Using Ribbons In Small Rooms

Ribbons And Rooms
By design, figure-of-8 ribbon microphones are highly effective at capturing both the direct sound of a source as well as the indirect, ambient sound of the recording space. When positioning traditional ribbon mics, one must consider what will be captured by both the front and rear acceptance lobes. In live tracking scenarios, excessive bleed from one source can interfere with the signal captured by a nearby mic. Bleed can be easily mitigated by using the sharp nulls of a figure-of-8 ribbon to reject sound from an offending source. However, in a small recording environment, room reflections and limited space can compound signal bleed issues.

ENTER: KU5A

The supercardioid KU5A is the solution to the problem of excessive bleed captured by traditional ribbons. Because of its hyper-focused directionality and superior rejection, the KU5A negates many of the bleed issues that can arise when recording in small spaces. As an end-address, near-field ribbon microphone, it can be positioned up close to a source and capture only the desired signal, without impact from the room or surrounding sources.

Point-And-Shoot

Positioning the KU5A on a source is as simple as taking a photo with a point-and-shoot camera; just aim the end of the mic at the source where it sounds best. The recording environment you’re in will have little effect on the KU5A due to its focused directionality. If you’re most familiar with the directionality of a dynamic mic, you’ll have no problem working with the KU5A. By applying the ‘point-and-shoot’ positioning technique and also taking advantage of the near-field working distance of the KU5A, an entire band can record in a small room without concern for excessive signal leakage.

Bedroom Engineers

Many artists and engineers record projects in small, untreated bedrooms/living rooms with less-than-desirable room sound and unwieldy reflections. The KU5A is the ideal mic for adding rich ribbon tone to bedroom recordings that’s unaffected by an inadequate sonic environment.

The supercardioid KU5A changes the landscape of ribbon recording by providing artists and engineers with unlimited possibilities in any environment, whether in the studio, at home, or on stage.