<s>
A	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphone	I-Algorithm
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
ribbon	O
velocity	O
microphone	B-Application
,	O
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
microphone	B-Application
that	O
uses	O
a	O
thin	O
aluminum	O
,	O
duraluminum	O
or	O
nanofilm	O
of	O
electrically	O
conductive	O
ribbon	O
placed	O
between	O
the	O
poles	O
of	O
a	O
magnet	O
to	O
produce	O
a	O
voltage	O
by	O
electromagnetic	O
induction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
are	O
typically	O
bidirectional	O
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
they	O
pick	O
up	O
sounds	O
equally	O
well	O
from	O
either	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
microphone	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
moving-coil	O
microphone	B-Application
,	O
the	O
diaphragm	B-Device
is	O
attached	O
to	O
a	O
light	O
movable	O
coil	O
that	O
generates	O
a	O
voltage	O
as	O
it	O
moves	O
back	O
and	O
forth	O
between	O
the	O
poles	O
of	O
a	O
permanent	O
magnet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
,	O
a	O
light	O
metal	O
ribbon	O
(	O
usually	O
corrugated	O
)	O
is	O
suspended	O
between	O
the	O
poles	O
of	O
a	O
magnet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
are	O
also	O
called	O
"	O
velocity	O
microphones	B-Application
"	O
because	O
the	O
induced	O
voltage	O
is	O
proportional	O
to	O
the	O
velocity	O
of	O
the	O
ribbon	O
and	O
thus	O
of	O
the	O
air	O
particles	O
in	O
the	O
sound	O
wave	O
,	O
unlike	O
in	O
some	O
other	O
microphones	B-Application
where	O
the	O
voltage	O
is	O
proportional	O
to	O
the	O
displacement	O
of	O
the	O
diaphragm	B-Device
and	O
the	O
air	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
important	O
advantage	O
that	O
the	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphone	I-Algorithm
had	O
when	O
it	O
was	O
introduced	O
is	O
that	O
its	O
very	O
lightweight	O
ribbon	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
under	O
very	O
little	O
tension	O
,	O
has	O
a	O
resonant	O
frequency	O
lower	O
than	O
20Hz	O
;	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
the	O
typical	O
resonant	O
frequency	O
of	O
the	O
diaphragms	B-Device
in	O
contemporary	O
high	O
quality	O
microphones	B-Application
which	O
used	O
other	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
typical	O
resonant	O
frequency	O
of	O
those	O
microphones	B-Application
is	O
within	O
the	O
range	O
of	O
human	O
hearing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
even	O
the	O
very	O
early	O
commercially	O
available	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
had	O
excellent	O
frequency	O
response	O
throughout	O
the	O
nominal	O
range	O
of	O
human	O
hearing	O
(	O
20Hz	O
to	O
20kHz	O
for	O
a	O
young	O
adult	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
voltage	O
output	O
of	O
older	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
is	O
typically	O
quite	O
low	O
compared	O
to	O
a	O
dynamic	O
moving	O
coil	O
microphone	B-Application
,	O
and	O
a	O
step-up	O
transformer	B-Algorithm
is	O
used	O
to	O
increase	O
the	O
voltage	O
output	O
and	O
increase	O
the	O
output	O
impedance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modern	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
do	O
not	O
suffer	O
from	O
this	O
problem	O
due	O
to	O
improved	O
magnets	O
and	O
more	O
efficient	O
transformers	B-Algorithm
and	O
have	O
output	O
levels	O
that	O
can	O
exceed	O
typical	O
stage	O
dynamic	O
microphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
were	O
once	O
delicate	O
and	O
expensive	O
,	O
but	O
modern	O
materials	O
make	O
certain	O
present-day	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
very	O
durable	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
they	O
may	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
loud	O
rock	O
music	O
and	O
stage	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
prized	O
for	O
their	O
ability	O
to	O
capture	O
high-frequency	O
detail	O
,	O
comparing	O
very	O
favorably	O
with	O
condenser	O
microphones	B-Application
,	O
which	O
can	O
often	O
sound	O
subjectively	O
"	O
aggressive	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
brittle	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
high	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
frequency	O
spectrum	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
their	O
bidirectional	O
pick-up	O
pattern	O
,	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
may	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
pairs	O
to	O
produce	O
