DIY ribbon mic

rafafredd · 4th February 2003, 09:39 PM

Hi.

After seeing this:

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=ri...nix.com&rnum=1

I´ve been thinking of building my own ribbon mics...

Theres a ribbon microphone sowter transformer that may fit.

Anyone knows about the magnectic elements positions and wiring...
Anyway, anything about DIY ribbon microphones (I´m quite sure it´s possible)...

Thanks

EC8010 · 4th February 2003, 10:21 PM

The step-up transformer is probably the least of your problems.

You need very thin aluminium foil. Traditionally, DIYers have obtained this from cigarette packet inner sleeves by dissolving the paper.

You need a very powerful magnet. Really powerful. No, I mean it. Really, really powerful. And sourcing that is probably the biggest problem. (Magnets salvaged from magnetrons are a possibility.)

The "Microphone Engineering Handbook" edited by Michael Gayford (ISBN 0-7506-1199-5) has a good section on ribbon design, but it's expensive.

It's probably easier to make a capacitor microphone and associated head amplifier...

psarin · 5th February 2003, 01:57 AM

no pun intended...

you may want to check out the following set of links:

http://gyraf.dk/gyraf2/gy_pd/g7/gic.htm
and
http://recording.org/users/kev/

these guys do quite a bit of DIY cloning of the high-end gear. i've been toying with starting something in this vein too.

cheers -

pradeep

wetty · 18th January 2004, 06:17 PM

Howdy, these might be of interest:

http://www.lkmusic.co.nz/ribbonfix.htm

http://make_a_ribbon_mic.tripod.com/

marz.tv · 23rd January 2004, 04:45 PM

I have a Beyer M260N with a dead ribbon. Tried different approaches on making a new ribbon, but I couldn't find the right thinness. If anyone knows a source for that, I'm interested too...

drummerguy · 8th September 2009, 04:49 AM

you can get 4 micron aluminum ribbon in small amounts here:
http://www.audiocdmasters.com/ribbon.htm

doomy · 14th September 2009, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EC8010

You need a very powerful magnet. Really powerful. No, I mean it. Really, really powerful. And sourcing that is probably the biggest problem. (Magnets salvaged from magnetrons are a possibility.)

How about magnets from harddisks? Look at my attached picture.
They use a strong magnet to control the reading head.

I reccommend neodyne magnets, they're the strongest one,
they're commonly availble, the bigger one are usually sold at sites
related to DIY windmills. Please note that they're fragile, so they're
usually coated to avoid parts/bits falling of.

(No, I'm not interested into building a microphone!)

4th February 2003, 09:39 PM	#1
rafafredd diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Brazil	DIY ribbon mic Hi. After seeing this: http://groups.google.com/groups?q=ri...nix.com&rnum=1 I´ve been thinking of building my own ribbon mics... Theres a ribbon microphone sowter transformer that may fit. Anyone knows about the magnectic elements positions and wiring... Anyway, anything about DIY ribbon microphones (I´m quite sure it´s possible)... Thanks

4th February 2003, 10:21 PM	#2
EC8010 diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Near London. UK	The step-up transformer is probably the least of your problems. You need very thin aluminium foil. Traditionally, DIYers have obtained this from cigarette packet inner sleeves by dissolving the paper. You need a very powerful magnet. Really powerful. No, I mean it. Really, really powerful. And sourcing that is probably the biggest problem. (Magnets salvaged from magnetrons are a possibility.) The "Microphone Engineering Handbook" edited by Michael Gayford (ISBN 0-7506-1199-5) has a good section on ribbon design, but it's expensive. It's probably easier to make a capacitor microphone and associated head amplifier... __________________ The loudspeaker: The only commercial Hi-Fi item where a disproportionate part of the budget isn't spent on the box. And the one where it would make a difference...

5th February 2003, 01:57 AM	#3
psarin diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Mars	sounds like a good idea! no pun intended... you may want to check out the following set of links: http://gyraf.dk/gyraf2/gy_pd/g7/gic.htm and http://recording.org/users/kev/ these guys do quite a bit of DIY cloning of the high-end gear. i've been toying with starting something in this vein too. cheers - pradeep

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18th January 2004, 06:17 PM	#4
wetty diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: seattle	Howdy, these might be of interest: http://www.lkmusic.co.nz/ribbonfix.htm http://make_a_ribbon_mic.tripod.com/

23rd January 2004, 04:45 PM	#5
marz.tv diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Scandinavia	I have a Beyer M260N with a dead ribbon. Tried different approaches on making a new ribbon, but I couldn't find the right thinness. If anyone knows a source for that, I'm interested too...

8th September 2009, 04:49 AM	#6
drummerguy diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2009	you can get 4 micron aluminum ribbon in small amounts here: http://www.audiocdmasters.com/ribbon.htm

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