AEA r84 Owner's Manual

ribbonmics & preamps

since 1964

www.ribbonmics.com | tel: [phone] | fax: [phone]

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aea r84

CLASSIC PASSIVE RIBBON MIC INSPIRED BY THE 44

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OWNER’S MANUAL

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Revision 4, April 2016

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WELCOME

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Congratulations on your purchase of the AEA R84 microphone. The
R84 is a sensibly priced Big Ribbon™ microphone which delivers high
performance and value. Call it a “Swiss army knife”, your “desert island
mic”, or simply “the workhorse” – the R84 was designed to be flexible
and practical in a myriad of recording settings. Developed to have a
classic sound from the same family as the R44, the R84 delivers
exceptional headroom while maintaining an intimate performance quality
with smooth highs and extended lows. These aspects, combined with
the reduced proximity effect, make the R84 incredibly well suited for
both close-up and ambient mic applications. It’s just as versatile as an
R44, flattering voice, strings, brass and drums alike. Protect it from
puffs of air, phantom power, and tramp iron, and it is nearly invulnerable.
Treat it well, and it will last decades.

Your R84 microphone is 100% handcrafted in Pasadena, CA. AEA is a
family owned company with a small crew of skilled technicians – most of
them being musicians themselves. Proudly independent, we still
manufacture all our ribbon microphones and preamps by hand from
locally sourced parts.

We hope that the R84 will capture many magical performances that
touch the heart. This manual will help ensure that you get the best
sound and longevity from your new microphone. Please become part of
the AEA community by sharing your experiences with the R84 via e-mail,
phone or our social media channels.

Wes Dooley

President of AEA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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WELCOME 2
INTRODUCTION 4
GENERAL GUIDELINES 4
APPLICATION ADVICE 5

“This Side” vs. “That Side” 5
Controlling Leakage 6

Proximity Effect 6
Preamps 7

APPLICATION EXAMPLES 8

Vocals 8
Acoustic Guitar 9
Electric Guitar 9
Brass & Woodwinds 10
Strings 10
Piano 11
Drums & Percussion 11

PRECAUTIONS 12

Phantom Power 12
Wind Gusts 12
Tramp Iron 13
Magnetic Stray Fields 13

Microphone Positioning 14

SPECIFICATIONS 14
WARRANTY 16
SUPPORT 16

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INTRODUCTION

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The R84 is a pill-shaped, side-address, passive ribbon microphone with
a bidirectional (or figure-of-8) pickup pattern. It is assembled with the
same Big Ribbon™, tuning (16.5 Hz) and transformer as the R44 and
shares many of the unique sound characteristics with its historic
predecessor. With improvements in ribbon technology and manufac­turing since the 30’s and 40’s, AEA engineered the R84 to be more
efficient, lighter and less expensive. Designed to accommodate distant
and medium miking duties, it exhibits a flat frequency response when
placed 3 feet (1 meter) away from the source. As a result, the mic per­forms well on a variety of recording applications including vocals, brass,
strings, woodwinds, guitars, and drums. The R84 microphone continues
to gain followers with its natural sound, articulate midrange and forgiv­ing nature. Whether used on vocals or instruments, its performance is
intimate, warm and detailed, yet never harsh.

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GENERAL GUIDELINES

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To maintain the best performance from your new AEA R84 microphone,
take note of these four basic rules:

1) Keep the microphone covered when it is not in use.

2) Always use a sturdy microphone stand.

3) Never expose the microphone to strong air turbulence.

4) Be nice to the microphone, and it will be nice to you.

1) Keeping the microphone covered when it is not in use will reduce the
possibility of damage that might result from a sudden gust of air coming
from air-conditioning or an open door or window. Place the supplied
protective bag over the microphone when it is not in use. For long term
storage, place the microphone in its protective case.

2) While the R84 was designed to work well with all standard
microphone stands, a high-quality boom stand will make your life a little
bit easier. Mounting the microphone on a strong, sturdy microphone
stand with a heavy base (or tripod) is essential. If you are using a boom,
make sure that it is properly balanced and that the tripod legs are
positioned appropriately to prevent tipping.

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3) Ribbon microphones can withstand very high SPL (Sound Pressure
Level) without difficulty, but can be damaged easily by a sudden, strong
gust of air or high levels of very low frequency sound waves (like from
a kick drum or bass cabinet). This can stretch the ribbon, causing the
microphone to start sounding flabby. To avoid possible damage, follow
this simple procedure when positioning the microphone: put the back
of your hand where the mic will be; if you can feel the motion of air on
your hand, place a pop-filter between the microphone and the source of
the wind gusts or simply pull the mic further back. When recording kick
drums or bass guitar cabinets, angle the microphone to make sure that
no wind blasts hit the microphone directly on-axis from the front or back.

4) Your R84 is a valuable and important investment. Like any piece of
recording equipment or musical instrument, it requires common sense
and good basic care to keep it working properly. Given simple, basic
care as described above, your new microphone will perform admirably
for decades.

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APPLICATION ADVICE

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“This Side” vs. “That Side”

Here is an illustration of the pickup pattern of the R84. The AEA logo
on the front of the R84 points directly towards the ‘principal axis’ (+)
indicated in the diagram.

Figure-of-8 microphones are constructed with positive polarity on the
front and negative polarity on the back. Positive pressure on the front
side of the ribbon produces a positive voltage on Pin-2, with respect to
Pin-3 on the output connector.

The sound of your R84 is slightly different between the front and the
back — subtle, but sufficient to offer two “flavors.” In addition to polarity,
this is the result of using two wraps of grille cloth on the back and only
one on the front. When using the rear lobe, remember to invert the

Null Plane

Principal Axis

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