Hey guys and gals

I am proud to have been asked quite a few years ago now, by John
Jennings and Dave Royer to explore the many uses of these amazing
microphones.
I know that by now many of you and my peers have used these mics in
many different ways.
I will share with you some of my experiance for what is worth since
the same questions tend to be asked.

First of all I HAVE NEVER EVER BLOWN A RIBBON.

I have done a lot of crazy micing techniques on some extreme sources
but I think due to correct usage, your chances of actually blowing the
ribbon are small.
Correct use is the key word.
First of all, besides the 122 which is 48volt phantom powered, it is
SMART
to never have phantom power going to a ribbon microphone of any kind.
Granted,the 121 is a sturdy mic and under correct grounding and wiring
the chances are slim you will be sending the 48volts to the ribbon but
in event that you do and blow the ribbon, why take the chance?
It is good practice to either make sure phantom is off or the phantom
is dead patched from the mic line. Phantom can also fatigue a ribbon
in the long term

Secondly, never blow into a ribbon mic.....this is a big no no .....
you know when the assistant is testing the mics and goes around
blowing into them and saying test ....... NOT A GOOD IDEA .....

Now as far as usage ...these mics are gods mics for electric guitars
I have been using them for years now right up against the grill cloth
of 4x12 cabinets on hi gain heavy sounds and they rule
the worst I ever did was over time and I mean over time I kinda
stretched the ribbons out a bit .... but this was normal condsidering
the amount of usage.

I put them on Leslie Cabinets on Organs making sure that they are not
getting direct wind from the leslie .....
horns..... great on trumpet,sax,bari .... there is no need to shove
the mic in the bell since that is such a harsh and brash sound ...put
the mic 6 to 8 inches away for starters ......

on drums I do not reccommend for snare but I am sure someone likes it
but for room or overheads these mics are great ...and You CANNOT hurt
them as an overhead or room ....they are just not close enough to be
able to see enough air to even get close to being damaged .....

I do think that if you shoved a 121 0r 122 inside as a kik mic without
some kind of pop screen in front , this would start to be dangerous
and I would not do this...why bother? there are so many mics that can
take this kind of abuse ....
but as a mono room a foot or more in front of the kit?...THEY ROCK ...
different from a Coles ......

As an Upright Bass they are as good as any mic I have ever used
as well as an electric bass cab mic

Harp ....extremely even on an instrument that tends to be very
uneven..

One thing I do not use them for personally is as a vocal mic but hey
whatever floats your boat ...

I could continue but for now I will address one more question and
please go visit Royer Labs.com for many photos of my sessions as well
as other
producers

as far as the back side micing .....you need to be careful since when
a ribbon mic see's air pressure the ribbon actually moves ...since
there is less distance for the ribbon to travel on the back side if
the mic is used in front of a hi spl sound source with back side
micing .....then you might at this instance cause damage and this is
where the warning comes from ..
be careful of this technique ....

So by for now and I hope this has been helpful to someone ....

Merry Christmas and have a good holiday......
peace
Ross Hogarth