AUGUST 1, 2025 INTERVIEWS
Crowley & Tripp: Behind the Gear with Soundwave Research Labs
Chris Regan of Soundwave Research Labs introduced me to Crowley and Tripp microphones (Soundwave Research Labs is the parent company of Crowley and Tripp). He explained that the company had been developing ribbon mics and testing them at area studios, gathering ideas and input from users. I asked Chris to bring two mics, the Studio Vocalist and the Proscenium, to Makeshift Studio for a trial, and invited a few friends to listen while singer/guitarist Milo Jones performed. As Milo played I found the two Crowley and Tripp microphones to be right up there with my favorite ribbon mics, AEA and Royer. I was immediately impressed by their quality. Both mics had a big, smooth sound, were super solid and looked about the size of a can of Red Bull. Recently I visited Soundwave Research Labs in Ashland, Massachusetts to interview Bob Crowley and Hugh Tripp, the company founders. Before our interview, Bob spent a good hour showing me the lab and his experiments, including a fly's wing fixed to a transducer, then an oscilloscope that visually displayed the wing's reactance to a current of air. Bob's love for ribbon mics started in the 1970s, when he and a group of friends from Newton, Massachusetts made live recordings of local acts like The Modern Lovers. Together, the friends had a collection of RCA mics that they came to know and trust. Over the years, in his research for developing ultrasound transducers for the medical industry, Bob visited and worked with some of the world's greatest microphone manufacturers. Now he has come full circle and is putting his experience and passion into creating the next wave of performance ribbon microphones, built in the Crowley and Tripp laboratory with the best materials possible. He and his partner Hugh are breaking new ground. The two are just beginning work on a ribbon microphone to be used specifically on kick drums and bass cabinets (long thought to be a no-no for the fragile ribbon element). In this microphone, the ribbon itself is composed of a group of carbon nanotubes that are arranged to form a super strong, tear-resistant material. Both Bob and Hugh have a huge appetite for learning, experimentation and sharing their knowledge. Both are expatriates of Boston Scientific, and Bob holds patents for over 100 inventions in music, ultrasound and life-saving devices. Crowley and Tripp's first mic, the Studio Vocalist, made its debut in 2004. The company now has five models. At the time of our meeting, Crowley and Tripp were just heading-out to show their newest mic, the Recordist, at AES in California. The Recordist will be sold in pairs for stereo and Blumlein recording.
