Pacific Pro Audio R-one Ribbon mic?

[Pacific Pro]

As it is the weekend now, we probably will not get any more info before Monday so I thought I would post what I have found out so far. I contacted a number of the Chinese "Manufacturers" and by the pricing it seems the $70.00 guys are it, or at least blood relatives, I have quotes all the way up to 140.00 each. We still need to confirm the pricing on the HRM-4 which seems to be the favorite of the masses. I requested info on the HRM-2 so I will tell you what I know about that and we will assume (for 2 days) that the HRM-4 is the same. Currently as close as I can figure it will be $95.00 per unit to my door, that is shipping, duties, brokerage fees and whatever else the brokers sneak in. I am adding 10% so we are up to 104.50 per mic. As far as shipping to you, I figure an average of $8.00 for a pair to anywhere in the 48 states (AK & HI we will have to talk) and maybe $1.00 for boxes and packing, so $9.00 additional for shipping and insurance per pair in the 48 states. Adding or subtracting a mic will only change that by $1.00-$2.00. So it seems a pair to your door will be $218.00. If I SHIP to Washington add another 8.8% for the privilege of living here.
This is a link I have swiped from darjama (who has done a ton of foot work, and was willing to pass it on, thank you).
http://city-state.net/ribbon/
You can see both of the mics there, feel free to state your preference?somewhere.
If you are still in after the sticker shock...we have created an email address that I will post once everything is final, you can mail your shipping info and payment method. We can take most forms of modern tender, including credit cards, checks, money orders, pay pal etc. The only catch is we have to charge you the prevailing rate on the payment form of your choice, I will get exact later, but M/C&VISA are about 1.9% Amex is about 4% and pay pal is way out there at like 6%? (from memory) checks/money orders add nothing and are fine.
From what I can gleam so far...this factory makes 3 ribbon mics, the Nady (rounded top) which is reserved for Nady (as long as they meet their quota) and the 2 in the link above. It seems that only the body shapes change, but the electronics and ribbon are the same (waiting for confirmation) I have heard the rounded top next to some other fat ribbon mics and was not disappointed...for the money. (That is why we chose to take these on in the first place)
Please note, there is no warranty on your mic, sorry. The 10% we are adding on is not intended to make us a huge profit, but to roughly cover our costs of doing the paper work, foot work, shipping, phones, business taxes etc. (I will post our 800 number for those who do not want to email credit card numbers), Not to cover warranties or returns. I do plan on ordering some spare ribbons and will sell them at cost for a while to help with any bad ones. I have never done business with this factory, but I have experience with 2 others, and I can say our DOA (dead on arrival) rate is running under 1% these days
Everyone seems to want some sort of "Tape Op" designation on these, that is fine, seems we should get Larry's blessing?
That?s lots for now. I will attempt to make this as simple as possible in the end.

Feedback and ideas are welcome
Garth
Pacific Pro

[MichaelJoly]

Folks may wish to consider the HRM-2 appears to have to a superior grille compared to the HRM-4.

The HRM-2 has a triangular tapered grille which will distribute internal standing waves better across the HF spectrum than the HRM-2 which has a simpler cylindrical grille.

The tall flat surface of the HRM-4's grille creates a larger reflective plane in front of the ribbon than the HRM-2's 2-dimensional tapered grille. The HRM-2's grille (borrowed from classic designs) is designed to distribute the reflected sound path length across the HF range. Typically, this type of grille design results in a smoother, less peaky and more "open" high frequency response.

Personally, I'd rather have the HRM-2's grille and stick with it's attached cord if need be.

[theshaggyfreak]

I think I might be in for one. I'm in the process of building a small mic locker, and this would help out a lot

[Silverhammernz]

I have had one of these branded as a Nady for some time. The grill is a different shape but essentially it's the same mic. I have installed the lundhal transf simply because I had one and it does seem better.

Either way though I like this mic, I use it for recording my acoustic guitar, sax and any percussion such as shaker or tambourine. I do a lot of jingle tracks and these are ingredients I often use. The Nady is very useable, the top end unlike a lot of ribbons is pretty good. Of course the thing to remember with these mics is they work best if you are not right on top of them, I record my acoustic guitar with the mic about 20inches away.

This gives a more balanced sound with good tops, this mic like other ribbons has a lowish output but I have found it is adequate. I happen to be using a VC3 Joe Meek pre for it and it works well. I do sometimes sneak in a little top eq, especially on the acoustic. My main studio mic is a Neumann TLM103 but I still prefer the sound of the ribbon for acoustic when recording ona DAW. When I first got the Nady I also borrowed a Royer 121 and compared the two. The Royer sounded better of course but the price was three times the Nady (The Nady was actually around $280US at the time so recent bulk prices mentioned in the group buy are way ahead.)

I also have an ML52 Oktava, this I found was more like some traditional ribbons, ie not great topend and too muddy in the mix for most modern mixes. It was cool on sax though.

The Nady has a modern magnet design, construction seems simple but it does seem to be made for todays recordings. It's not the "everything" mic but used on the right bits it is very useful, so a bargain I say at the prices mentioned.

Just my thoughts,

Larry

[JohnDavisNYC]

i vote for the HRM2.... for the grill design reasons and the fact that people have heard that one, and not the HRM4... i know they're supposed to be the same, but i say we stick with the known quantity, not the new model. the attached cord is cool for swinging it around your head. and it reminds me of the BK5.

john

[Stan Keyhole]

I second the HRM2. And with the platinum grill.

Gold is played.