their simple construction, ribbon microphones should sound very similar. They do not have resonant chambers, etc. Some people edit audio and then put it as proof that some microphone is better than the others. I believe you did not do it. ruclips.net/video/SdSSx9mwJ_E/видео.html
The mics sounded great, but your camera angles and constant switching were EXTREMELY distracting (yes, your eyes do distract your ears, while listening, which is why blind people can hear better). This video really had potential, though. Just tried to get too fancy.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
To bounce back and forth instantly:
1:54 Royer 122
2:24 Aea N8
2:53 Royer R10
3:21 AEA r84
Hey Adrian, just want to say I've watched this video at least 10 times. I'm on the market for a ribbon mic to record myself on trombone, and this is one of the most helpful videos I've found. The R84 sounds absolutely amazing. Thanks for putting this together!
That's lovely to hear Ben. I'm glad it helps out, it certainly solidified some opinions for us. Sorry you had to see my ugly mug 10 times to hear Ben play :)
The Royer R122 is generally considered the standard, but we really like the N8 and R84. They each had their own flavour. I loved the N8 as a commercial sound, it almost sounded mastered from the moment we tracked it, the 84 as a vintage sound, and the R122 as a good one that keeps producers happy as it's very EQ friendly. I sold the r10; it was lifeless and multiple producers and engineers didn't like it in mixes.
Bought the R84 because of this video. Its worth it. Thank you!
That feeling of air around the sound on R84...!
R84 shines they all sound fantastic but the r84 has a smooth detailed sound oozing class Great shootout thanks for posting
I agree.
The R122 sounds seriously great to me, such a warm full sound. R84 is excellent as well. It'll take a while before I get into a ribbon mic, I'm currently on an Aston Stealth running through an SSL 2+
Amazing how different these microphones sound on the section!
The most revealing ribbon mic shootout video I've seen... And I'm glad I found it, I almost fall for the R10 for the price.
I think the R84 takes it for me. The low-mids are pretty fantastic and it has vibe for days.
Thanks Bradley, interesting thoughts. I love the R84, it has a real feel of the Capitol Studios recordings of the 50's and 60's more than the others. I loved the R122 as a clean studio sound, and i use it consistently, and the N8 for me had the most mastered feeling of the lot, and for me was the pick of this lot in this very esoteric test. I've done some EQ matching and will make a video and release the presets for anyone that wants to be able to resemble these sounds with an sm57 etc.
The R84 sounds so fantastic in each range. The Section Part sounds just allready mixed. Love it.
The R122 seemed to be the brightest, almost edgy on the loudest, highest parts...while the R84 had that classy, well-rounded sound that we have come to love on the most timeless recordings. The R10 and N8 sounded a bit set back by comparison...could have just been input gain though. Thanks for the comparison! Yours was one of the RUclips comparisons that helped me decide on the R84. So impressed, more recently, I added the N22 to my line-up. Thanks for the comparison!
Hey Danny,
Glad you you enjoyed it and got some use out of the comparison. There were certainly a lot of interesting things that showed up in putting these side by side. The R84 has that very ‘vintage’ pleasing sound and great as an all round solo and room mic, I hope you’re enjoying yours. They are really such a great sound l. The N8 and N22 (not shown) were such beautiful mics sounding mastered with a beautiful sheen after each take and I almost ran out and bought an N8 (the one here is owned by our trom player) because it showed up that well. RUclips compression really doesn’t do it justice, but the comparison was striking before uploading.
I own the Royers and the R84, and the Royer 122s are my go to as a lot of producers find them easy to EQ and they are very adaptable. You can EQ the top end or run it through a ribbon pre and it really shines. The R10 was really disappointing in my humble opinion, it sounded flat and boring, and nothing like the liveliness of the others but some are liking it. That’s the joy of it, we all find something different.
Hope you’re enjoying the adventure, and have fun with the AEAs, a great investment.
