Ribbon microphone

A microphone whose diaphragm is a thin corrugated metal ribbon suspended in a magnetic field, giving a smooth, natural high-frequency response.

Its figure-of-eight pattern is inherent to the design, picking up equally from front and back and rejecting the sides, which makes it useful for capturing a source and its room or for isolating a guitar from an instrument beside it. It is typically darker and less detailed in the top end than a condenser, which is often exactly why it is chosen for distorted guitar cabinets and brass. Old and some modern ribbons are easily damaged by phantom power, so it must be switched off first.

Example: a ribbon a metre in front of a cabinet captures a warm, thick guitar tone without the biting upper midrange a condenser would reveal.

Ribbon microphone

See also