The new R-12 active ribbon microphone provides exceptionally natural sound pickup at a price point well below its performance capabilities, according to maker Royer Labs.
The company adds that the R-12 excels on acoustic instruments, electric guitars, vocals, strings, drums, percussion instruments, piano and other instruments where the goal is as natural a sound capture as possible.
The R-12’s phantom-powered electronics provide 15 dB higher output than its nonpowered sibling, the R-10. This is achieved by incorporating a larger, specially wound custom transformer, so the higher level creates no additional self-noise.
The microphone has two switches: a 15 dB pad and a high-pass filter (100 Hz, 6 dB/octave). The pad helps with extremely high SPL recordings (160 dB at 1 kHz), and the high-pass filter reduces proximity effect for close miking of guitar amps, acoustic instruments, vocals, etc.
The R-12 comes with a three-layer windscreen system to protect against air movement and an internally shock-mounted ribbon transducer, which combine to give extra protection to the already tough ribbon element, making the R-12 extremely durable in the studio or in live environments.
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