Royer Labs has been making quality ribbon mics for decades. They are no-compromise products that meet the demands of everyday use. The newer R-12 is a phantom-powered ribbon microphone that features the same 2.5 micron ribbon element as the R-121 [Tape Op #19]. It handles high SPL (160 dB at 1 kHz), making it perfect for horns, electric guitars, and kick drum. Features include an onboard -15 dB pad and a 100 Hz (6 dB per octave) high-pass filter. It has a figure-eight polar pattern and a claimed frequency response of 30 Hz to 15 kHz (+/-3 dB). The mic weighs around one pound and has a beautifully-machined body that feels solid in the hand. My pair came in a nice compact metal case with velvet mic sleeves and sturdy metal stand mounts.
The timing for reviewing the R-12 coincided with a few days of tracking guitars on a record I have been working on. While tracking at Johnny Sangster’s [Tape Op #164] Crackle & Pop! recording in Seattle, Washington, I placed one of the R-12s on a vintage Fender Twin Reverb and the other on a vintage Vox AC30. Both were routed through preamps on Johnny’s beautiful Auditronics console. The R-12 is marketed as a “tough ribbon” that can handle serious SPLs. I love the sound of both these amps when cranked up, so we went ahead and trusted that the mics could take the volume. Without the pad, it was a bit too much for them to handle, but – wow – once we switched the pad on, my jaw hit the floor. What a glorious sound! On everything from the cleaner tones of the Twin to the saturated sound of the AC30, the R-12 captured all the meat and body of the guitars with a fantastic halo of top-end shimmer without any harshness. I kept quietly thinking to myself, “This might be the best guitar sound I have ever captured.” As we all know, it is the combination of the instrument, amp, microphone, preamp, and hands of the player, not to mention all the intangibles – like the humidity that day and whatever sage was waved through the room – that contribute to the final sound. I will say that for three days, the combination of all of the above created magic. (Johnny, I didn’t burn any sage…)
We also tried the R-12 as a vocal mic, using both the front and back sides of the ribbon. The differences were minimal, with maybe a little less brightness on the back side. This seemed counter to my experience with the R-121 and R-122 [Tape Op #113], which are a little brighter on the back side; but this could also have to do with proximity to the R-12, which I am told can provide a little more backside brightness when closer to the mic. I thought it worked well for certain voices and certainly excelled for background vocal recording. The R-12 has more clarity in the top end than some other ribbon mics, but it also helped tame the unwanted nasal tones of one of the vocalists without seeming at all dull. Before I used it on guitars, I used it as a mono drum kit option, placed above the kick drum and facing down a bit toward the snare. It delivered a natural-sounding performance. Once compressed, it brought out a little more of the room – a nice complement to the other mics. It could have been the sole drum mic for certain production or mix choices, with plenty of low end from the kick drum and focus for the rest of the kit. A pair of R-12s also make for excellent drum overheads – an alternate to my go-to Coles 4038s. Hot tip: a good ribbon mic has a way of taming cymbals in a musical way, letting the kit “breathe” naturally with the room in a way that condenser mics sometimes cannot achieve. I like the un-hyped sound when a good drummer has quality, musical cymbals (and knows how to hit them); for those times when a drummer has harsh-sounding or cheap cymbals, a ribbon mic can be a problem-solver.
Royer Labs' R-12 and its sibling, the R-10 [Tape Op #124], are less expensive than the company’s flagship models and aimed at first-time ribbon mic buyers… but dare I say that I like the less expensive R-12 model more than my R-122 active ribbon? I just might for electric guitar applications. They are both excellent microphones and shine in a multitude of applications, but I was impressed by the R-12, and at under $1,000, it makes it an attractive option. I highly recommend the Royer R-12 and can’t imagine not having these mics in the locker as an option for recording guitars and drums from this point forward. They certainly live up to the “tough ribbon” marketing tagline.