Further, the ribbon material is often heavier in imported mics, which affect’s the mic’s sound. AEA recommend keeping the mic in its padded case and stored vertically when not in use. Bidirectional When mounted on a stand, the carrying bag can be placed over the mic when it is not being used, in order to provide some further protection. Please let us know! It picked up a nice balance of the kit, and added a great deal of depth to the sound of the kit when blended in with the closer mics and overheads. The same basic design was copied by various manufacturers in China, and as a result can be found in numerous imported low-cost ribbons — although the quality control (such as ribbon tension) and the quality of individual components (such as the transformer) are inferior to AEA’s products. Design & Specifications The benefits of adding active electronics to a ribbon microphone, according to AEA, are: This mic is available in several configurations: I set [the R84] about four feet back from the drum kit and positioned it at the drummer’s waist height. Many ribbon mic manufacturers choose shorter ribbons that are easier to install, but AEA's Large Ribbon Geometry TM design offers important advantages. I found I could add a fair bit of compression without getting too much volume from the cymbals. AEA R84A Bidirectional Ribbon Microphone. The R84A is an active version of the R84, allowing its use with a wider range of preamplifiers. Keeping the mic upright prevents the long ribbon element from sagging. The ribbon in the R84 is a 1.8-micron thick piece of pure aluminum measuring 4.7mm by 60mm. The R84A is an active ribbon microphone, formerly called the “A840.” It is AEA’s R84 ribbon, coupled to a custom Lehle step-up transformer, plus a transformerless output circuit. The AEA R84A Ribbon Microphone is an active version of the award-winning R84, providing the same sonic qualities but now with more output and immunity to impedance-loading, giving the user a wider range of preamp selection and a lower signal to noise ratio. It gave a huge, round sound, adding some real thickness to the bass drum and the overall kit. (2.5 mV/Pa; 20 - 10,000 Hz). Output sensitivity is good, being +2 dB to a Shure SM57. Based on the character of the legendary R44, R84 series ribbon mics provide classic tonality with extended top-end and reduced proximity effect for medium and close range recording. Now, you can get that luscious ribbon sound, only with the benefit of a hotter signal that gives you a lot more versatility — in terms of how you use it, and what preamplifier you use it with. The change was intentional, and provides two subtly different sonic colors within one microphone. Did we get anything wrong on this page? The R84 is a large-geometry ribbon microphone with a bidirectional pickup pattern, inspired by RCA’s classic ribbon, the RCA 44. The exciting R84A is a powered version of AEA’s acclaimed R84 microphone. The AEA R84A uses a big, 2.35" by 0.185" by 2 micron pure aluminum low-tension ribbon element just like the classic R44. Although the ribbon is centered in the magnetic gap, the front and rear of the R84 produce slightly different sounds, due to differences in the blast protection. AEA R84 DJV - “Designed for voice work.” Additional blast/moisture filtering and reduced proximity effect make this mic more suitable for close vocal work. Designed for accent and solo work, its bass proximity effect is less pronounced and the upper 10K to 20 KHz octave is stronger than with the 44. The R84 uses the same big ribbon as the 44, is 5 pounds lighter, and less bulky. Also, the rear of the microphone affords slightly better plosive handling than the front, according to Wes Dooley. 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