– REVIEW –
AEA R44C
Studio Sound – August 2000
By Dave FosterOffering a real alternative to modern condenser microphones, this reissued ribbon brings the past up to date.
Dave Foster listens in.
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(454Kb) IT'S COMPETITION TIME. Of all the replicas of classic equipment, which dates back the furthest? How long ago could you have found equipment in use that still has a place today, not just as a means of getting 'period' sound but as a quality tool alongside modern equipment? Valve microphones, valve equalizers, valve compressors are all very well, but in terms of the age of the originals they don't come close to the ribbon microphone. Now a Californian company that for 20 years has been servicing old microphones has come up with a replica of one of the classics – the RCA 44. Although the original was manufactured over many years, Audio Engineering Associates has gone all the way back to the very first models produced in 1936 to produce the AEA R44C.
Even if you didn't know what it was – and on the Eastern side of the Atlantic this could be forgiven, as its use was never so widespread over here – this microphone would be instantly recognizable. It's as much of an icon as the BBC AXBT or the PGS/4038, both of which share the basic technology of the American model. In those days the ribbon was king, far and away the most sophisticated microphone technology available and capable of an audio fidelity that can stand up to close inspection today. Not long ago we looked at the currently available ribbons, many with an unbroken heritage dating back to the era of the 44, and it was a salutary reminder that the condenser was certainly not the first decent microphone design the industry had. In terms of noise, flatness of frequency response, and uniformity of polar pattern, to name but three, a good ribbon can rival almost any condenser.
But like most classics, the success of the RCA 44 was not predicated on clinical accuracy, but on a characteristic sound. This is why AEA has gone back to the earliest design, because, although its bass response is demonstrably less even than later refinements, its sound is regarded by adherents as superior. Because of its servicing facility AEA is in constant touch with many users of the originals, and could therefore easily decide which version to reproduce, much as AKG did with the C12VR.
The AEA R44C is, of course, enormous. It comes packed in a fabric pouch that is in turn inserted into a very large foam padded so big that when it arrived I had no idea that it might be a microphone. Its weight is as substantial as its size, thanks to the magnet essential for its operation. Its distinctive grills, with its angled faces allowing a glimpse of the working bits inside, sits atop a body identical with the original apart from the logo. The whole thing is suspended in a swiveling stirrup arrangement; whose big knurled nuts can only just be finger tightened enough to stop it moving unintentionally. The integral flexible cable emerging from the main body is clamped in the stirrup's base and this base is the only means of mounting the microphone on a stand. Don't even think of trying to extend the thing on a boom – it'll only end in tears as the 44's weight brings the whole lot crashing to the ground.
The cable is reasonably long and terminated in an XLR; in the absence of instructions I didn't dare connect it to a phantom powered input, although, of course, it ought to be perfectly happy. The output level, like all ribbons, is relatively low, but since its noise is almost non-existent this is only a problem if your mic preamps aren't up to it. There is now an X variant higher output version of this mic available. The polar pattern appears to be a very smooth and uniform figure of eight, allowing me to place pairs of musicians across it and adjust their balance by getting them to move backwards and forwards.
This is the kind of approach that a microphone like this seems to positively encourage. I used it on a special project where we were trying to recreate the sound of an early jazz big band, and there was a sense in which this microphone's character, along with the avoidance of very close techniques, made it easier to find the sound we wanted. On the other hand, this should not be taken to imply that the 44's sound is in any way lacking the extremes. I used it on trumpets, saxes, trombones and percussion where I wanted a modern sound, and it was all there. Valves have warmth, and ribbons have it too, but in a different way. This microphone has a velvety smoothness, uncompromised by HF deficiencies that would be hard to find anywhere else.
AEA's reproduction has won plaudits from engineers like Bruce Swedien, Allen Sides and Shawn Murphy, all with plentiful experience of the original and all saying the AEA version is as good or better. It may be tempting to think of it as a useful movie prop that happens to work, but this is a serious microphone that delivers something special. And it doesn't half impress the artists.
Pro Audio Review – "AEA's Wes Dooley is at the forefront of ribbon microphone expertise." Read other product reviews.
