ribbon rules

I discovered the Rode NT-R ribbon mic a couple of years back, and it’s now my go-to studio mic for vocals. I just like what it does to my voice, especially the mids. Being active, it gives you a decent signal and you can’t accidentally blow it by activating 48V phantom power. The bottom end can be boomy if you sing up close, but the mic is very IQ-friendly and the higher freqs are all there too. Just don’t drop it.

fishman rocks

The Fishman Ellipse setup on my Boucher guitar has a piezo, plus a tiny directional mic on a bendy stalk. In the studio I just use the mic, angled away from the vox mic so I can sing and play simultaneously without too much bleed. My producer Al Scott puts up an affordable dynamic mic to add some body and air, then blends the two guitar signals. Perfect!