Great video! The N8 sounds very crisp and clean with the section. Thanks for doing this.
Can't wait to see the videos you guys make.
I've been looking for a video like this my whole life! Thank you.
Fantastic video mate!
This is great - especially the section videos - I was leaning to the R122, but the N8 in the section is exactly what I want to hear (or the R84..)
Great chops . When recording an overdub one man horn section you have to consider the space of the room, like ask yourself how would four horn players sound in a small space . When doing this I like to back out the room for more space for sound traveling and resonance. Gotta love Basie
I thought the best sounding mics are the Royer R-122 and the AEA R-84. They both also very close in sound. Thank you
Wow man thank you that's honestly one or maybe the best review I have seen or listened. We can really hear the difference on the same thing played. AEA R84 is way better for me since I'm looking for a dark sound. Now you should do the test between the R84 Passive and the Active and I would be definitely grateful ahah
Royer R122 all the way! At least in this vid.
All great mics! Thanks
R84 for me... I'd like to hear is heads up against a Coles 4038. More please
theR10 and the R84 are the most pleasing to the ear for sure....very sliky and controlled
I'm now looking around the house, deciding which trumpet to sell for a 122. The R84 was good, but It felt like there wasn't enough substance holding up the crispy outside. Like the inside of a potato not being cooked all the way? Not sure how else to describe it. The other two sounded one-dimensional to me.
N8 is absolutely wonderful
Didn't really hear much of a difference till the ensemble recordings at the end. Thought the AEA R84 sounded the best.
Thanks Adrian, really great video. and really great mics every one of them. I first listened to this on my mac mini speakers[ ha ha ha], then I had to turn on my Yamaha monitors to really give this a proper ear,. I personally will not be recording any brass so as awesome as the R84 is for that, it wouldn't be in my small arsenal. As you can see the different ears and preferences in the comments they each have something that everyone finds appealing. I play guitar in a band with a 42 year veteran engineer (Joe Ferla). For my own curiosity, I'll have to ask his what he might have to say of these
Wow that was great thanks Adrian and Ben! I really dig the R84 the most. Which do you like to use @adrian?
The AEA R 84 For me ! Royer R122 too bright for a Ribbon. I like the vintage sound of a Ribbon thaht's why we love them.. What do you think about the Cathedral Pipes Seville ? Thank's for the nice vidéo and arrangement. PS: would love to hear some saxes with the test... ;-)
Royer 122 captures the full tone detail and clarity, AEA is warm and has that true vintage vibe (clifford brown with strings), R10 sounds thin in this comparison!
Nice thanks! My thoughts on full section samples. The R122 mix was full and all parts present high to low. The AEA N8 was clear on the high end but missing lows --- sounded like it was playing on a gramophone. The R10 was full and nice in the low-mid range but lacked some of the sizzle of the trumpet. The AEA R84 mix nice low to high and seemed easiest to hear all the individual parts. Overall I found the R122 my favorite. I liked the R122's full frequency range and the way all the parts blended together.
Is this stuff partially due to the mix?
That isn't really the way to use an N8 though, right? It's meant to be used at a distance. It would be really interesting to hear the AEA N22 in this lineup. Thanks for making the vid!
I think the R-10 sounds stupid classy. My favorite!
Jon Fost Bai hey Jon. If you have a look at the near field use of the N22 they mean like right up against a guitar cab. In this test there’s a good 2 feet of distance. Certainly the trombone benefits from the bass response of the N8, whereas the N22 seems designed for a lot closer mic position than even this setup. But yeah, would be great to hear it!
For me about 2 feet sounds great on the N22 it's further out that it starts to sound not quite right. The N22 also does this awesome thing with the details of what you hear that works perfectly on close mic applications. The N8 sounds like it needs to be 4 feet out before it sounds right and even then I think it sounds best just capturing the room when blumleined. I don't have much experience with the N8 though. Does it not sound like it mutes some of the sound a bit?
