$99 Ribbon on the Interweb not apex

[jackson park]

Nady RSM-4

So along with the apex ribbons at fullcompass, this is the best deal I've seen on
Ribbon mics.

Does anybody know anything about the RSM-4? Or 5 for that matter? I ustsf and didn't get anything useful.

[PeterSawatzky]

I bought one. It's... okay. It's kind of lo-fi. The high-end response is rather lacking. I think the 6-micron-thick ribbon is to blame for that. Most ribbons (even Chinese ones) are 2 microns or less and are more sensitive.

[jackson park]

So it's a rather low output mic? eh?

[Judas Jetski]

I wonder how it would sound as a drum overhead...

[JWL]

Michael Joly does a mod on this mic (the mod is $199) where he replaces the 6micron ribbon with a 2 micron, removes some of the extra windscreening inside, and installs a Lundahl output tranny.

I imagine it sounds much better after this mod....

[DryCounty]

...or you could just get a Fathead with the same tranny for the exact same price ($300 total).

[dune5233]

I bought one of these too. I was surprise how good the mic sounded. Then I bought a second one and it sounds awful, so I am returning the second one. So QC may vary on these mics. Its not the best sounding ribbon I have heard but for $99 bucks you can't go wrong....If you get a good one.

[Mark Alan Miller]

...or you could just get a Fathead with the same tranny for the exact same price ($300 total).

That's where I'm going, I think, after using my friend's stock FatHead II. Actually, it's so good stock (at 200 bucks) that I might not bother with the transformer change...

[rhythm ranch]

...or you could just get a Fathead with the same tranny for the exact same price ($300 total).

That's where I'm going, I think, after using my friend's stock FatHead II. Actually, it's so good stock (at 200 bucks) that I might not bother with the transformer change...

I was looking into the FatHead and FatHead II on Cascade's site to find out what the differences are and found this:

FAT HEAD II Upgrades: Polished nickel grill, neck and nut with a larger body, plus a heavy-duty premium shockmount. Sonically the same as the standard FAT HEAD.

The shockmount is nice, but there's no sonic difference and you can get a pair of Fatheads for $300.

[Mark Alan Miller]

...or you could just get a Fathead with the same tranny for the exact same price ($300 total).

That's where I'm going, I think, after using my friend's stock FatHead II. Actually, it's so good stock (at 200 bucks) that I might not bother with the transformer change...

I was looking into the FatHead and FatHead II on Cascade's site to find out what the differences are and found this:

FAT HEAD II Upgrades: Polished nickel grill, neck and nut with a larger body, plus a heavy-duty premium shockmount. Sonically the same as the standard FAT HEAD.

The shockmount is nice, but there's no sonic difference and you can get a pair of Fatheads for $300.

Even better!

[PeterSawatzky]

UPDATE: I did some tinkering to my RSM-4. I removed the inner layers of mesh and re-tensioned the ribbon, per the RSM-3 thread on this board. Removing the mesh didn't make much of a difference, but re-tensioning the ribbon certainly did.

The mic is now usable--before the highs were distorted and the mids boomy. Now it sounds more natural, and, basically, ribbon-like. Increasing the tension on the ribbon increased the resonant frequency into the high bass range, so it has a rather significant bass bump. This can be fixed with EQ, however, or you may like it that way.

So far I have tested it on drums (as a room mic) and acoustic guitar. I quite like it on guitar, because in person the guitar sounded overly bright and thin, but the modded RSM-4 rendered it jangly and with body. As a room mic, it was actually rather accurate to the natural room sound.

So, overall, if you're looking for something to tinker with, the RSM-4 is a good deal, because if you destroy it, you're only out $100. However, out of the box the performance is rather lackluster.