Ribbon Mic and ensuring no phantom power

[Paul Ashton]

I have just bought a Vintage Symphony Reslosound Ribbon Microphone and have not yet plugged it in. I know that I should definitely make sure that phantom power is off or it will blow or at best be damaged. As I normally use condenser mics I normally have phantom on and I worried about accidents happening.

If I use the Ribbon mic with a 1/4" jack connection into an UNbalanced jack socket, am I guaranteeing that I won't be getting phantom power, or even the shorts that cause bursts of power that can also damage to the mic.
This part is still theoretical as I do not yet have a suitable connector to fit at the microphone end. Looks like opposite way round to a normal XLR but I am still researching.

 

[zimv20]

imho, you shouldn't be plugging/unplugging any mic, including condensers, when phantom is on.

regarding ribbons, seeing phantom doesn't guarantee damage to the mic, it depends on how the power is applied. not that i would do it, but if you plugged in the ribbon, turned on phantom, then turned off phantom, the mic probably wouldn't be damaged. but it might be if you plug/unplug the mic when phantom is on.

 

[hakukani]

You definitely shouldn't just leave phantom power on all the time. When you plug and unplug with phantom on, you'll get a transient bump. The default should be 'off', and apply it as needed.

Zim, I always thought that the danger to ribbon mikes was that they would slowly burn the ribbon out, not that the transient would damage the ribbon.

 

[zimv20]

Zim, I always thought that the danger to ribbon mikes was that they would slowly burn the ribbon out

it's entirely possible; hadn't heard that one before.

i'm certainly not advocating applying phantom to ribbons in any situations (other than those few models that need it), i just wanted to dispel the notion that any application of phantom would shred the ribbon immediately.

 

[pkoch1]

Actually most ribbons made today, like the newer Royer 121s or something like that, are pretty resiliant and can stand phantom power no problem.

OP, i know you said it was a vintage mic, so yours is probably different. Good luck with it!

 

[Paul Ashton]

Still not managed to source a cable - it needs a sort of inverse XLR but fatter pins. Any ideas apart from bare cables and match sticks?

 

[hakukani]

Tuchel or Amphenol connector maybe?

http://www.hinton-instruments.co.uk/paprod/cables/vintagemic/index.htm