recordinghacks

MXL R44

Bidirectional Ribbon Microphone

The R44 is a budget ribbon microphone, with a street price around $100. It appears to be the least expensive ribbon mic on the market.

It was introduced in early to mid 2009, but quickly renamed to R144 to avoid confusion with the R44C from AEA.

It’s not clear whether the R44 is actually available for sale. Some vendors may well have an initial shipment to sell through before putting the R144 on the shelves. The only difference between the two mics is the name and the color.

The R44/R144 ribbon is made of corrugated 1.8-micron aluminum. MXL documents the ribbon length at 47mm, but it is not clear whether that is the full length of the ribbon or the length of the magnets. (See Michael Joly’s article on ribbon motor architecture, linked from the sidebar, for more information.)

The mic includes a micro-fiber cleaning cloth, a ring mount (MXL p/n V6-H), and an elastic shockmount (p/n MXL-06).

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The mic was released in 2009.

Specifications

Frequency Response - BidirectionalClick Graph to Compare!

Pickup Patterns	Pads & Filters
Bidirectional (1.6 mV/Pa; 20 - 17,000 Hz)

Ribbon Construction	Impedance	SPL/Noise
47mm, 1.8-micron aluminum ribbon	250 Ohms (Low)	Max SPL: 130 dB

Weight	Length	Max Diameter	Interface(s)
400g (14.11oz)	171mm (6.73'')	47mm (1.85'')	3-pin XLR male (1)

Power Specifications

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