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to rub against the ribbon causing distortion, electrical shorts or tearing 
of the ribbon. The best prevention is to keep the microphone covered 
with the supplied plastic bag when it is not in use.
 
The A840 was designed to be less sensitive to external interference. Its 
design attracts less “tramp iron” while retaining the overall sound and 
20 Hz bass response of the original RCA 44.

Under no circumstances should you disassemble and take the grille off 
of the microphone as this could allow tramp iron to enter the narrow gap 
between the ribbon and the pole pieces. Disassembling the microphone 
will VOID your warranty.

Magnetic Stray Fields

Ribbon microphones are fundamentally prone to picking up strong 
external magnetic fields caused by light dimmers or nearby power 
transformers. Guitar players will know this phenomenon from single-coil 
pickups. Even though much attention was paid to suppressing such 
sensitivity to external magnetic fields in the design of the A840, it is still 
possible that you might encounter this problem. If you should pick up 
a hum, try rotating or moving the microphone to find a spot where the 
hum disappears, and try eliminating potential sources of stray magnetic 
fields. You can use the microphone to find where hum is originating. 
Rotate the mic for maximum interference and move it back and forth to 
sense its direction.

The high-performance magnets used in AEA microphones are incredibly 
strong, and a significant amount of stray magnetic field lines surround 
the microphone. Avoid placing the microphone in close proximity to hard 
drives, credit cards, analog tape, or any other magnetically sensitive 
items to prevent any data loss.

Microphone Positioning

The A840 was designed with placement versatility and vibration 
isolation in mind. The microphone body is supported by a U-shaped 
yoke. To obtain the shock mount benefits of the A840, we suggest 
adjusting the swivel mount towards the source then positioning the 
angle of the mic stand.

The A840 includes a fixed captive XLR cable which is routed from the 
bottom of the mic and secured to the yoke mount. Securing the XLR 

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Summary of Contents for A840

Page 1: ...ribbonmics preamps since 1964 www ribbonmics com tel 1 626 798 9128 fax 1 626 798 2378 made in california aeaa840 PHANTOM POWERED VERSION OF THE R84 OWNER S MANUAL Revision 4 April 2016 ...

Page 2: ...bient mic applications It s just as versatile as an R44 flattering voice strings brass and drums alike Protect it from puffs of air phantom power and tramp iron and it is nearly invulnerable Treat it well and it will last decades Your A840 microphone is 100 handcrafted in Pasadena CA AEA is a family owned company with a small crew of skilled technicians most of them being musicians themselves Prou...

Page 3: ...trolling Leakage 6 Proximity Effect 7 APPLICATION EXAMPLES 8 Vocals 8 Acoustic Guitar 8 Electric Guitar 9 Brass Woodwinds 9 Strings 10 Piano 10 Drums Percussion 11 PRECAUTIONS 11 Phantom Power 11 Wind Gusts 12 Tramp Iron 12 Magnetic Stray Fields 13 Microphone Positioning 13 SPECIFICATIONS 14 WARRANTY 16 SUPPORT 16 ...

Page 4: ...sed for vocals or instruments its perfor mance is intimate warm and detailed yet never harsh GENERAL GUIDELINES If using a USB or battery powered audio interface make sure the unit is capable of providing 48 volt powering IEC specifies P48 power which should be able to deliver 10 milliamps per input The phantom current draw for active AEA ribbon mics is 7 milliamps Please check the current values ...

Page 5: ...nd where the mic will be if you can feel the motion of air on your hand place a pop filter between the microphone and the source of the wind gusts or simply pull the mic further back When recording kick drums or bass guitar cabinets angle the microphone to make sure that no wind blasts hit the microphone directly on axis from the front or back 4 Your A840 is a valuable and important investment Lik...

Page 6: ...d or microphones that result in comb filter distortions Since gobos usually are bulky they also inhibit the ability of the musicians to hear and see each other easily Such a setup requires complex and often cumbersome headphone monitor mixes for the musicians Since the A840 is bidirectional it exhibit nulls at right angles to the principal axis These nulls produce a plane of rejection around the s...

Page 7: ...udios Designed to accommodate distant and medium miking duties exhibits a flat frequency response when placed 3 feet 1 meter away from the source Experienced vocalists instinctively locate the proper working distances for the microphones they are using From as early as the 1930s Frank Sinatra always kept one hand on the microphone stand while singing Some joked that he simply was steadying himself...

Page 8: ...ve a pop filter handy The ribbon is well protected from damaging plosive blasts but to avoid noises from wind blasts we recommend using a pop filter If you are recording a musician who sings and plays an instrument at the same time you can make use of the exceptional rejection offered by the 90º null planes of the bidirectional pickup pattern to reduce the pickup of the instrument in the vocal mic...

Page 9: ...s close to each other as possible to avoid phase problems caused by sound arriving at the microphones at slightly different path lengths Make sure to listen to the combined signal summed to mono to catch potential comb filtering that could be caused by out of phase signals If you are recording with the back lobe of the A840 it is important to invert the polarity on the preamp or DAW For a more nat...

Page 10: ...ources If you desire more ambiance texture pull the microphone further away from the source A840s in a Blumlein configuration coincident pair at 90 degree angle positioned at a distance of 10 to 15 feet 3 5 m from a string section will capture a deep and wide image For bass string instruments that are bowed and plucked placing the A840 about a foot away 0 3 0 5 m will give you a very nice and defi...

Page 11: ...ad of the drummer with each mic pointing in a different direction This will give you a very wide image of the drums that sounds like you are in sitting center stage Both of these techniques also work well for recording the sound of the room The closer the A840s are positioned to the drummer the more direct sound and less room ambiance will be captured by the mics PRECAUTIONS Most ribbon microphone...

Page 12: ...void wind which can damage the ribbon Indoors however it is also important to avoid serious air movement from stage curtains open windows doors or air conditioning systems High SPL sound sources do not usually pose a problem because AEA s active ribbon microphones can handle 130 dB SPL or more without difficulty It is only those explosive sources that produce a strong blast of air such as the bass...

Page 13: ... design of the A840 it is still possible that you might encounter this problem If you should pick up a hum try rotating or moving the microphone to find a spot where the hum disappears and try eliminating potential sources of stray magnetic fields You can use the microphone to find where hum is originating Rotate the mic for maximum interference and move it back and forth to sense its direction Th...

Page 14: ... Microphone Dimensions Height Width Depth Weight with cable Shipping Weight Connector Pressure gradient transducer Bidirectional 20 Hz to 20 kHz 141 dB SPL 1 third harmonic 1 kHz 6 3 mV Pa 44 dBv Pa into unloaded circuit 92 Ω broadband 1 0K Ω or greater P48 phantom power 7 mA Pin 2 high for positive pressure on front of microphone Native bidirectional figure of 8 pattern Up to 90 dB rejection at r...

Page 15: ...0 60 90 120 150 180 150 120 90 60 30 10000Hz 4000Hz 2000Hz 1000Hz 500Hz 200Hz Directivity 15 Data below 200 Hz omitted due to measuring room restrictions 0 dBr is equivalent to 6 3 mV Pa at 1kHz Normalized to 0 dBr at 1kHz ...

Page 16: ...ve Pasadena CA 91104 You may also register your AEA equipment online at http www ribbonmics com aea form php SUPPORT If you should encounter any problems with your microphone or if you have questions regarding using the A840 in specific application please contact our customer support team at support ribbonmics com To talk to a live human being call 1 626 798 9128 between 9 00 5 00 pm PST Monday th...

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