Security Precautions; Operating Tips - Prodipe THE RIBBON1 User Manual

Dear Customer,
We would like to thank you for the confidence you have placed in us by purchasing a Prodipe product.

Security precautions :

For your security and for the correct implementation of this product, please read the safety
precautions on the inside cover page.
Caution, if you want to reduce the risk of being electrocuted, do not remove the rear panel
on this product. Please contact your retailer or a qualified technician for any maintenance
that needs to be carried out.
Before using Ribbon 1, we would recommend that you carefully read this instruction booklet.
Safety precautions:
• Remember to disable the phantom power (48 V) from those preamps that have it because
this power may destroy the ribbon when certain conditions are present.
• Ribbon mics can withstand high acoustic levels without being affected; however, because of
the thinness of the ribbon (a few millionths of a millimetre) they cannot tolerate being blown
on directly. Therefore, if you want to prevent permanent damage to the ribbon, you should
avoid having the mic in draughty conditions or making sudden movements with it.
• We recommend that you store the mic in an upright position because if you store it
horizontally the ribbon is inclined to become deformed under its own weight and slacken,
thereby lowering the sound quality.

Operating tips:

• When 'wide ribbon' mics are operated in certain situations, the warm and full sound can lack
some of the brilliance that we take for granted in modern recordings. Instead of using an
equaliser to obtain this brilliance, you can place a condenser mic (eg STC 3D or A1) next to
the ribbon mic and adjust the level for each mic until you find the optimum sound. In the
same way, if you want to record from guitar amps, even though the ribbon mic perfectly
captures the depth of the sound and the power of the amp, you will occasionally need the
mordent that a dynamic mic placed very close to the speaker can bring. In both cases it is
important to ensure that the capsule and ribbon are in the same plane and to check the
relative polarity of the two mics; the disappearance of the bass when you open the second
mic definitely indicates a phase inversion on one of the two mics.
• One feature of ribbon mics is their figure-eight directivity, hence they can be considered
bidirectional. This means that they are equally sensitive to sounds that emanate from in
front of and from behind the mic, whereas they almost completely ignore sounds from the
side. Consequently, even during closeup recording, the mic will also pick up a small amount
of sound from the room, hence adding to the natural feel of the recording. Its design is such
that the front and back of the ribbon do not give exactly the same sound so you should try
both sides in order to choose the one that is best for the particular purpose and of course,
think about re-establishing the correct polarity as and when necessary.
Prodipe and its distributors decline all responsibility for any damage caused by using this
appliance in a way that does not conform to the conditions of use as set out above.
Copyright © 2008 IPE Music