Recording - August 2014 - 28

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

Cloud Microphones

44-A Ribbon Mic

This time around, Cloud returns with a brand-new microphone
that blends the look, feel and build of the JRS-34, elements found
in the Cloudlifter-Z, and one of the most classic ribbon mic
designs of all time. This new model is the Cloud 44-A; its name
gives away both its inspiration and its lineage as it pays
homage to the classic RCA 44A of yesteryear.

An homage in name and a bold new direction for a classic ribbon design
All in the family
Cloud has a direct link to RCA in the form of Stephen Sank,
whose father Jon R. Sank was RCA's head of acoustical engineering. He was directly responsible for many of the company's
later BK series designs, and it is the BK-11 that his son used as
his initial inspiration for Cloud's JRS-34 mics.
In his review, Scott Dorsey felt that the JRS-34 really did capture the
sound and vibe of the older RCA microphones. He was impressed,
and our readers know that Scott is a hard man to impress!
The Cloud 44-A looks similar to the BK-inspired JRS-34/P, but
inside it's a whole new... or, I guess I should say, a whole old ball
game, yet still with a few new tricks up its sleeve. The Cloud 44A, like the JRS-34, is an active ribbon design that makes use of the
company's Cloudlifter technology to give it loads of clean gain.
This is a ribbon microphone that will not care what preamp
you pair it with. Even if it's just a low-cost desktop audio interface with a built-in phantom-powered mic preamp, this mic will
be up to the task.
The secret weapon of this mic-which is, as far as I know, a
first in the world of modern ribbon mic designs-is that it also
takes a cue from the filtering technology found in the CloudlifterZ and offers a choice of two different microphone voicings. The
first is labeled M, for Music, and is the full open classic ribbon
sound that you would expect from a design of this type. The second setting, labeled V for Voice, cuts the microphone's low end
and proximity effect to give you a mic better suited for modern
vocals and up-close instrument use.

It's hard to believe it's been four years already since we took
our first look at Rodger Cloud's aptly named Cloud
Microphones. Reviewer and ribbon aficionado Scott Dorsey
gave us a detailed runthrough of the company's inaugural offerings, the JRS-34 and JRS-34P ribbon microphones, as well as the
Cloudlifter, in our June 2010 issue.
We looked in on Cloud again in our December 2012 issue,
when I reviewed the Cloudlifter-Z. Like the original Cloudlifter,
this is a phantom-powered box that adds boatloads of clean
gain to any passive ribbon or dynamic microphone, with the Z
adding the sonic benefits of variable impedance and high pass
filtering.
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RECORDING August 2014

Out of the box
The Cloud 44-A ships in a high-quality wooden box that is
classy enough to be mistaken for a small humidor. Inside, the mic
and its accessories sit snugly in an impeccably done foam enclosure. If it seems like I am making a big deal about this, I am. I
think it speaks volumes about a company's attention to detail
when you get a storage box that is display quality, as opposed
to many of the cheap overseas thrown-together cases with bad
jointing and crummy foam that are literally bursting at the joints.
Also in the box is one of Cloud's blue cloth microfiber protection bags, as well as a Cloud U1 shock mount. The new U1 shockmount also needs its own paragraph, as this is not your average
overseas-sourced elastic-band shockmount that sags on the third
use and drops your mic on the tenth. The U1 is actually a Rycote
Lyre shock mount, designed specifically for Cloud and complete
with the Cloud logo. On their own these shockmounts are a $149
purchase, and if you happen to be in a session that doesn't
require the 44-A, you should know that like the Lyre, the U1 is a
universal mount that can be used with many of your largediaphragm condenser mics, making it a nice extra value.

Recording - August 2014

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