AEA R88 Stereo Ribbon Microphone

The stereo R88mk2 ribbon mic captures sound as your ears hear it, with an honest and open tonality. The R88 effortlessly records complex sources like drums, strings, piano, and other instruments that produce intricate transients, harsher highs, and bellowing lows.

• Features two Big Ribbons™ in a fixed Blumlein and mid-side configuration
• Astonishingly open and natural sound
• Far-field ribbon mic designed to retain low end and top end at a distance
• Stereo version of the AEA N8
• Made in the U.S.A.

A STEREO MICROPHONE LIKE YOUR OWN EARS - The stereo R88 captures a space as it sounds live and in person, with all the present subtlety and nuance. Its expansive frequency response and balanced low end make it superbly effective when capturing the full breadth of sound from the back of a room or above a drum set.  Alongside the mono AEA N8, it boasts the widest frequency range of any mic in the AEA lineup and effortlessly manages more complex source audio like drums, strings, piano, and other instruments that produce intricate transients, harsher highs, and bellowing lows. The Blumlein configuration of the ribbons allows for a sweeping range of perspective, so an entire ensemble and room can be captured by the R88 alone.

THE ENGINEER’S SECRET WEAPON - The R88mk2 is the engineer’s secret weapon, offering a level of detail and balance in recording like no other microphone available. Packaged in a sleek, five-pound black shell designed for quick setup, it’s an excellent choice for remote recording. Particularly well suited for the rock, roots, classical, Americana and jazz genres, the R88mk2 has such versatility that engineers like John Cuniberti use it as their one mic to capture an entire band performing live in the same room. There is a reason that legendary Blackbird Studios in Nashville owns five R88s.

“The R88 is the most realistic mic iIve ever used. I still get confused if during playback the piano is coming out of the speakers or if the pianist is still playing in the room.” - Jon Castelli (Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Kesha)

A Rich History - The design of the R88mk2 borrows from serious stereo recording tradition. In 1931, EMI engineer Alan Blumlein invented stereo recording by demonstrating the natural reproduction of the soundstage in one of the Abbey Road studios in London. Today, Blumlein’s XY coincident recording technique lives on in the AEA R88mk2, which uses two figure-of-8 ribbons for producing an authentic representation of a performance. The pair of elements are angled in perfect phase at 90 degrees and mounted in close proximity to each other along the vertical axis of the microphone. As an alternative to Blumlein’s technique, the microphone can also be used for mid-side (MS) stereo, providing excellent mono compatibility and full control over the width of the stereo image. Either way, the R88mk2 is so easy to use that any recording novice can do it. Simply choose where to place the mic and hit record. It’s that easy.

A FAR-FIELD RIBBON FOR CREATIVE RECORDING - As a stereo far-field ribbon microphone, the R88mk2 was designed to capture balanced sound from long distances. Sound sources should be measured in feet rather than inches away from the mic. From 16 inches to 20 feet, the mic retains its full spectrum and incredible low end. When positioned closer than 16 inches, the mic adds proximity effect. When carefully used, this proximity effect can beef up thin sounds — either voices or instruments. Don’t worry about loud sources, either. The R88mk2 can handle 165+ dB SPL at 1 kHz allowing you to position it up-close to avoid room tone if needed. It will not be hurt by loud sources and can be positioned against a stereo guitar amp and other loud instruments.

Technical Specifications