AEA R84

Classic ribbon sound for modern productions

The AEA R84 is a professional ribbon microphone for studio use. It delivers the typical sound of this type of microphone, which has been significantly shaped by manufacturers such as AEA itself: very musical and natural reproduction, fine resolution, round and pleasant treble drop, detailed mids and powerful bass. This makes the R84 an excellent alternative to all high-quality condenser microphones - especially where the noble softness of this microphone is used to round out sharp or peaked-sounding frequencies or to achieve a classic vintage sound. Typically, microphones with this tuning are used for recording drum overheads, vocals, horns, strings and acoustic guitar, and as room mics. The characterful combination of warmth, very finely resolved transients and soft highs is what makes the AEA R84 in particular so appealing.

Premium sound with weight reduction

Compared to the premium model R44C, AEA has reduced the weight of the R84 from an immense 3.6kg to 1.8kg by various measures. Mainly by using modern materials for the production of the permanent magnet, but also by a smaller housing and a sound guide calculated according to contemporary models, it was possible to build a much more compact and user-friendly microphone. Still, the R84 is oriented to the same sonic ideal and uses the same ribbon element and output transformer as the R44C, so the differences essentially come down to appearance.

What is there to consider?

Applying phantom power must be avoided at all costs, as must rapid fluctuations in air pressure, as can be caused by blowing or blowing into it at close range or when miking percussion on-axis, because they can destroy the sensitive ribbon. Therefore, when miking critical sound sources, a pop filter is used, a suitable safety distance is maintained, or the microphone is angled at about 45°. However, very high sound levels far above the pain threshold, such as those produced by very loud amps, are not a problem.

As with most passive ribbon microphones, when recording quiet sources, care must be taken to use a preamp with appropriate, low-noise gain reserves due to the relatively low output level. Suitable preamps are available from AEA itself, but also from AMS Neve, BAE Audio, SPL or elysia. If you know your stuff, a tube preamp, e.g. from Universal Audio, will not give you the required signal-to-noise ratio, but a wonderfully full recording in the style of the 50s. High-quality inline preamps from Cloud Microphones or Tierra Audio, on the other hand, turn any Preamp into a front end suitable for passive ribbons.