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Swart Amplifier Co. R-2

Bidirectional Ribbon Microphone

The Swart Amplifier Co. R-2 is the company’s first microphone offering after years of focusing on high-quality guitar amplifiers. This is a passive ribbon mic design and was designed by Michael Swart to complement the sound of his amps. The vast majority of the microphone is made in-house, the only exceptions being the transformer winding and the powder-coating on the mic body.

The R-2 features a 2-inch, 2.5 micron ribbon, which is cut and crimped in the Swart shop by Michael himself. As with most ribbon mics, the polar pattern is bidirectional (figure-8). One side of the mic is slightly brighter than the other and this is indicated by sun and moon graphics on either side of the body.

Mr. Swart says that the intent of the R-2 was to capture the warm, natural sound of guitar amplifiers and that it is most effective in that application, though users have told him of their success in other uses. He explains that it does have the expected high-frequency roll-off and pronounced proximity effect common to most ribbon mic designs and recommends placing the mic 8-12 inches away from a speaker cabinet for best results.

Michael Swart

This Ribbon mic seems to capture more sonic information than a standard dynamic mic in a far more natural sounding way. It’s really been a revelation to me. Our proprietary custom hand wound Toroidal Core transformer was designed for its efficiency and hum canceling ability. When combined with our custom ribbon, which is cut, crimped, and tuned in the Swart Shop, the result is something truly special… it’s my go-to amp mic now. Just really a special piece.

As of November, 2020, Swart has not published specs for this microphone.

The custom toroidal transformer was designed by Swart and is wound by a colleague of his in New Jersey. The motors are laser-cut in-house.

The R-2 is available in two colors: “Vintage Green” and “Black Sparkle”. Mic bodies are powder-coated by a local shop in Wilmington, NC. Each R-2 microphone is made to order and is signed, numbered and dated.

Each mic comes with a felt bag for transport and storage.

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The mic was released in 2019.

Specifications

Pickup Patterns	Pads & Filters
Bidirectional (Unpublished)

Ribbon Construction	Impedance	SPL/Noise
Length: 50.8mm Gauge: 2.5 microns	n/a

Weight	Length	Max Diameter	Interface(s)
n/a	n/a	n/a	3-pin XLR male (1)

Power Specifications

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