A RIBBON WITHOUT ROOM TONE - AEA’s KU4 is one of the most useful and unique ribbon microphones in the world. Its supercardioid polar pattern rejects bleed from other instruments and reflections in the room while retaining matchless top-end clarity. As the brightest mic in the AEA line, it retains the full spectrum sonic range that has made ribbon mics a staple in most of the world’s great recording studios. The KU4’s minimal proximity effect and accented mid-range make it an exceptional vocal mic that captures the presence and detail of a performance. Its near-field nature also lends to the close range recording of kick drums, strings, and woodwinds, providing a welcome brightness and balance in the mix.

 

THE NEAR-FIELD SUPERCARDIOID - The KU4’s supercardioid polar pattern enables it to capture direct sound from a vocalist or instrument without room tone. This is an advantage when tracking musicians live in the same room or when used live on stage. With most figure-of-eight patterned ribbons, mic positioning can require a finesse to avoid other sources using the microphone’s nulls. The KU4 has none of these limitations. Being a near-field ribbon microphone, the microphone was designed to be positioned between one and 18 inches from the source. The mic’s proximity effect kicks in six inches away from the sound source. It can be placed close to an instrument while retaining a balanced frequency response. Unlike most traditional ribbon mics, think the KU4’s placement should be thought in terms of inches instead of feet. Of course, the KU4 can also be positioned at some distance from the sound source. It will just have a more balanced sound from up close. The KU4 can handle 140+ dB SPL at 1 kHz. That means it will not be hurt by loud sound sources.

 

 

 

A REINVENTION OF A CLASSIC MOTION PICTURE MICROPHONE - The KU4 is a redesign of the legendary RCA KU3A, a unidirectional microphone originally designed for boom use in Hollywood motion picture studios. It was RCA’s most expensive ribbon microphone and fewer than 600 units were ever manufactured. The KU3A combined the smooth ribbon sound of the classic RCA 44 with a unidirectional pattern, a wide sweet spot, and reduced proximity bass boost. It expanded the engineer’s range of placement choices and became a standard at film studios throughout the world. Today, the KU3A is a rare collector’s item and only a handful of studios or rental houses own them. Original KU3As are notorious for their sonic inconsistencies due to production tolerances that included the use of the thick hair of English cows as a damping material. At AEA, we engineered our KU4 from the ground up in order to recreate this seminal design while ensuring flawless consistency from unit to unit.

 

YES, THERE’S A MATCHING PREAMP - Since the KU4 is a classic passive ribbon microphone, the preamp is critical for optimum performance. Preamp gain should be at least +60dB or higher and the preamp should have a very high impedance. It’s the same requirement with all passive ribbon mics. To guarantee consistent, full-range ribbon sound, we recommend AEA’s RPQ2, RPQ500 and TRP2 preamps, which were specially designed for ribbon microphones. However, preamps with above a 5K ohm impedance found in many live soundboards are adequate for guitar amps and other louder instruments. On quiet sound sources or for distance recording, an AEA preamp is highly recommended.

 

“The KU4 is honest, exactly where it needs to be while retaining a euphoric quality that’s hard to replicate with anything else. It’s truly a great experience hearing anything through that microphone. I know I’ll be excited about the results every time I reach for it.” - Josh Block (Leon Bridges)

 

Recording Mag || “Almost as important is that this is not just a microphone, it's a legend, and it's an RCA legend of very long standing. Don't underestimate the power of the legend; sometimes it just makes people perform better. I know, it's silly, but that's how the studio is. The KU3A was made by hand for a special job, and became a legend much the way the Stradivarius did. The KU4 makes it possible to actually own the legend.” – Scott Dorsey

 

Sound On Sound || “The combination of classic ribbon smoothness with a near-cardioid pattern is a very beguiling permutation that enables the use of ribbon mics in situations that are normally inappropriate or too challenging. ” – Hugh Robjohns

 

Mix Mag || “It's hard not to rave about this mic. Yes, It's expensive, but the feeling you get when you hear the KU4 in front of anything is the reason audio engineers get out of bed in the morning...The KU4 has an intimate quality that I've not heard out of any other ribbon. Using the mic is a joy” – Kevin Becka