Coles 4040, July 2004
Oct 18, 2004 7:43 PM, By Michael Cooper
STUDIO RIBBON MICROPHONE
Microphones
advertisement
British manufacturer Coles Electroacoustics has added the 4040 ($1,541 U.S. list) to its respected line of ribbon mics. The 4040 ships without an owner's manual or specs but simply a solitary sheet detailing handling precautions. A phone call to the manufacturer only divulged the mic's weight (2.2 pounds), dimensions (2.6 inches in diameter and 5.7 inches long) and sensitivity (0.5623 mV/PA).
Accessories shipped with the 4040 include a velour mic sock with drawstring, foam-lined plastic storage case, two standard mic adapters (with different diameters) and a swivel-mount adapter. The 4040 screws securely onto the latter and can then be rotated 360 degrees about its axis and approximately 225 degrees up/down.
The 4040 is extremely sensitive to structure-born noise, moderately sensitive to plosives and virtually immune to sibilance. The rear of this inherently bi-directional mic has a slightly fuller upper-bass frequency response than the front, and the mic's null points (90 degrees and 270 degrees off-axis) offer very good rejection.
Patching the 4040 into the optional ribbon DC input of my Millennia HV-3D mic preamp, I miked up a Roland MicroCube amp to record a rock guitar. Placed two feet from the amp, the sound was warm and smooth but lacked presence and crunch. Pulling the 4040 back a foot brought the upper mids into much better balance with the bottom end. Using the same placement, a Royer R-121 ribbon mic offered a tad more presence and definition than the 4040, resulting in a slightly crunchier sound. The 4040's output was slightly hotter than that of the R-121.
Although the 4040 was not intended as a vocal mic, I wanted to check it out in this application. In a subsequent A/B test of the 4040 and R-121 on a male vocalist—variously placed four to 16 inches away from the mics—the 4040 had a noticeably bigger bottom, darker upper mids and a much more pronounced proximity effect; the latter was especially noticeable in the upper-bass band. The 4040 yields a classic “late-night DJ” sound on male vocals, but is not defined nearly enough for miking a singer up close.
My favorite application of the 4040 was recording trumpet miked on-axis three feet from the instrument. The 4040 produced a wonderfully warm and smooth sound, without the slightest hint of being thin or harsh. The tone was bright in the mids and very understated in the high end. Awesome!
The 4040's huge proximity effect demands this mic to be placed farther away from the source than most other mics to achieve a balanced tone, which may not always be workable in some rooms or when tracking an ensemble. But for adding a warm summer glow to icy, biting instruments, the 4040 is quite simply an outstanding choice.
Dist. by Independent Audio, 207/773-2424, www.independentaudio.com.
Modern Recording and Mixing
This 2-DVD set will show you how the best in the music industry set up a studio to make world-class records. Regardless of what gear you are using, the information you'll find here will allow you to take advantage of decades of expert knowledge. Order now $39.95
Mastering Cubase 4
Electronic Musician magazine and Thomson Course Technology PTR have joined forces again to create the second volume in their Personal Studio Series, Mastering Steinberg's Cubase(tm). Edited and produced by the staff of Electronic Musician, this special issue is not only a must-read for users of Cubase(tm) software, but it also delivers essential information for anyone recording/producing music in a personal-studio. Order now $12.95
Delivered straight to your inbox every other week, MixLine takes you straight into the studio, with new product announcements, industry news, upcoming events, recent recording/post projects and much more. 
QSC Q-Sys Integrated System Platform
Inside Odds On Records and Studios