royer R-10, Operation Instructions Manual & User Manual

Page 1: ...Royer Labs Model R 10 Mono Ribbon Velocity Microphone Operation Instructions Manual User Guide Designed and Built in the U S A ...

Page 2: ...weet Spot 7 Finding and Working with the Sweet Spot 7 Other Types of Microphones 8 Proximity Effect and Working Distance 8 The Sound That Is More Real than Real 8 Microphone Techniques 10 General Tips for Using the Royer R 10 10 Recording Loud or Plosive Sounds 11 Stereophonic Microphone Techniques 13 Classic Blumlein Technique 13 Mid Side M S Technique 14 Care Maintenance 15 Features 16 Electrica...

Page 3: ...gure eight velocity type ribbon microphone designed for professional applications The figure eight pick up pattern allows the R 10 to be addressed from either side with equal sensitivity The in phase signal is achieved when the microphone is addressed from the front indicated by the ROYER logo The R 10 is reasonably tolerant to shock and vibration and performance is unaffected by changes in temper...

Page 4: ...out the same distance used for cardioid microphones This method is used to achieve the same ratio of direct to reflected sound 2 In the horizontal plane the R 10 does not discriminate against the highs off axis nor does it boost highs on axis Therefore several instruments or vocalists can be placed in front of the microphone without favoring the performer in the center of the group Several perform...

Page 5: ...select one that gives the best possible performance with a ribbon microphone Additionally what kind of performance can you expect from the preamplifiers built into your mixing desk While most preamplifiers will handle ribbon microphones well in most recording situations some preamps that work perfectly well with condenser or dynamic mics may prove to be poor performers with ribbons To begin we mus...

Page 6: ...on the performance of the mic is negligible A good rule of thumb is to have a preamplifier with input impedance at least five times the impedance of the microphone For example if the mic is rated at 100 Ohms as the R 10 is the preamp should have an input impedance of at least 500 700 Ohms If the impedance of the preamp is too low the microphone will lose low end body and sensitivity 4 Transparency...

Page 7: ...o a greater degree because of their higher gain requirements Vintage ribbon microphones often have poor shielding and the problem can be worse The cure for this problem is to identify the source of the noise and move the microphone away from it Another trick is to alter the orientation of the microphone in such a way that the noise is cancelled out If you ever experience this situation while in th...

Page 8: ...us the influence of inverse square law Inverse square law states that for each halving of source to microphone distance the sound pressure level quadruples Other Types of Microphones For the same ratio of direct to reverberant sound omni directional microphones must be closer to the sound source than cardioid or bi directional microphones Microphones should generally face the sound source head on ...

Page 9: ...y voices and certain musical instruments produce fundamental frequencies within the bass range below 150Hz or so but the fundamentals are weak If a microphone which has no proximity effect and a rising high frequency response is used on an upright piano or on a person with a thin weak voice the recorded sound is likely to sound even thinner than it was in real life In contrast using a microphone w...

Page 10: ...y sweet and clean when recorded with R 10s Place the microphone several feet from the instrument For larger string sections try placing the microphone slightly above the instrumentalists and angled down a distance of three or four feet will do the trick nicely Pianos sound excellent when recorded with R 10s and are free of phase related comb filtering The bass is full and rich while the top remain...

Page 11: ... the enemy Air movement is far more damaging to ribbon microphones than high SPL s Some sound sources can generate powerful blasts of air that should be avoided Kick drums and electric guitar and bass amplifiers are typical examples of sound sources that can produce harmful air currents One way to determine if the air pressure is excessive is to place your hand in front of the sound source the kic...

Page 12: ... the microphone s pickup pattern sound will not be affected 3 Side View of Kick Drum Miking Technique A Close miking angle mic so the sound pressure wave is off axis B Standard miking position 4 Horizontal Positioning Technique Applied to kick drum similar to that utilized for other loud or percussive instruments 12 ...

Page 13: ...eight microphones positioned as in the sketch see Figure 1 so that one faces left and the other right at an angle of 90 degrees i e each displaced 45 degrees from center Figure 1 Classic Blumlein or coincident miking technique Each microphone ultimately feeds one speaker in a stereo system and due to the directionality of the microphones the result is a very well defined stereo effect on playback ...

Page 14: ...s one faces forward as shown in Figure 2 and they are connected as shown in Figure 3 If the outputs of the two microphones are equal or made equal using gain controls the stereo pickup will be similar to that of two microphones placed as a Blumlein X Y pair delivering a wide stereo image As you reduce the level of the side microphone the width of the stereo image will narrow until with the side mi...

Page 15: ... close miking a vocalist or certain types of wind instruments P popping does not necessarily damage the ribbon element but may produce unacceptable preamplifier overload and could cause damage to speaker systems 3 Do not expose the microphone to liquids or caustic smoke 4 To avoid hum do not expose the microphone to strong alternating electromagnetic fields such as the power transformers in amps 5...

Page 16: ...on close miking Shock mounted ribbon transducer provides extra protection to ribbon element Swivel microphone mount allows flexible microphone placement Extremely low residual noise Ribbon element is unaffected by heat or humidity Absence of high frequency phase distortion Excellent phase linearity even off axis Equal sensitivity from front or back of element Consistent frequency response regardle...

Page 17: ...in matched pairs at additional charge Mechanical Specifications High grade Neodymium magnet assembly in Royer s patented Flux Frame transducer 1 5 x 3 16 x 2 5 micron ribbon assembly Stainless steel internal baffle and dampener Weight 368g 13 oz Weight with Case 2 5 lbs 1 4Kg Matched Pair 4lbs 1 814Kg Microphone Dimensions Length including mounting base 5 7 8 inches 149mm Width 1 3 8 inches 35mm F...

Page 18: ...Polar Pattern Frequency Response 18 ...

Page 19: ...is warranty does not cover the following 1 Defects or damage caused by accident fire flood lightning or other acts of nature 2 Defects or damage caused by abuse misuse negligence or failure to observe the instructions contained in the owner s manual furnished at the time of original purchase 3 Damage caused during shipping or handling 4 Products that have had their serial numbers altered or remove...