Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone

The Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone is phantom-powered and operates just like any other Sontronics microphone, allowing you to plug and play with practically any preamp you choose.  Ribbon microphones are renowned for their smooth, uncoloured audio characteristics. Most have transformer-based output, which makes it difficult to achieve consistency when using different preamps which makes the Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone's operation even more desirable.

The Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone's sensitivity is high, and its low self-noise figure is simply unheard of for a ribbon microphone. It can be employed in most applications, including broadcast, speech, male and female vocals, drums and percussion, miking guitar cabinets, acoustic guitar, piano and orchestral instruments.  The Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone is supplied with its own unique mounting system in a luxury ABS flightcase lined with black velvet.

Unlike regular ribbon microphones, Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone only works with phantom power.  Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone is much more sensitive than transformer-based ribbon microphones, and therefore requires slightly different placement techniques to achieve the best results. Think of Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone like your ear when considering the proximity to the source you are recording, and take care not to overload the delicate ribbon membrane itself. For example, when miking an electric guitar cabinet, you can afford to place Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone two or three feet further back than you would put a regular ribbon microphone. However, when miking string instruments such as violin or cello, Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone can be placed closer to the source.

Thanks to its increased sensitivity and stable, consistent output levels, Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone requires less gain from your preamp and therefore allows you to record at higher levels with less noise.  It is sometimes useful to angle the front face of Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone at 45° to the floor in order to minimise the potentially damaging effects of wind blast to the ribbon. A pop filter, such as the Sontronics ST-POP, should always be used when recording speech, vocals and brass/wind instruments. NEVER BLOW DIRECTLY INTO THE MIC!  Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone's pickup pattern is figure-of-eight and, in common with all ribbon microphones, you will notice slightly different characteristics when recording from the front or from the rear. This is quite normal, and can be very useful. 

One of the primary characteristics of ribbon microphones is that, unlike many condenser microphones, they do not have an accentuated high-frequency response. To the untrained ear, this can sound quite strange, but once your ears have grown accustomed to this phenomenon, it will become evident how useful Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone is, especially when recording instruments that have a high-frequency bias. As a result, room ambience and ‘air' are minimised, and it can sound as if the instrument is being played right next to you.  Thanks to its very specific frequency response characteristics, the Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone is perfect for recording from many varied sources, including cello, violin, spoken word/broadcast, alto and tenor saxophone, accordion, drum overheads, acoustic guitar, electric guitar cabinets, flute, trumpet and piano. Of course, the Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone can produce great results on any other instrument as well.

Sontronics Sigma Active Ribbon Microphone Technical Data:
-Response: 20Hz - 15kHz
-Sensitivity: 18mV/Pa -33dB ±1dB (0dB = 1V/Pa 1,000Hz)
-Polar pattern: Symmetrical figure-of-eight
-Impedance: ≤150 Ohms
-Equivalent noise level: 14dB (A-weighted)
-Max SPL (for 0.5% THD @ 1,000Hz): 135dB
-Power source: Phantom power 48V ±4V
-Connector: Three-pin XLR