AEA N22 NUVO Series Active Ribbon Microphone

Manufacturer's Description from AEA

The AEA N22 was designed with the singer-songwriter musician in mind. Hard working artists, honing their musical craft for many years, feel strongly about their personal tone, so they need a microphone that translates their signature sound in a recording. The N22 delivers on exactly those key points - providing a great ribbon tone without the need for EQ in most applications. Most importantly, the N22 was designed by listening first, and measuring only after experienced musicians told us the microphone sounded great.

Bridging the gap between vintage and modern, ribbon and condenser, studio and live, the N22 is the perfect companion for musicians and engineers alike.

Featuring the same Big Ribbon technology that has earned AEA its reputation, the N22 offers an incredible sound in close-mic applications like acoustic and electric guitars, piano, vocals, and drums. With phantom-powered JFET electronics and a custom German transformer the N22 achieves optimal performance with a wide range of preamps including USB or Firewire audio interfaces in home studio setups. The highly protected pure aluminum ribbon allows for using the N22 in live sound applications and vocal recording without the need for an additional pop-filter. At well under $1,000 street price it delivers a handcrafted US-made microphone built to last a lifetime.

The N22 is the first member of AEA's NUVO series of microphones. Rooted in the RCA tradition just like other AEA ribbons, all NUVO microphones are designed to offer a fresh approach to the ribbon transducer and represent Wes Dooley's take on the evolution of the ribbon microphone.

- Specifically designed for singer-songwriters, musicians, and home studios.
- Bridging the gap between the top end clarity of a condenser and the classic tone of a ribbon.
- Phantom-powered electronics for optimal performance with any preamp.
- Highly protected ribbon for close-up use and live sound applications.
- Featuring the same Big Ribbon technology as the AEA R44 and R84 microphones.
- 100% handcrafted in Pasadena, CA.

Accessories included: Storage/shipping case, microphone stand clip, custom protective mic sleeve, user manual

About Manufacturer

Wes Dooley's longtime passion for audio has infused his company, Audio Engineering Associates (AEA), with a well balanced blend of creativity and technical expertise for forty years. At the core of AEA is a genuine interest in the art and science of audio. From areas as diverse as forensic audio and microphone design, Wes' passion for audio has led him all over the world, from recording experiences in Europe, Africa, and New Zealand, to the courtrooms of Los Angeles as a forensic audio and video expert witness. Such experiences have led Wes to design products which help resolve problems commonly encountered by recording engineers. His portable recording tools including, multi-channel microphone arrays, MS stereo processors, stereo phase displays and very tall microphone stands, have all made on-site recording far more feasible. Despite his contributions to on-location recording, Wes is best known for his pursuit of excellence in ribbon microphone technology. After two decades of representing and servicing the BBC 4038 in the United States, he began to experiment with his own ribbon microphones. During the last decade Wes became aware of the increasing scarcity of R44's and other ribbon microphones. In 1998, responding to this need, Wes re-introduced the 44 much to the thrill of many in the recording industry. Les Paul told Wes that AEA's R44 is his favorite microphone and engineer/producers such as Bruce Swedien, Kevin Bacon, and Shawn Murphy routinely use AEA's R44. Even without such critical acclaim the numbers speak for themselves. Over half of the movies scored in Los Angeles have a 44 somewhere on the scoring stage. Building off of his successful reintroduction of the R44, in 2002 Wes designed and began producing an original ribbon mic, the AEA R84. His groundbreaking work with ribbon microphones helped him to secure the Audio Engineering Society (AES) Silver Medal Award in the fall of 2003. This award, established by the AES in 1971, in honor of audio pioneers Alexander Graham Bell, Emile Berliner, and Thomas A. Edison, is given in recognition of outstanding development or achievement in the field of audio engineering. Wes has also co-authored two AES Journal articles about stereo microphone techniques, chaired workshops on mic techniques and mixing strategies for compatible multiple releases for cinema, broadcast and home video, and has presented section meetings on stereo techniques and forensic audio. He is involved with AES standards work and currently serves on the SC-03-12 Working Group on Forensic Audio and SC-04-04 Working Group on Microphone Measurement and Characterization.