Recording - September 2012 - 22

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

Cascade Fat Head II
Active/Passive Ribbon Microphone
While Royer’s R-121 and the AEA R84 often get cited as the microphones that reignited the ribbon resurgence of the past decade or so, an argument could be made that it was Cascade’s distinctive Fat Head ribbon mic that helped fan the flames. Back in 2005, amidst a sea of dirtcheap (and cheap sounding) imports, the Fat Head enjoyed a healthy popularity. This was not only due to its manageable price and fine sound, but to the fact that Cascade was one of the first companies to offer a “personalized” mic experience. Users had multiple color and finish choices as well as in-house custom modifications with upgraded Cinemag and Lundahl transformers. Two years later, Cascade introduced the Fat Head II, with a slightly larger body size, improved shockmount, a polished nickel grille, and could also come with a Lundahl transformer as an upgrade option. The (new) Fat Head II Now the Fat Head has evolved again and we have the new Fat Head II Active/Passive ribbon microphone. What’s new? Other than the capsule and head assembly... pretty much everything. So much so, I think, that they should have considered calling it the Fat Head III! These mics join the hybrid revolution of globally sourced parts that are designed, assembled and tuned here in the USA. The Fat Head II A/P commingles an Asian body, bracing and capsule with US-designed and assembled circuit boards, and this time the Swedish Lundahl transformer comes standard. The next BIG change is a literal one, in the form of a brand-new, much larger body design. The body of the original Fat Heads was just slightly larger than your average pencil condenser, and while the Fat Head II was slightly bigger still, the new version’s body is roughly the size of a large-diaphragm condenser. The Fat Head II A/P is available in a choice of matte black or brushed silver finishes (I am partial to the silver).
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Classic ribbon sound or phantom-powered ease of use—with a flick of a switch
Look, build, and specs The Fat Heads are quite aptly named: a lollipop/bayonet style microphone with an enormous head that is slimmer in the front and bulbous in the rear lobe. The Fat Head II A/P’s build is solid with clean metalwork and a good fit and finish. Inside the circuit board is also clean and well laid out. Each mic ships as a kit with a hard-shell case, shockmount, vinyl pouch, a felt bag for covering the mic on a stand when not in use, and a Cascade cleaning cloth. The ribbon element/capsule is a symmetrical, short ribbon design with a 2.5 Micron corrugated ribbon between a pair of neodymium magnets. Like most ribbons it offers a figure-8 polar pattern. The mic’s design does give it a slightly different tonal response between front and rear lobes, the rear lobe being slightly brighter. In active mode it offers a 60 Hz to 15 kHz (±3 dB) frequency response, and 60 Hz to 18 kHz in passive mode. It has a 135 dB Max SPL level with a sensitivity of –25.5 dB (53 mV/Pa) in active mode and –59 dB in passive. If you look at the detailed frequency graphs on Cascade’s website, you will see a high-end rolloff around 4 kHz and a gentle low-end slope starting around 120 Hz, with a slightly different character for active vs. passive mode. The sound Sonically the active and passive modes sound pretty close. However, the active mode is easily louder and cleaner, while the passive can benefit from the impedance variations of differing preamps and how they load the microphone. It’s easy to say that the Fat Head II A/P has a unique sound all its own because every ribbon mic does. As such it is not as forward and mid-focused as a Royer R121 or as opulent and breathy as an AEA R84. It also is not as clear and open as sE Electronics’ VR-1 Voodoo ribbon mic or as over-the-top vintage-sounding as the Sontronics Sigma. And speaking of mics it

Passive or active? Yes! Active ribbon microphones have become quite popular in the past few years. Employing a phantom-powered internal head amp, an active ribbon requires less gain than a passive and is immune to loading issues (and as such is more consistent in its sound). While many companies now offer the same microphone in two different models, i.e. an active version or a passive version, the new Fat Head II A/P is the first microphone design to give you a choice of both in the same mic. The active/passive toggle switch is located inside the microphone on the circuit board, and is accessed by unscrewing the bottom of the mic and sliding off the brass outer tube. While that may sound complicated to those who are not accustomed to opening up their mics, it is both easy and quick to do.

Recording - September 2012

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