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Crowley And Tripp Naked Eye : crankyrayhanky's user review

"Ribbon Magic" 10 (10/10)

Product bought new in May 2008, for 899$ VAT incl

Characteristics10/10

This is a ribbon mic that is primarily meant for recording purposes. I was considering this standard Naked Eye versus the one with Roswellite. The Roswellite is said to be able to withstand blasts of volume that would typically destroy ribbon microphones- which would serve well if one were on the road performing live . On the advice of the sales person, I was told the standard Naked Eye would be sufficient for home based recording. This advice was spot on as the mic has served me well for years.

Overall Opinion10/10

This mic sounds great on everything! My top application is mic'ing up a loud hi gain guitar cab; this mic can go right up on the grille if need be- don't try that with your vintage ribbons! I did extensive A/Bing with a Royer 121 and decided to choose the Naked Eye. They both sound fantastic, but the Naked Eye presents a more natural picture of the tone while the Royer has a bit of a mid scoop to the tone. Not a huge difference, and the Royer is the go to for most modern pro studios capturing guitar cabs, but I felt the Naked Eye could easily attain the same sounds with a gentle eq adjustment.

The Naked Eye front side works great on guitar cabs; flip it around to the back side and BAM- you have a kick ass vocal mic that presents beautiful tone! I This back side works exceptionally well on acoustic guitars, presenting a great image of the guitar coupled with the natural ambience of the room. Need a drum room mic? Here it is, I put it a few feet in front of the kit to capture the center of the drum sound. I like to multi mic a kit, but this one mic could easily provide a great mono drum sound. Ribbons are very popular for spot mic'ing a hi hat or snare, so it can work there too- but I love the room sound this provides.

Ridiculous- I have a lot of mics available to me, but this mic is by far my #1 for guitar/bass cabs, acoustic guitars,vocals, drums ...this is a true desert island beast.
I've gone through quite a large number of mics- ribbons include a Royer, a royer copy, & a CAD. Condensers include a vast array from Oktava, MJoly Oktavamod, Audio Technica, AKG, Avantone, and so on. Suffice to say, I have lots of choices and this one is truly a great piece. Easily a perfect rating!

Note: Crowley tripp has been since bought out by Shure- check out their ribbon offerings as I believe they are built off the same designs

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