R-121 LIVE Ribbon Microphone

With the Royer R-121L ribbon microphone from the Live Series, you get twice the durability in the ribbon element, allowing you to use it anywhere you'd like on stage with complete confidence.

How
After extensive testing, Royer found a new ribbon thickness for the R-121 microphone that allowed a significantly increase durability with minimal reduction in gain and transients response. The sonic difference is negligible, and the increased durability lets anyone use Royer ribbons in a live environment.

Royer Live Series microphones are identified with a red Royer logo (studio models have green or black logos). Live Series mics can be converted to Studio mics with a simple re-ribbon and logo replacement. There is no cost difference between standard Studio mics and Live Series mics

A figure-8 microphone on stage?
Surprisingly, figure-8 ribbon microphones are an excellent solution for bleed. Bleed can be a real problem with many onstage mics”not just the amount of bleed but the quality of the bleed. Here's how Royer handles the problem.

Rejection
Royer ribbon mics are figure-8, picking up sound from the front and rear of the microphone, and rejecting sounds approaching from a) the left and right sides of the mic, b) the top of the mic, and c) the bottom of the mic. These are extremely effective dead zones that engineers use to isolate instruments by positioning the mics in such a way that the dead zones face, and cancel, offending sound sources.

Case in point (as told by Royer): "Aerosmith used R-121's in the studio to record the electric guitars on their 2002 CD Just Push Play, but didn't consider them for live use. While rehearsing for their follow-up tour, the bleed in the electric guitar mics was driving the FOH engineer crazy. It was suggested they try using their R-121's and, after we assured them we'd replace the ribbons if they were damaged onstage, the band set up R-121's on Joe Perry and Brad Whitford's guitars. The mics eliminated the bleed problem so effectively (and sounded so good) that Royer R-121's have been Aerosmith's live (and studio) electric guitar mics from that day forward. In over five years of extensive use, they've only stretched one ribbon. An engineer on the crew told us that their Royers had a better reliability record than any of their other touring microphones!"

Off-Axis Coloration:
There's a lot of sound on a live stage and you can't entirely control for off-axis information getting into microphones, even ribbons. Most microphones color off-axis information in highly unflattering ways, which is why bleed can sound so nasty. Ribbons don't color off-axis information, so any bleed that manages to get into your onstage Royer mics will sound natural, not harsh or colored.


About Royer Live Series mics:
Royer Live Series mics (R-121L, R-122L, SF-24L) were introduced in 2008, making ribbon mics available to FOH engineers for the first time. As a group they won the 2008 TEC Award for Microphone Technology/Sound Reinforcement, and they're showing up in performance venues around the world.

Royer Live Series mics use thicker ribbon elements - carefully chosen for increased durability and minimal sonic variation from their studio brethren. The thicker ribbons have a slightly slower transient response, resulting in softer highs.

Live Series mics are identified by their red logos (studio models have green logos). Live models can be converted to a Studio model any time - Royer simply re-ribbons the mic to studio spec and replaces the red logo with a green logo.

Like any high-end microphone, Royer Live Series mics need to be handled carefully during setup and tear-down. Proper handling and storage in a dedicated microphone container will assure years of reliable service.

Royer Live Series on the road with

:

Keith Urban
- SF-24L drum overhead
- R-122L's on Keith's guitar cabinets

Phish
- SF-24L on drum overheads
- R-122L's on guitar cabinets

The Rolling Stones
- SF-24 on drum overhead for recording

Green Day
- R-121's on guitar cabinets

Arturo Sandoval
- R-122L for solo trumpet (all other stage mics by Shure)

Jeff Beck
- R-121's on guitar cabinets

Matchbox Twenty
- R-121L's on guitar cabinets

Maroon Five
- R-121L's on guitar cabinets

Aerosmith
- R-121L's on guitar cabinets

Wayne Shorter
- R-122L's on drum overheads and in front of kick
- R-122L on sax

George Thorogood
- R-121 on electric guitar

Barry Manilow
- R-122's on brass

Fleetwood Mac
- R-121's on guitar cabinets

Al Dimiola
- R-121L's on guitar cabinets

Brian Setzer
- R-121L on guitar cabinet
- SF-24L on drum overhead

Train
- R-121L's on guitar cabinets

Harry Connick Jr.
- 122's on brass section

Arturo Sandoval
- R-122 on solo trumpet

The Goo Goo Dolls
- R-121L's on electric guitars

Thursday
- R-121's on electric guitars