New Gear Review: Cathedral Pipes Seville Ribbon Mic

The Seville is a handmade ribbon microphone that uses Cathedral Pipes' own folded 2.5-micron thick ribbon element. The Seville continues Cathedral Pipes' distinctive look in studio microphones with a white and red power-coated finish and flashy chrome trim. The Seville looks like a hot-rodded version of the storied RCA 77BX ribbon microphone—including the same gimbal mount assembly and overall hefty ruggedness.

This is a modern, active ribbon microphone design that requires phantom power to run their custom-designed XMB active circuit technology that drives a premium CineMag CM-9887 output transformer.

I've been looking for an alternative overhead drum microphone—something different than the large or small diaphragm condenser mics most engineers use. The Seville has an open, slightly bright sound and works amazingly well as a single overhead mic about two to three feet above the rack toms. It has a bi-directional polar pattern with the back of the mic picking up some bounce back from the ceiling above the kit.

In the small room I had the drums, bi-directionality helped to produce a nice and tight ambient sound that combined well with the close mics on the rest of the drums.

Like all the Cathedral Pipes condenser microphones, the Seville has an internally LED-lit windscreen and comes in a cushioned pouch in foam lined travel case. The complete kit comes with a matching red 4-meter cable made with an OFC braided shield covering UP-OCC single conductor copper spiraled into a twisted pair and custom Neutrik NCMXX-series white XLRs.

The Seville sells $850 MSRP and for more about this new flashy bit of studio kit that sounds awesome, check: www.cathedralpipes.com/seville.php