– REVIEW –
AEA R44C and R44CX Ribbon Microphones
The High Art of the Microphone
Pro Audio Review – December 1998
by Frank Beacham
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(454Kb) As a high school kid working during the 1960s at my hometown radio station, I quickly learned the announcers worshiped RCA ribbon microphones. The simple reason: ribbon mics made them sound better. And that, my friends, is all is took to create a lifelong bond between a man and his microphone.
As ribbon mic aficionado Wes Dooley puts it, "those wonderful mics made you sound like God!" The king of the hill at my station was the RCA 44BX. With this single hefty (8.5-LB) mic, I often did five live music shows a day – with country and gospel performers working both sides of the massive chrome grille. In the live era of radio, it was hard to go wrong with a 44. Somehow, it made everything sound better than it was.
The RCA 44 – out of production for 40 years – is an icon. The old mics are snatched up by collectors and increasingly used only for display purposes. Studio performers still covet the rich ribbon sound of a 44, but it's getting harder and harder to find well-maintained units in working mic cabinets.
Enter Wes Dooley and his company, Audio Engineering Associates (AEA) of Pasadena, Calif. Long a champion of ribbon microphone technology, AEA is a dealer for the popular Coles ribbon mics and a repair source for old RCA ribbons.
In what began two years ago as a project to create some much-needed replacement parts for original RCA mics, Dooley and company did something truly extraordinary. They literally brought a legend back to life.
The new AEA R44C, (the "C" is for classic) microphone, priced at $2,000, is an exact replica of the 1930s-era RCA 44. The only original component carrier over is the ribbon element itself, which is new old stock, identical to those sold for years by the RCA parts department. AEA has acquired a large inventory of the ribbons, which have not been manufactured since the 1970s.
Since RCA's original drawings and molds were discarded years ago, AEA had to copy an original 44 from scratch to build the replica. "I'm very lucky to be here in Southern California where there's a ton of aerospace subcontractors" said Dooley, "I've spent a couple of years finding people who can do the small specialty parts. These pieces are not casual things to make. Some have a precision to 10,000ths of an inch."
There are only two differences between the original RA 44BX and the replica, according to Dooley. One is the magnets in the replica re neodymium (rather than aluminum/nickel cobalt), resulting in about a 2dB increase in output. And the rarely used internal low-cut filter, which can be strapped into the original, has been dropped.
The dry technical details, however, are not what make AEA's creation special. It's the stunning beauty of the thing, the kind of visceral reaction one gets when handling a fine sports car, a beautiful watch, or a Leica camera. My first reaction was that it is more of an art object than an audio component. The shiny chrome grills and jet black Deco-style body transport you right back to 1936, the year the original 44 was introduced at a price of less than $200. If there's a such thing as audio lust, this microphone can certainly cause it.
Why bring this classic symbol of the industrial age back to life? First of all, it was clearly an act of love. The care and craftsmanship that went into recreating this microphone literally sing out. This was not a project driven by money. Neither was it driven by nostalgia. Perhaps preservation is the better word.
Dooley wanted to prevent the unique sound of the RCA 44 from disappearing. "We expect to sell this microphone for its flat-out gorgeous sound," said Dooley. "If you are trying to match the 'Nashville sound' of the 1950s and 60s, you need this microphone in your sound vocabulary."
Ironically, this 1930s microphone technology translates well to the digital age. Some of the 44'' technical limitations contribute to its unique sonic character. "If you get closer than about seven feet from the 44, the bass is boosted. That was originally considered a problem." Said Dooley. "Yet, people routinely record a string bass at a distance of three feet. Obviously, they are boosting the bass. Does it sound good? Yes!"
That great bottom end has made the 44 a favorite for voice, horns, upright bass and guitar, not to mention audio drama where groups of performers can "work" the microphone simultaneously. But, if you seek technically accurate sound, this is not the mic for you. But if you want a mic whose engineering flaws have become beloved, character traits, the 44 deserves consideration.
"The 44 has an opulent sound," said Dooley. "We often pick words to describe things we don't have a vocabulary for. This is one of them. All I know is that over a long, long time enough people have decided they like the sound of the microphone. That's made it a classic."
Frank Beacham is a New York City based writer and producer. Email – frank@beacham.com
Pro Audio Review – "AEA's Wes Dooley is at the forefront of ribbon microphone expertise." Read other product reviews.