the	O
Blumlein	O
Pair	O
recording	O
array	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
bidirectional	O
pick-up	O
pattern	O
,	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
can	O
also	O
be	O
configured	O
to	O
have	O
cardioid	O
,	O
hypercardioid	O
,	O
and	O
variable	O
pattern	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
many	O
mixers	O
are	O
equipped	O
with	O
phantom	B-Algorithm
power	I-Algorithm
in	O
order	O
to	O
enable	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
condenser	O
microphones	B-Application
,	O
care	O
should	O
be	O
taken	O
when	O
using	O
condenser	O
and	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphone	I-Algorithm
is	O
improperly	O
wired	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
not	O
unheard	O
of	O
with	O
older	O
microphones	B-Application
,	O
this	O
capability	O
can	O
damage	O
some	O
ribbon	O
elements	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
improvements	O
in	O
designs	O
and	O
materials	O
have	O
made	O
those	O
concerns	O
largely	O
inconsequential	O
in	O
modern	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Walter	O
H	O
.	O
Schottky	O
and	O
Erwin	O
Gerlach	O
co-invented	O
the	O
first	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphone	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
few	O
years	O
later	O
,	O
Dr.	O
Harry	O
F	O
.	O
Olson	O
of	O
RCA	O
started	O
developing	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
using	O
field	O
coils	O
and	O
permanent	O
magnets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
RCA	O
Photophone	O
Type	O
PB-31	O
was	O
commercially	O
manufactured	O
in	O
1931	O
,	O
greatly	O
impacting	O
the	O
audio	O
recording	O
and	O
broadcasting	B-Operating_System
industries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Condenser	O
microphones	B-Application
at	O
the	O
time	O
could	O
not	O
compare	O
to	O
its	O
frequency	O
response	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
BBC-Marconi	O
Type	O
A	O
was	O
an	O
iconic	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphone	I-Algorithm
produced	O
by	O
the	O
BBC	O
and	O
Marconi	O
between	O
1934	O
and	O
1959	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
of	O
note	O
is	O
the	O
ST&C	O
Coles	B-Algorithm
4038	I-Algorithm
(	O
or	O
PGS	O
–	O
pressure	O
gradient	O
single	O
)	O
,	O
designed	O
by	O
the	O
BBC	O
in	O
1954	O
and	O
still	O
used	O
for	O
some	O
applications	O
to	O
this	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
historical	O
uses	O
varied	O
from	O
talks	O
to	O
symphony	O
concerts	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
regarded	O
as	O
a	O
delicate	O
,	O
fine	O
traditional	O
microphone	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
German	O
Beyerdynamic	B-Algorithm
M	I-Algorithm
160	I-Algorithm
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
1957	O
,	O
fitted	O
with	O
a	O
smaller	O
microphone	B-Application
element	O
with	O
two	O
15mm	O
ribbons	O
combined	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
highly	O
directional	O
pickup	O
pattern	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
microphone	B-Application
proved	O
to	O
be	O
popular	O
in	O
recording	O
studios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Around	O
2002	O
,	O
relatively	O
inexpensive	O
( $80	O
–	O
$200	O
)	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
manufactured	O
in	O
China	O
and	O
inspired	O
by	O
the	O
RCA-44	O
and	O
older	O
Soviet	O
Oktava	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
became	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UK	O
based	O
Stewart	O
Taverner	O
and	O
his	O
company	O
XAudia	O
developed	O
"	O
The	O
Beeb	O
"	O
,	O
modifying	O
vintage	O
Reslo	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
for	O
better	O
tone	O
,	O
performance	O
and	O
increased	O
output	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
,	O
microphones	B-Application
employing	O
ribbon	O
elements	O
made	O
of	O
strong	O
nanomaterials	O
became	O
available	O
,	O
offering	O
orders	O
of	O
magnitude	O
improvement	O
in	O
signal	O
purity	O
and	O
output	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphone	I-Algorithm
is	O
an	O
electrically	O
simple	O
design	O
with	O
no	O
active	O
circuitry	O
;	O
it	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
build	O
one	O
from	O
a	O
kit	O
,	O
or	O
with	O
basic	O
tools	O
and	O
materials	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
acoustic	O
complexity	O
of	O
ribbon	B-Algorithm
microphones	I-Algorithm
is	O
comparable	O
to	O
other	O
types	O
of	O
air	O
coupled	O
transducers	O
.	O
</s>
