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The legendary 12-acre recording compound of Prairie Sun Studios in northern California recently acquired a pair of Crowley and Tripp Naked Eye ribbon microphones, the newest, and most cost-effective player in the high-end ribbon microphone market. There was little intention of using them in front of anything but an electric guitar cabinet, but, driven by curiosity and a passion to find the newest, coolest sounds, 30-year veteran engineer and Prairie Sun owner Mark Mooka Rennick has proven that the Crowley and Tripp Naked Eye is as practical and versatile as it is sonically beautiful. Mooka recently used their pair to record stunning vocals, drums, and voice-over, in addition to electric guitar.
The electric guitar belonged to left-handed, Memphis blues rocker and Shrapnel recording artist, Eric Gales. "Rock Electric guitars need to sound smooth and full" explained Mooka. "They can be very harsh. Ribbon microphones are an elegant solution. They have a long history - going all the way back to the old RCAs - of imparting smoother highs and rich lows. "With Gales' Marshall stack up and ripping, Mooka compared the Naked Eye to another popular, more expensive ribbon microphone in Prairie Sun's well-stocked cabinet, finding the Crowley and Tripp had more detail and a fuller low-end.
"Before getting these mics, I studied up on Crowley and Tripp," recalled Mooka. "I saw that they were heavily involved in acoustic devices for the medical industry with Boston Scientific. That's unusual! Why were they bothering to make microphones? There had to be a passion there. I met with their sales and marketing guy, Chris Regan at AES, noticed how well-constructed the microphones were, and had to get some."
Each side of the Naked Eye has its own distinct sonic signature, which can be roughly characterized as dark and bright. Mooka opted for the dark side on Gales' guitar and felt that the Naked Eye was the right choice for the entire album. Gales variously used a Strat with the Marshall stack, a Two-Rock amp, and a Fender Bassman, and Mooka boosted the Naked Eye with a Telefunken V72 and a Neve 1272 preamp.
With the incredible success they had using it on guitars, Mooka thought, why not try the Naked Eye on Gales' vocals? His timbre is naturally quite sibilant, and the ability of the Naked Eye's bright side to capture all of the desirable vocal overtones while downplaying the sibilance was unmatched by any other microphone they tried. Relieved that he didn't have to resort to excessive processing, Mooka used the Naked Eye for all of Gales' vocals.
With horizons expanded on the applications that would benefit from the Naked Eye's exquisite sonic signature, Mooka decided to give his pair a shot as drum overheads for San Francisco's Boxcar Saints. "Every now and again you hear from other engineers that ribbons are cool on overheads," Mooka said, "I had to try it." The Boxcar Saints have variously been described as jazzy, bluesy, rock, and even Tom Waitsy. However they're described, it's clear that they're doing their own thing and they're doing it well. That originally extends to drummer Rich Douthit's kit, which features very non-standard tom positioning below a sea of old cymbals that he plays in a jazz style.
Mooka used an X-Y configuration and after trying out both sides, decided the dark side was more satisfying. On the softer songs, he opted to amplify the Naked Eyes with the pillowy, soft Telefunken preamp and reserved the faster Neve preamp for the more rocking tunes. "It is an absolutely gorgeous recording," Mooka gushed. "The stereo field is tangible, and the warmth and bottom are stunning."
Finally, over all of the other microphones at his disposal, Mooka chose to use the Naked Eye for a voice-over with poet Robert Trent Jones, Jr., who is perhaps more widely known for his famous golf course designs. Using the microphone's bright side, he captured Jones' rich voice effortlessly. The Naked Eye's signature is subtle but unmistakable in the recording - a full frequency response that is detailed and delicate without any trace of harshness or mud.
"For most people, part of the allure of the Naked Eye will be economic," said Mooka. "It performs at least as well as a lot of the standard ribbons at a fraction of the price. That's not so much an issue at Prairie Sun, but it's still a good thing to point out. I like the fact that Crowley and Tripp are a little bit off the beaten path. I like to think that Prairie Sun is a little bit off the beaten path too. I'm confident that all the engineers who come through here will be as happy with the Naked Eye as I am."
