I need a new microphone. Something exotic. Something that will accurately and cleanly represent every nuance and every shade of tone that David Monette built into my horn. Something that will allow me to convey the level of emotion that I intend to pour down the lead pipe, through the valve block and out through the bell.

And it’s not an easy choice.

If forced to choose a tonal direction, picking an sweeping adjective to describe the sound I’m looking for I constantly arrive at one word.

Dark.

A standard condenser probably won’t cut it. The high frequency overtones will almost certainly be too harsh, overpowering the warmth of the darkness.

A tube is the next logical step.

But I secretly covet a ribbon.

Renowned and revered by anyone who has every recorded a trumpet, a ribbon microphone can manage and control the overpowering highs that can wash out depth of tone. A high quality ribbon is my personal studio holy grail.

The search has begun.