Coles 4038 Studio Ribbon Reviews

Top notch mic

One of the all time greats. Never fails to catch a vibe

Fantastic Ribbon Mic

Lush, warm and natural sounding ribbon mic. Sounds great on drums, acoustic guitars, guitar cabs and just about anything you put in front of it. Recommended!

best mic ever !

for me, it's the best mic ever

of course, it's fragile but i use it all the time.

classic powerhouse

classic mic. Not your only mic to buy, but if you know what to do with it, it is great.

a classic

this thing gives you weight - sound-wise and, well weight-wise.

you might never want to use a different overhead microphone ever (except the stand tips over and you have to re-ribbon the whole thing, because it's very fragile)

treat it with care, it sounds amazing though!

Exquisite

I still haven't found out a source that this microphone will not capture without tremendous success. Brass, saxes, congas, drums, no problems.

Much much EQ-able, and musically relevant at that, even at borderline extreme EQ settings.

There is a tendency for the sources to sound closer than where they were recorded. Someone might get the impression while listening, that the instrument would be 40 cm away from the microphone when in reality it is more like 80 cm to a meter.

Gain. I haven't had any problems so far even with inexpensive preamps, such as those in mixers from Behringer, Yamaha etc., or interfaces such as Focusrites, MOTUs and RMEs.

The weight of the microphone is a thing to consider, and I would positively recommend the 4072 shockmount, and a sturdy stand.

All in all, a wonderful microphone, which I love more and more through the years. The only thing I could do to improve this microphone is buy a second one. HA!

Great ribbon mic

Good solid build quality, comes with a plastic case and velvet sleeve. Swivel neck is useful for awkward positioning, though the shock mount (sold separately) is a must. Works great on guitars and drum overheads. Though be careful when using on high SPL sources.

More versatile than you might think

This no frills studio classic is more than just an old BBC broadcast mic. I use it all the time for 1) drum overheads to smoothen the top end of cymbals and fatten out the sound of the drums; 2) on guitar amps to thicken and add depth to either an SM57 or condenser mic - due to the figure of 8 pick up pattern, the mic enables you to balance room ambience with the direct signal; 3) for violins and cellos, this is my absolute go-to mic because it's silky smooth and very real sounding. Finally 4) I was also surprised how it sounded as a lead vocal on a very sparse song (acoustic guitar and vocal). It's not going to cut it in a highly produced pop / rock song, but given the space to show off it's intimate sound, the colouring is very pleasant.

There is a real classic, older sound to this microphone which brings with it a lot of reality. A refreshing alternative to the modern, heavily processed and hyped sounds we often hear on the radio today.