For my final project, I intend to recreate a piece of
technology that was once considered an integral part of any vocal booth: The
ribbon microphone. The concept of a ribbon mic is that an aluminum “ribbon” is
suspended on a structure called a “motor”.
On either side of the ribbon are powerful magnets that are wired to a transformer
which converts the small vibrations in the air caused by a sound wave into an electrical
current. Most DIY ribbon mic kits run upwards of $300, so my goal is to build a
budget ribbon mic without making use of these kits. By sourcing and designing
all of the parts myself, I hope to save a considerable amount of money while at
the same time producing a microphone that is worth using in my own personal
recording studio. I plan to use a combination of 3D printed components and vacuum formed components to design my own case/body
assembly for this creation that can be mounted onto a standard microphone stand
and to demo it with a song recorded using only my laptop (to arrange the layers
of the song encode it to a playable mp3) and my home-brew mic (to capture my
vocals and any live instruments I make use of in the song). My target budget is
under $50, but I’m flexible with pricing as I’d rather sacrifice a few extra
dollars than sacrifice audio quality. I also plan on making a guide (complete
with printable CAD files) sometime in the future so that anyone can construct
this mic. The working name for this design right now (until I think of a better
one) is the MTM-100.
Example of a vintage ribbon mic below:
This will be very cool to see you construct your own microphone! It's clear that you know a lot about this sort of equipment and have done plentiful research, so while I'm sure making the parts will still be a challenge, that knowledge will really help you make it through to the end. I strongly (Agree With) this project proposal and can't wait to see what you come up with as the final product.
ReplyDeletePaige Ruka
Thanks for the feedback and the enthusiasm Paige. I'll try not to disappoint. :)
Delete(A) I agree with this project idea. I think this will be really cool if you're able to produce a quality ribbon mic under your goal budget, especially since you plan to make it reproducible for other people. Which parts are you using 3D-printed components for?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the enthusiasm. To answer your question: I plan to 3d print the bulk of the body/case assembly (The parts painted black in the example mic photo) and the make the gold portion using vacuum formed plastic and a drill. The motor assembly (the piece of plastic I'll mount all the magnets and transistors and stuf to) will also likely be 3d printed and then later outfitted with bits of copper tape to use for electrical connections. Example of motor assembly: http://www.diyaudiocomponents.com/image/cache/catalog/products/_MG_3687-800x640.jpg
DeleteAgree with, this is an awesome way to save money with a project. What I am curious about is what type of parts you intend to use to make the same sound quality as a full priced microphone.
ReplyDeleteExcellent question Tony. I think the best explanation I can really give in a blog comment is that I plan to make parts more than I plan to "use" parts. What I mean by that is that, most microphone kits are expensive due to the production costs involved with actually forming the components themselves. A body/case assembly, transformer, XLR output, magnets, aluminum ribbon, ect are all pre-fabricated in the kit and thus anyone who buys the kit takes on the costs of production. My plan is to make the body/case assembly, aluminum ribbon, and portions of the "motor" assembly from scratch, so rather than purchasing an entire microphone worth of parts, I'll only really need to spend money on the magnets, XLR output, and the transformer (and maybe some copper foil and wire, but I'm pretty sure I have that stuff sitting in my garage). If this doesn't make sense, I apologize, and next time you see me I can probably explain it to you much better.
DeleteI (A)gree with the idea. I think the things you plan on building will be doable in the time-frame given and the budget that you set for yourself, or at least close to it.
ReplyDeleteI was about to ask how you planned to do the gold portion from the picture included, but I see you answered that already. We've already talked about this project, so I'll just say I (A)gree with what you're planning here, and I'm super interested to see if you can truly reproduce the audio quality with a limited budget and the materials we have available to us.
ReplyDeleteThough I do feel like this proposal is missing a few elements (where is the visual aid?!) I think this will be a great final project. Definitely budget some time for getting the electronics to work, and for fitting all of the components together for the final assembly.
ReplyDeletei agree with this project
ReplyDeletei think this is a very interesting and challenging project but i see that you have extensive knowledge and understanding on how microphones work. I cant wait to see how this turns out and very curious to see if your design comes out as good as the real thing.
Agree With. I like that it's a money saving idea and useful. You could really make the base and what you model unique in shape (granted that you can I don't know how the internal tech of the mic will look or anything). I'd say go for it since you have the mic knowledge for it.
ReplyDeleteagree with. The idea saving money should drive you through this project. I had the same questions as tony as far as recreating the sound quality, but it sounds like you have a grasp on that.
ReplyDeleteChallenge, i don't think is possible with such a small budget, and we haven't done much with electronics which aren't easy to figure out, good luck.
ReplyDeleteActually, I've already ordered all of my components, and not only is it possible to build one mic with this budget, but it was actually possible to buy enough parts to have spares in case I break something while I'm building this. In regards to electronics not being "easy to figure out", I never said I was looking for an easy project. I already have a decent grasp on how electronics work, and our professor also has some pretty extensive knowledge in that department, so I think I'm good.
Deleteyeah i think that you would need a little budget to get this done
ReplyDeleteUmm..... What?
DeleteThis is a really cool (and sellable) idea that would be very cool to see come to life!
ReplyDelete