The R88 is a stereo ribbon and the ribbons are mounted as a fixed Blumlein stereo pair. It’s a beautiful sounding mic. You can use it in mono if you wish too. It’s a great sounding, good value mic. You get two incredible ribbons, and you can put it anywhere and it’s always in phase, which is super important. It’s a simple task to create a beautiful stereo sound without having a lot of set up time. Just plug it in and it’s ready.
It also takes EQ and compression very well, should you need to do that. I’ve recorded whole bands just using the R88 on its own. You position people around it to get the balance you need, and as the ribbons are figure eight patterns it picks up in front and behind, so this is relatively straight forward. You can use it with mid-side techniques as well, which is really cool.
Sonically, it is full frequency but because of the ribbons it’s not overly bright or harsh in the top end. This is super useful as I think that we almost have too many things that are hyped in the top end these days, so it just fits really well. There’s something about it — when you pull the faders down you can still hear what it’s doing. It sort of ‘catches’ the sound, if you like, so you can record some percussion or some background vocals and if you want to pull them down in the mix, they’re still there — they don’t just disappear into mud. Just for the quality of the sound, ease of use and bang for buck, I think it’s an incredible piece of equipment. I use it on every session.
Hey there Luke, I’m a big fan of Clor… I also saw you play one New Year’s Eve at The Brixton Windmill, around 2008/2009?
(I’m sorry, I forget the name of your band!)
Anyway, I’m curious, your credits say you worked with Depeche Mode (or was it a remix job, not having to meet the band at all?), anyway,anyway,anyway! What work did you do for Depeche Mode? Any songs you helped write, mix or remix or whatever?
Depeche Mode being my favourite band ever! And Clor, well, Clor was awesome. That yellow album is a masterpiece! I just noticed Alan Moulder is mentioned in the CD linear notes! How have I missed that!?!🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
Thanks,
Nicko ✌🏼😉👍🏼
Ah! It was Sounds Of The Universe!
I’ll have to look at my CD, I’ve got the Mute promo CD of remixes too, so I’ll check that too!
And yeah, your name is definitely clicking with me now, especially with Foals too. I just didn’t realise that Luke Smith was from Clor! 😁🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
Still, tell me what you did for Depeche Mode still, please! ✌🏼😉👍🏼