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Royer R-121 Studio Ribbon Microphone

Dynamic Ribbon Microphone with Figure-8 Polar Pattern; Includes Wooden Presentation Box - Nickel
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Royer R-121 Ribbon Microphone

Royer ribbon microphones are simply wonderful! Here at Sweetwater, many of our Sales Engineers own and use these microphones due to their flexibility and versatility. The R-121 is a Sweetwater best-seller and hundreds of our customers agree that you can use it on everything from guitar amps and percussion to woodwind and acoustic instruments. Vocals? You bet. The R-121 is a wonderful studio must-have whether you're looking for just one microphone to do it all, or another flavor to add to your locker.

NEWS: Royer Labs has been given a GRAMMY award for their outstanding ribbon mics! In the words of the Academy, these mics "were revolutionary and moved the art of recording forward."

Ribbon-Velocity Studio Microphone

The Royer R-121 is a radically redesigned ribbon microphone and Royer's flagship product. Like most ribbons, the Royer R-121's pattern is figure 8, its sensitivity is roughly equal to a good dynamic mic, and it exhibits a warm, realistic tone and flat frequency response. But when it came to design time, Royer threw out the molds and took a fresh approach to ribbons using advanced materials and cutting edge construction techniques. The Royer R-121 redefines ribbon microphones, leading Recording Magazine to say "the Royer Royer R-121 is destined to become one of the classic microphones of the 21st century." It's a sleek, light, extremely versatile microphone that is easy to use, wonderfully musical, and extremely sturdy.

Recording With The Royer R-121

A Royer R-121 ribbon microphone hears things the way your ears hear them. If you've ever heard that incredible guitar, melodic trumpet, sweet flute, deep kick drum, (pick your sound), and found that getting that sound to tape or hard drive was impossible, you owe it to yourself to try a Royer ribbon. On playback, you'll notice that the recorded sound is natural and alive, with a panoramic, ambient feel much like what you heard when you were standing in front of the instruments you recorded.

A Royer R-121's response is flat and well balanced; low end is deep and full without getting boomy, mids are well defined and realistic, and the high-end response is sweet and natural sounding, never edgy or sibilant.

Need to record at insane levels?

No problem! The Royer R-121's maximum SPL rating is >135dB and it can take that all day long. In practical terms, that means you can put your Royer R-121 directly in front of a souped-up mega-watts Marshall and turn it up to 11 without microphone distortion or doing any damage to the ribbon. We don't recommend trying this with other ribbon mics, but the Royer R-121 can take it, no sweat.

2 Mics In One

At distances of two feet and closer, the back of the Royer R-121 is brighter than the front side. The difference in the sound is somewhat like blending 10% of a condenser mic in with your ribbon mic signal. This can be extremely useful when you record acoustic guitars, vocals, and other sound sources that you may want to hear a little more top end on.

Royer R-121 Dynamic Ribbon Microphone Features:

  • High SPL Capabilities
  • No internal active electronics to overload or produce distortion up to maximum SPL rating
  • Extremely low residual noise
  • Ribbon element is not affected by heat or humidity
  • Absence of high-frequency phase distortion
  • Equal sensitivity from front or back of element
  • Consistent frequency response regardless of distance
  • Field replaceable ribbon transducer

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Tech Specs

  • Microphone Type: Ribbon
  • Ribbon Type: 2.5-micron Aluminum
  • Mono/Stereo: Mono
  • Polar Pattern: Figure-8
  • Frequency Response: 30Hz-15kHz
  • Max SPL: 135dB (20Hz)
  • Output Impedance: 300 ohms
  • Connector: XLR
  • Dimensions: 6.13" x 1"
  • Weight: 0.54 lbs.
  • Included Accessories: Wooden Case
  • Manufacturer Part Number: R-121

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

THE Definitive Guitar Mic

This mic is now around 25 years old. Still just as amazing as the day it was released. I've gone into a deep dive with this mic in the video I've linked. How this mic can sound a 1000 different ways (and another 1000 when you turn it around to use the back). The mic like a good high impedance preamp. The cloud lifter will get you to 3K, but to get the R121 you have to push a little harder. The video goes into this phenomena as we show what lower impedances will do to the performance of the mic. Be sure to get yourself a good shock mount with it as well.
This mic can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes on electric guitar. This is an investment in sound quality you wont regret!
Music background: Engineer 20+ years
Rated 5/5

Most versatile ribbon for instruments

I've had one R121 for several years now. I really need a second. There simply isn't a better microphone Tara cabinets, bass cabinets, horns, strings… on and on. It's amazing. This mic really shines with the addition of a cloud lifter line boost. Not only because it boost the gain but it also creates a better impedance match with the microphone the most preamplifiers will do. Even in situations where I don't need the extra gain I will still use the cloud lifter for the impedance.

Anyway if you're even considering buying this microphone just do it. I've only grown to love it more over the years. The more other microphones I add to my collection The more this mic distinguishes itself. You'll never regret owning it, that's for sure.

Also something that is not widely advertised, the first time you actually need to have the ribbon replaced is free. It's not something you need to do very often of course, but it's good to know when you finally do.
Music background: Studio owner, producer, engineer, musician
Rated 5/5

Best electric guitar mic.

Fantastic sound, I wanted this for a long time and finally, it is mine. I love this mic and would recommend it for pro recordings.
Rated 5/5

Amazing microphone

This is an incredible microphone. I've been recording vintage acoustic parlor guitars and the Royer captures all of the lovely nuances and overtones perfectly. It's very sensitive and captures fading sustain like no other mic in the studio.

My son is a performing trumpet player and the Royer is outstanding for that as well
Rated 5/5

Royer 121

Excellent!!! Absolutely incredible mic.
Music background: Producer/composer

Hear from a Sales Engineer

What Do Our In-house Gear Experts Think?

AJ Becerra

The Royer R-121 sounds great on any source! I personally love them on electric cabs and for drum overheads. I use 121's on EVERY session I do and it is SO easy to get a great sound of them. You cannot make these mics sound bad!

Ted Hunter

I bought a pair mainly for use as room microphones for my drums and for use on guitar amps, but they're so versatile they've really become my "desert island" microphones. I still find plenty of uses for my other microphones, but I'd be comfortable using my R121's on just about anything.

When Royer Labs got their Technical Grammy in 2013, they couldn't wait to come to Sweetwater to show it off. One thing they impressed on us was how much our amazing relationship helped to get the word out about their products. Of course, getting the word out about their amazing ribbon mics was easy - we've never regretted recommending them. In fact, it wouldn't be immodest to say that Royer was one of the biggest forces behind the ribbon mic's recent return to popularity. In addition to providing greater clarity and transparency to the classic ribbon sound, Royer's designs dramatically reduced the bulk and weight of these mics. That's made it easy for the engineers at Sweetwater Studios to use Royer ribbons for close-miking amps and getting deep into drum kits and acoustic pianos. We absolutely love them, and we're sure you will too.

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