The Acoustical / Mechanical Modifications
The stock Ningbo Alctron ribbon motor is really quite decent. Like it or not, it is copied from classic American ribbon mic designs. Priced very inexpensively, thousands of these mics are finding their way into the hands of recordists who are new to ribbon mics and the special usage care they require.

In order to keep down the number of returns due to blown out ribbons, the manufacturer added many layers of wind blast protection to these mics. These layers sure do work - to the detriment of the fine sound they are capable of delivering. The stock sound is slightly muffled, bandwidth restricted and has slew rate limitations.

To get every last drop of performance out of another great value mic, I remove these mechanical filters in my ribbon mic modifications. To get better LF and HF extension, lower mechanical ringing and improved HF detail, I remove the inner fine wire mesh grille, a wire box and silk bag assembly (in the larger model) and two perforated shields along with their silk layers (in both models). I stuff open cell foam into the base canister to close off that acoustical chamber and eliminate standing wave resonances.

Subjective impression of top and bottom frequency response is improved by about an octave at each end. These modifications produce a great-sounding mic for drum overhead, guitar cabinet or vocal use. Of course, the mic has to be treated with special care now - it must be kept covered while moving it about the studio and a pop filter used for close mic vocals. NOTE: Improved LF response is not only valuable for picking up low register sounds - better LF extension means better phase accuracy in the important midrange. The bass-to-mid transition is tighter sounding. This is why designers of high end audio equipment try to achieve design implementations that approach DC - to have better low to mid range phase accuracy. These mics have incredible sub-bass sensitivity that can add an uncanny sense of realism to a track even when blended in at low levels.

Lundahl Transformer Mod
In addition to the improvements above, upgrading to a Lundahl transformer makes these mics sound more like an expensive classic ribbon microphone. I've done a shoot out with an upgraded Apex 205 ribbon mic (shown here in a shock mount) against my Coles 4038. The Coles 4038 as many recordists know is one of the legendary studio microphones - very flat and extended frequency response with excellent HF output level. This mic received full page treatment in Ryan & Kehew's "Recording the Beatles" book - it was a key part of Ringo's roomy/splashy drum sound on those early Beatles records.

I ran an A/B test with low, open tuned acoustic guitar and Udu drum - my two favorite quick recording sources because they cover the frequency range, offer a blend of harmonic complexity and transient detail. A carefully open tuned acoustic makes it possible to hear how a microphone deals with harmonic detail.

The modified Apex 205 (shown, right) with Lundahl transformer was every bit as good as the Coles 4038 and then some. It equaled the Coles in HF output and actually has better bass extension. It is very smooth throughout the midrange - the Lundahl transformer excels at conveying harmonic complexity cleanly. It reduces the somewhat peaky sound caused by the stock transformer, cleans up the mid range confusion and provides picking transient detail not heard with the stock transformer.

Oh, this mic is regularly available from online retailers (not me) for under $100!

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