{
PRECAUTIONS
}
Most ribbon microphones need little, if any, maintenance. Given proper
care they last for decades. Bing Crosby’s personal RCA-44BX (now in
the collection of the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters in Hollywood) sounds
as good today as it did when he recorded his radio broadcasts in the
1940s.
A few simple precautions will help you to keep your AEA R84 working
well for life.
Phantom Power
Phantom power is not required or recommended for passive ribbon
mics. Passive ribbon or other any other microphones with transformer-
coupled outputs, from Shure SM57s to Neumann U47s, may be
damaged by phantom power. In most circumstances, accidentally
supplying phantom power to your passive ribbon or other transformer-
coupled mics will NOT hurt the mic.
With a correctly wired cable and a properly working phantom power
supply, there is actually little danger of damaging an R84 microphone
with phantom power. However, passive ribbons such as the R84
WILL get hurt if ground Pin 1 is accidently shorted, or miswired to
Pin 2 or 3. Using phantom power with a faulty or miswired cable or
a defective supply can severely stretch or break a ribbon. Even if the
ribbon survives, the microphone’s output transformer core will now be
magnetized and the sound of the microphone will have changed. We
recommend avoiding the use of phantom power with your R84 as a
general rule. It is recommended to make a habit of disengaging phantom
power a minute or two before plugging your R84.
Since passive ribbon microphones or other transformer-coupled
microphones are particularly sensitive to phantom-power, it is
recommended to make disengaging phantom-power before plugging
and unplugging a habit.
Wind Gusts
A second and equally important rule is never blow directly into any
microphone to test it. Not only does this force moisture and dirt into
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