Michael Joly's article Chinese Ribbon Mics

I have some of Michael's mod'ed mics and they're pretty good but I've not used them in years. He was the one who pointed out that cheap mics were getting better when he got out of the business in 2018.

As to inexpensive Chinese ribbons, I sell the NADY RSM-5 and it's ok. I like my 60 year old Shure 315 better — my go-to on upright bass. For best results with a passive ribbon, a variable impedance mic pre or a Cloudlifter CL-Z is an absolute must. You can make your own with a FETHead and a homemade variable resistor box but being able to change the frequency response and transient sensitivity with a twist of a dial makes all the difference.


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