Jon Fost Bai well you’ve piqued my interest, I’d love to check out the N22. Maybe we can get hold of one and do a N8/N22 comparison. Stay tuned...
Oh sweet! Do you work with Adrian then? Are you in NYC by any chance?
Hi Jon, Ben is the trombone player in this video. He is the best! Not in NYC, we both live in Sydney, Australia.
GReat video!! Thanks!! The Trombone benefit from the rich low mids of the R-10. But the trumpet was missing a bit of shine with them. I think the R84 was better for the trumpet
I thought R10 won the battle ,with that warm round sound,but then 84 shows up on the stage,like a shiny star.
Great vid!!
1 - R84
2 - N8
3 - R122
4 - R10
Thanks!
I totally agree with you mate.
Almost agree... I liked the N8 slightly better than the R84 (I own an R84, R88, and R92). Otherwise, I agree with your order.
This is very helpful
The r84 seemed to have a flattened or even dipped midrange response which made it sound the best in the mix. However, I think the R10 was actually more true to the instruments individually....very present and clean.
Really depends on the application I just picked up the R10 for Electric guitar bass and acoustic…. Has a very high SPL I love the high end clarity you definitely noticed it on the trumpet… But if I was recording brass or saxophone I’d go with the R 121 ….. Great video😬
I record mariachi trumpets with condenser mics, without eq sound too harsh.
R84 had the most "Vintage" sound and on it's own I probably liked it most, by the N8 sounded like it was already mixed and ready for a track. No low mid build up like the R84 (which sounds cool on it's own, but not in a full mix). btw, I think the volume of the 84 was louder than the N8...
R84 is the best. R10 was really impressive. I didn’t expect that.
I defiantly prefer passive ribbon mics, the dark vintage tone , R10 and Aea 84 for me both nice and dark
Hey Adrian could you send me the uncompressed files? I couldn´t find them on your website. I'm looking for a ribbon mic, mainly to record brass, percussion and strings. I've heard uncompressed files from other YT videos and the difference is huge. Hearing it back from youtube on my monitors the royer 121 sounded more balanced that the AEA ones. They sounded a bit warmer but when the trumpet hits the higher notes I can hear the resonance in 8k more pronounced on the AEA mics, I wonder if that's still the case on the uncompressed files.
Some really interesting comments and flavours of preference. Do let us know your thoughts, it’s always interesting to hear.
Which one do you prefer the N8 or R84?
Both Royers sounds great on brass. Very vintage sound. Can I ask what music piece are you playing in section? :)
Basie Straight Ahead by Sammy Nestico
I gotta admit I like the r84 but the r10 is the only one that didn't make me sick to my stomach when I saw the price
R84 takes this pretty easily for me. I don't know which was most faithful, but the overall tonal characteristics of the R84 were most pleasing.
Very nice demonstration and I listened very carefully the Trombone . According to my personal hearing abilities and devices i use to hear as * Neumann kh120 monitors to me, *The Royer R10* the sound is much more fully with enharmonic range. Both low frequencies and high are balanced and the articulation look much more sensitive . The Sound of trombone is shiny and complex .
R10 sounds more “vintage” to me but I would not choose it otherwise. The 122 probably sounded the flattest for versatile use but the R84 had the best ensemble brass sound
I own the R10, but man do those AEA mics sound like money. So warm and smooth. R10 wins hands down for best budget ribbon though! I'll sacrifice the warmth for the price. I can try and EQ and bring down the highs a bit on the R10.
The R84 has a soft old fashioned vibe to it. I like it the r10 seem to be a bit more present to the n8, and I think the 122 just tells the truth.
what distance do I use between the trombone and the R84 ???
R10 by a long shot and it is costs half the price.
Prefer the passive ribbons overall, the AEA 84 delivers the most consistent musical performance, and has a romantic traditional sound quality and the touch of air it captures is right on.
The others seem to shine on some things and not on others.
