The R84 and original RCA 44 (now the AEA R44C) share the same Big Ribbon element, transformer and other mechanical elements by design. Also impressive was the tolerance to Joey's head movements. The views expressed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the publishers. They captured sounds all over the city with artists Shigeto and Waajeed, and then brought on an all-star cast of Detroit's best to contribute. I like gear that makes a statement. The price is hardly surprising for a boutique product handmade to very high standards in California, but the fact remains that for all the KU5A's distinctive qualities, its intended roles are already filled very well by more affordable mics. We were able to adapt to any EQ needs simply by proximity or via the extremely useful high-pass filter. The latest mic to emerge from AEA's Pasadena HQ is a unidirectional ribbon that is designed to be robust, has the number 5 in its name and is housed in a large cylindrical metal body with radio DJ-style yoke suspension. For those who don't know, the BK-5A was released in 1955 by RCA specifically for sound stage use in TV and film. In short, the KU5A has all the qualities you've grown to love from AEA: magnificent sound, absurd price point versus performance, durability, and shockingly flexible. The KU5A is thus optimised for use close up and on loud sources, with a maximum SPL of 135 or 141 dB depending on whether you believe the spec sheet or AEA's website. That leaves the question of whether the KU5A's uniqueness and smooth sound justify its cost. Q. Their mic preamps, summing amps, and control room... Jim Williams: Behind the Gear with Audio Upgrades, Restoring the "Holy Grail of Compressors": Behind the Scenes at the Vintage King Tech Shop, From WWII Planes to Stax Consoles: Behind the Gear with Bill Cheney & the History of Spectra Sonics, Rich Williams: Behind the Gear with Burl Audio. This mic is quiet! With little usable frequency response above 10kHz or so, there's no getting away from the fact that the KU5A is a dark microphone by modern standards; nor does it display the sort of flat frequency response and uniform polar pattern you'd expect if you spent the same money on a stage capacitor mic. Ribbons were used for Foley capture, stage vocals, radio DJ miking, and there were even ribbon lavalier mics for TV interviews. We were sent a pair of KU5As for review, housed in smart, lightweight and sensibly sized hard cases. Nowadays, ribbon mics are often perceived as specialist tools for miking things like guitar amps, drum kits and brass instruments, but in their heyday, they served all sorts of applications. We did a West Coast run last fall that were some of the most gratifying gigs I've mixed. Inspired by RCA's BK5, AEA's latest mic combines classic ribbon tone with a supercardioid polar pattern. From that perspective, I think AEA have judged this design very well, creating something that can be used close up and in noisy environments, yet which retains the smooth, warm sound for which ribbon mics are often appreciated. The KU5A accomplishes this via a super intense dual path acoustic labyrinth behind the ribbon and a few of what the designer calls "leaks" on the sides. While the above are great examples of the KU5A's flexibility and prowess, vocal applications are where it shines brightest. On guitar amps, its 2kHz bump is often exactly what's needed, while its 4.5kHz dip tames the annoying unmusical hash that tends to accompany a good distorted tone. The KU5A has a switchable high-pass filter, which attenuates frequencies below 283Hz by 6dB/octave. The response of the KU5A is +/- 3 dB at 20 Hz to 20 kHz, with a slight bump around 2 kHz. It had internal protection of the ribbon and a tight polar pattern providing for improved isolation. It's a supercardioid mic, not an omni. I feel the same way about AEA – there aren't a lot of audio manufacturers I can say that about! I received a single X2, and a matched stereo pair of the X2 Vintage mics mere days... Micparts is a DIY microphone mod/build company started by Matthew McGlynn, of the wonderful microphone resource website recordinghacks.com and Roswell Pro Audio. Group and/or its licensors, 1985-2020 much to my delight that is exactly what happened seems oddly rare when at... 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