One of my favorite things about doing this work are the relationships we establish. I first met Charlene Gibbs, Sammy Rothman, and Nathan Bowers in 2014, while taking a tour of AEA microphones. I knew Wes Dooley [Tape Op #97] already, and had a great relationship with AEA, but after meeting these "kids" and seeing their work, I saw a sea change coming for the brand and was super impressed with the results – a slew of modern mics that heralded a new era for the brand and for ribbon microphones in general. These mics became daily tools for me, changing how I (and many others) think about and use ribbons. The four of us kept in touch over the years as they left AEA and moved on.
As fucked up as the recording side of the music business is, the retail side can be worse. After some bouncing around and maybe a year of silence, I was stoked to hear this group had started their own microphone company, Ohma World. When Sammy called me to tell me all about it (with “Char” ad-libbing from across the room), his excitement and trepidation were palpable. As he described their company’s ethos, I had this same suspicion that I was witnessing innovation firsthand as I did back in 2014. From making capsules in-house (their actual house, at first) to hand painting every mic in custom colors, I couldn't wait to hear the fruits of all this labor.
Ohma World mics all feature the same 7.5-inch by 2-inch rounded rectangle-ish form factor, and come with either ribbon or condenser elements. The ribbon is figure 8 with a custom German output transformer. The condenser is cardioid and features a vintage NOS (new old stock) Cinemag transformer. A slew of swappable physical screens can be chosen or purchased separately (Motif, Stripes, Windows, Holes, Scales) and these actually change the sound of the mics, though I didn't dive into examining this aspect. Most of the testing below was using the Motif screens.
The first time I used the Ohma World mics, I had a session with local hardcore Detroit-based greats Gusher. As usual, we set up the night before. On the day of the session, the UPS guy met me as I left the house and handed me the two pairs of mics from Sammy. Being a wabi-sabi type of engineer, I subbed the Ohma condensers for our usual AKG C12s for overheads on the kit. Patrick Lukowicz is a straight-up pounder but can be very nimble. Capturing the intricacy in this type of drumming can be tough, but after some quick gain adjustment I was very pleased and amazed at how similar the Ohma condensers sounded to the AKGs. These mics are very different yet share lineage; the tube-powered C12 uses a brass backplate in the CK12 capsule, as does the Ohma, but this condenser is a FET. It features a single backplate design like a K47, but is edge-terminated like the CK12 capsule. They also use aluminum membranes, like some Neumanns. Despite the identical placement, the resulting capture was broader and more detailed than usual. The Ohma condensers are definitely faster and have more top, but I was most impressed with the body and huge low end detail in the toms. I usually end up high-passing the overheads severely on denser heavy material, so it was super refreshing to leave this lower information in at mix.
After the Gusher session, I had to head out on tour with BADBADNOTGOOD for a few weeks, and I took the Ohma Worlds with me. Alexander Sowinski is the kind of drummer who is truly a force of nature. His playing is top-shelf technically and dynamically intense, to say the least. Simultaneously repping Bill Ward of Black Sabbath and jazz great Billy Cobham is no small task, but this guy is just a beast. Mic'ing him can be challenging because the gestalt of the kit is what is required for capture. This means lots of body from the overheads. I had been mic’ing drums with ribbons using a modified Glyn Johns [Tape Op #109] vibe since I took the AEA N8 ribbons [#109] out with The War On Drugs in 2015 and with every band since. After one too many stagehands smashed them at changeover, I went from beyerdynamic M 130s [#60] to sE Electronics VR2s and several in between. I liked these all for different reasons, but it was magical when I ripped these Ohma ribbons for the first time. I played back the last leg's show file from the Avid VENUE | S6L and bypassed the EQ save for a high-pass at 100 Hz. Considering the lack of proximity, I got an extremely clear picture of the kit with plenty of heft. I was able to use more of these mics in the mix, and the image seemed more scalable. It's rare to let overheads occupy a large percentage of your drum sound through a huge festival PA. Often, if the mains are far apart, I'll pan these mics closer at, say, nine and three o'clock. With other mics, this can present as phasey or washy sounding, but the Ohma ribbons had no issues. Moreover, they captured Alex's sublime brushwork as well as the significant bombast of heavier jams expertly. We did a few severely restrained gigs on this run, and I mic’d up a kick, snare, overhead configuration on sticks in idiosyncratic spaces with speakers, and the Ohmas crushed with no feedback issues.
Throwaway is a free punk rock trio from Detroit. They make music that is at once complex and totally familiar. The jams are mathy AF, but maintain hooks and grooves that make the mayhem infectious, like if Melt-Banana, Breadwinner, and Melvins [Tape Op #142] were writing jams for Karen O. Kirsten Carey is the guitarist and main brain behind this trio. Her playing goes from Albert Ayler-esque squawks and skronks to huge chords with blooming low end and everything in between. We used a Hiwatt DR504 and a CTS-loaded Lab Series guitar cabinet for the rig, mic'd with a pair of Ohma World ribbons on adjacent 12-inch speakers. Panned at nine and three o'clock at mix, the sound was both mammoth and articulate, allowing Kirsten to traverse the above terrain unbridled. I also used the Ohma condensers to capture Jonathan Barahal Taylor's kit for the session. Swinging from 11/8 time slightly to crushing blast beats into heavily improvised sections is no small task on a session. It's heroic, but hhe makes it look easy and does it all with class. I was, yet again, able to use a heaping portion of these Ohma mics at mix, capturing the performance adeptly. We also tracked horns on the Throwaway record with the Ohma World ribbons, and the resulting track sat perfectly. It added harmonics when pushed on a trombone, and tracked a little too close, which helped it remain audible yet not overwhelming when triple-stacked in a dense rock mix.
BADBADNOTGOOD did some shows in Japan when main man, Chester Hansen, was out sick. His sub was none other than Felix Pastorius (Jaco’s son)! Both Chester and Felix have absurdly strong right hands, but Felix likes his amp louder. So, when I was short a mic I was hesitant to use the Ohma condenser on his 8 x 10 cabinet. Not only did the mic hold up, but it sounded fantastic and really translated his masterful upper register playing. I've been covering some strange territory here, but this condenser is also a stunning vocal mic. It’s a chameleon between the worlds of the K47 and CK12 capsules, shapeshifting as needed per task, but the FET circuit adds something magical, especially at rock volumes. These mics have been abused on their journey, living in a Pelican case for half their lives, but still sound amazing! I don't know how they did all this at $699. What I do know is that I kept both pairs, and in two years I've yet to find any ground that these two mics can't cover.