Nady RSM Mod
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The Nady RSM-3 is a ribbon microphone sort of, kind of, almost resembling, well, very much resembling the legendary Royer R-121 ribbon microphone. It’s now discontinued but, while it was on the market, Royer was compelled to send Nady a “cease & desist” letter due to its uncanny resemblance to the R-121 and its incorporation of the R-121′s asymmetrical polar pattern response.
I found a pair of RSM-3s on EBay for around $99 each and decided to have them modified by Michael Joly at Oktavamod (http://www.oktavamod.com). He re-tensioned the sagging ribbons and swapped out the stock transformers for Lundahl 2912s. The results were quite impressive.
I mentioned the fact that it’s sometimes possible to hear a sagging ribbon touching the mesh in a damaged microphone. I neglected to say that this is true only when wearing headphones. To test a microphone for such a symptom, plug the mic in and turn up the preamp gain. While monitoring through headphones, gently sway the mic back and forth on axis. Normally, you should hear nothing more than a low-level rumble from air movement. If you hear a metallic clanging, chances are you have a sagging ribbon. It is, of course, possible to remove the grill and protective material to examine the ribbon visually. Of course, one should be extra careful when undertaking such an inspection. Take extra care to avoid the slightest blast of air and keep the ribbon motor and magnets clear of any surfaces that might contain dust or iron particles.
BTW, although the RSM-3 is no longer available from Nady, they can certainly still be found on EBay. The original RSM-3 with the offset ribbon (yielding the asymmetrical frequency response) came in a wooden box. Nady later changed the design to be symmetrical and shipped in a plastic box. Currently, the RSM-5, which is the same as the RSM-3 but with a different body, is still available from Nady. Oktavamod offers a modification for the RSM-5 as well.
Keep in mind, Royer offers an extraordinary warranty on their products which come at a premium but, nevertheless, they are phenomenally great microphones. With Nady, well, let’s just say that one should check the product immediately to verify that it works. Yeah, it’s pretty much hit or miss some of the time. I believe Nady has a policy of replacing defective microphones within a limited time (possibly 90 days or so). In my opinion, however, if the intention is to obtain a Nady ribbon mic and have it modified by Michael Joly, well then, a sagging ribbon need not be of concern.
If you can afford an R-121, by all means, go for it. If you’re on a tight budget, a modified ribbon microphone might just be the ticket for you.
The RSM-3 product page from Nady:
http://www.nady.com/RSM3_mics_pg.html
The R-121 product page from Royer:
http://www.royerlabs.com/R-121.html
March 26th, 2009 at 7:23 am
As one of those ‘not a musician (professional or otherwise)’ I still find your more technical podcasts interesting. I have almost no idea what you’re talking about, but it’s slowly coming to me as I listen to it more and more. Hell, I’d never even heard of a ribbon mic before listening to your show and, though I’m still predominantly in the dark about the business, I feel like I’m getting a glimmer of what it’s like behind the scenes.
Podcast about what you love and keep it entertaining (as always).
William
March 26th, 2009 at 11:37 am
That’s a very useful and well done podcast. Thanks for your effort.
Petur
March 26th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Hey guys, thanks — I’m glad the geekier stuff seems to be interesting even for the non-audio profesionals. As always, I’ll try to mix it up (so to speak) as much as possible!
March 27th, 2009 at 11:10 am
your show is always too short, but thanks for it.
March 29th, 2009 at 2:49 am
As always… A great show!
Keep ‘em coming!
July 8th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Great shootout, here are my observations:
(1) On the clean guitar amp – I did not find a noticeable difference
(2) On the crunch guitar amp – There was a level of detail present in the Royer that was not there with the modded Nady. I imagine that if one were to mix many tracks recorded with the modded Nady, a noticeable amount of difference may be observed in the final mix – perhaps perceived as a lack of clarity when compared to the same final mix recorded with the Royer mics. But that’s conjecture on my part.
(3) On the drums, the 2nd recording (the Nady) had a noticeable phase issue to my ears – the difference was pretty drastic. I’m assuming they were used as stereo overheads? You mentioned different off-axis characteristics, so perhaps that is one flaw of the Nadys?
July 8th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Hey Mark,
Thanks for the comment. I went back to refresh my memory on the sample files. I agree with you on all points, essentially. I personally don’t reach fro the moded RSM-3 for drums. I always use a pair of Fat Heads. In the drum examples I wasn’t using a stereo pair, per se. The two mics were side by side, above the kit, pointing straight down. This would eliminate the possibility of phase issues since it’s only one mic at a time, a completely monaural sample. It does sound a bit like there’s a phase issue. It deosn’t exhibit itself on the cruchy guitar track, however.
All things considered, I find it a good deal if you can find a cheap RSM-3 to mod if only to have an alternate choice for guitar miking.
Cheers!