Royer R-121L & R-122L

For general-purpose live sound work, a ribbon microphone has never made it onto even my most optimistic wish list. Although they undoubtedly give excellent results in the studio, I have tended to regard them as fragile beauties that need to be wrapped in cotton wool and can’t handle high sound pressure levels. The R-121L and R-122L from well-respected specialists Royer change all that, because these two mics are specifically designed to retain high-quality ribbon microphone performance, with enough road ruggedness and SPL capability for live use.

So, how can a very thin ribbon of pure aluminium (we’re talking four microns thin) be placed directly in front of something as unforgiving as a guitar cabinet or a trombone? And how can they be made so compact and lightweight? Much of the answer lies in the development of modern materials, and the way in which they are applied in the design and build of these mics. Ribbon mics require a strong magnetic field to produce a decent output level, and in recent years the use of neodymium magnet assemblies has dramatically reduced size and weight to the point where a good-quality ribbon design is as easy to handle as an ordinary dynamic stage mic. The resilience of the ultra-thin ribbon itself has a lot to do with the purity of the material used and the way in which it is formed and mounted. In the case of the Royers, the ribbon is corrugated in such a way as to ensure mechanical strength and is then pre-stretched (by hand, apparently) to achieve exactly the right amount of elasticity.

So, assuming that the physical limitations are truly a thing of the past, why would ribbon microphones be a good option for live sound work? For me, there are two reasons: the inherent sound quality of a good ribbon design, and the figure-of-eight pickup pattern, which offers various live placement options compared to a traditional cardioid.

The R-121L is the ‘live’ version of Royer’s established R-121, which has been around for a while now and is what Royer call their “flagship microphone”. It’s a high-quality ribbon mic specifically designed for ruggedness and reliability as well as top performance, and as such is an interesting prospect for live use. As mentioned above, it makes use of a four-micron aluminium ribbon mounted in a neodymium magnetic structure, and is arranged in a side-address configuration. The ribbon is offset within the housing to place it nearer to the ‘front’ (or the positive phase side, if you will), which means that some tonal variation is available — as well as physical phase reversal — by using the mic the other way round. The main body of the R-121L is a compact, but very solid cast affair with a choice of burnished satin nickel or matte-black chrome finishes, and the mic is supplied in a classy wooden box, which, although very attractive and retro, is actually very strong and looks as if it would protect its contents most effectively.

The R-121L is a passive mic and requires no power. The ribbon is connected to the output connector through a step-up transformer only, so it’s important to make sure that cables are in good condition if phantom power is present on the line. Because there are no active electronics, the R-121L is virtually noise-free and certainly can be considered as a silent runner for general live sound purposes. Maximum SPL is an impressive 135dB, and the frequency response is a very smooth 30Hz to 15kHz within the 3dB points. At only just over six inches long and less than nine ounces in weight, the R-121L is very compact and fits easily into most standard stand clips.

Moving on to the R-122L, the obvious difference is that it’s longer (yet still only just over eight inches) and a bit heavier, but still light enough not to cause clips or stands to droop on stage. The significant difference is that the R-122L is phantom powered. The inclusion of an impedance-matching output stage means that this version is more tolerant of the connected impedance, because the ribbon element is always presented with an optimum load by the output circuit and can, of course, drive long cable runs. Sensitivity is 13dB greater than the R-121L and the sonic performance is very similar — the same, but with a faster transient response.

I rigged up the Royer ribbons in a couple of rehearsal situations to get used to their pickup characteristics before taking them out on a real live gig. I started off by using the R-121L on its own in a (un-amplified) 20-piece brass line-up, and tried it on trumpet and trombone, monitoring through headphones and also recording the results (uncompressed) on my digital multitrack so that I could listen back at home. What was immediately apparent was the richness of the sound when listened to in isolation. This test was, of course, more like a recording application, but even with live sound all you’ve got to play with are the sources going in to your mix, and this source was very tasty. I found that the optimum position for trombone was about 10 or 12 inches directly in front of the bell, and when I listened to my recording afterwards I was getting lots of big fat trombone and not very much of anything close by, thanks to the figure-of-eight pickup pattern, which was just what I needed within a line-up such as this. Trumpet was just as good and the R-121L managed to capture what I can best describe as a ‘live natural’ sound — just what you’d hear if you stood right in front of the instrument.

Swapping over to the R-122L, I noticed the increase in sensitivity, but the sound was more or less the same: rich and warm, with all the live character of the instrument captured. The live gig I had in mind involved strings and woodwind, so I took the mics along to an orchestra rehearsal and experimented with violins and cello. I didn’t record anything this time around, but monitored on the headphones in the next room. This time if anything I found the R-122L slightly more focused, particularly close in on the lower range of the cello, and I got excellent results with both mics about 10 inches directly above the violin. I ran out of time before getting round to annoying the woodwind section, but I did manage to persuade a friendly bassoonist to stay and knock out a few notes for me afterwards with more pleasing results. With both mics sounding really very good so far, I was looking forward to a real live test.

The gig in question was an open-air opera evening, with a group of soloists and a smallish orchestra of about 15 players. I wasn’t personally looking after the sound, but I was part of the production team, so I asked the sound engineer if he’d like to use the Royers. He said something like, “Royers? Absolutely,” and decided to deploy them on trombone and French horn, which suited me very well, as I had already heard them on brass in a more controlled environment.

The soundcheck was one of those ‘work around the band while they rehearse’ arrangements, and when all the stage mics had been rigged, positioned and line-checked we soloed the Royers (R-121L on horn, R-122L on trombone) and had a walk around the park to listen at a decent volume. The sound was extremely smooth and always under control, with a nice round warmth to the horn tone and plenty of character on the trombone. As it happened, there was only one trombone in the orchestra and it was mainly playing a bass trombone part. I find this can be a tricky instrument to amplify live without making it too harsh, but the R-122L produced a lovely crisp definition that carried the instrument’s character through the mix without ever being too prominent. On a purely practical note, the side-address configuration meant that the mics were positioned upright, which actually saved a bit of space on the fairly crowded stage, and because the end of the mic body isn’t pointing at the performer, there’s less chance of it getting nudged out of position.

The figure-of-eight pickup pattern offers some interesting opportunities in a live sound situation, not least of which is the mic’s almost total deafness to anything 90 degrees off axis. I did find that the Royers were more sensitive to changes in position and angle than normal cardioids, and depending on the application, it would be worth spending a little extra time finding just the right placement in order to realise the full potential of these excellent mics.

On acoustic instruments, they’re absolutely first class, and I reckon they’d be a very good option for percussion or drum overheads provided they were kept away from hi-hat draughts or used with appropriate windshields. Although I was using the Royers on acoustic instruments, they are also designed with rock & roll in mind. The R-121L and R-122L can handle serious SPLs of 135dB without overload or damage, and that’s enough for some pretty loud and close live work, even with mental backline amps — mind you, try putting your face in front of a trombone sometime! 0

Royer R-121L & R-122L

Live ribbon microphones