Could you us an idea of what audio interface you are recording with and any other details? I have a royer r10 and for the life of me cannot get my sound near to what you have
All equipment used is in the video description. I use a little Fabfilter Reverb, but the rest is very neutral, with no outboard gear. I sold the R10 because was very much a bland sound. From a brass players perspective it was very unflattering, and almost detrimentla. Lots of comments here say how much the R10 was a winner; I haven't had a brass player yet agree with that yet.
@@AdrianVeale interesting and also disappointed Bc I have big recording coming up and was planning on using the R10 for the brass ensemble. If not the r10, what would you recommend. I do have 2 of them so I’m looking at 2 mics for about $1k
@@andrewnegru No need to be disappointed. The good things about Royers are that they take EQ well; Don't forget that my comparisons are much more expensive mics that I already own. You just have to add some tasteful EQ to make it sound more like the expensive ones. Pop me an email by going to my website at adrianveale com (add a dot and remove the space) and contact me there. I have an EQ profile for the fabfilter Q2 that'll make it sound awesome.
Thought both AEAs sounded better than both Royers. I thought the N8 sounded the smoothest and most natural. The R84 was also smooth but with a little more old school mid-range.
I'll take one of each :)
for me it’s the r84 ALL the way. to me the AEA’s sounded tighter and had more vibrancy to the sound than the Royer’s. and i just prefer the r84 because it sounds a little more dense in the low end
Could'nt tell diference with wind instruments. 🤔
What preamp are you using and what settings in regards to impedance?
Hi Spencer,
I use an Apogee Element 88, so I use the direct preamps in that, and it’s really not driven at all.
There is no outboard gear, just a touch of reverb through the Fabfilter. This is very neutral though, as the room is too dry to really give a good impression of these mics.
All sounded good but I think the n8 sounded the best on asambly. Ready to mix
The r10 sounded the most "vintage".
R122 feels tight
in the section: Royer R10 is THE sound. All others sound too strident, very hard to listen to. The R10 sounds like a nice recording.
Thanks for the comment.
I heard the same thing as you. The R10 sounded wonderful and almost classic. The rest were, as you put it, strident.
122 is the best for any acoustic instrument.
filthy playing jesus
What's the song you play called?
It’s a very slow version of Basie, Straight Ahead by Sammy Nestico.
An old Basie classic.
@@AdrianVeale Forgive me the question, and can you share them?
Definitely some microphones have excessive brightness 2:24
i like any of the rover's better. less distortion and way smother
outro music should not be 10db louder than program sound. be kind. balance your levels.
Be kind and create your own videos before you start ragging on anyone elses.
AEA R84 passive!
122 exaggerates the mids
84 most natural and even
peluso r14 smokes em all
Haha, the R-10 sounds so vintage by comparison...
Royer R10
R 10 for me
r84 for sure. dudes who likes royer just use their smartphone speakers and pushing the hype :)))
r10 by a long shot bit surprised
whic harmonizer are you using at 2.45 ?
Harmonizer? It’s overdubbed takes (multiple recordings); no harmonizer.
AEA mics just win over Royer. I have an R10 Royer that I use as a side address. But I’m looking to get me an AEA now.
Am I deaf?
If you can’t hear a difference? Yes.
@@AdrianVeale Because of their simple construction, ribbon microphones should sound very similar. They do not have resonant chambers, etc. Some people edit audio and then put it as proof that some microphone is better than the others. I believe you did not do it. ruclips.net/video/SdSSx9mwJ_E/видео.html
The mics sounded great, but your camera angles and constant switching were EXTREMELY distracting (yes, your eyes do distract your ears, while listening, which is why blind people can hear better).
This video really had potential, though. Just tried to get too fancy.
AEA hands down. And for the mortals, R10.
These mics are overpriced, no doubt.
1st: AEA R84
2nd: AEA N8
3rd: Royer 122
4th: Royer R10