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Cloud JRS-34P is a hand-built passive ribbon microphone with a figure-8 pattern, custom CineMag transformers and a patented rounded magnet design. Each ribbon is cut, corrugated and installed by hand in the United States, and the microphone ships in a custom wood case.
Every ribbon in it was cut and corrugated by a person, not a machine.
The JRS-34P was designed in collaboration with Stephen Sank, and the JRS prefix honours the late Jon R. Sank, whose work at RCA produced several of the microphones the modern ribbon category is built on. The design takes the vintage RCA approach and updates the parts that limited it.
The ribbon measures 0.19 inches wide, 2.35 inches long and 1.8 microns thick. A patented rounded magnet and custom CineMag transformers extend the performance envelope, and the mount offers a 180 degree range of motion with internal shock mounting. The figure-8 pattern gives a null at 90 degrees measured at 35dB down, which is the property that makes ribbons so effective at rejecting a source off to the side.
At a Glance
| Brand | Cloud Microphones |
|---|---|
| Model | JRS-34P |
| Type | Passive ribbon microphone |
| Polar pattern | Figure 8, 35dB null at 90 degrees |
| Ribbon | 0.19 in wide, 2.35 in long, 1.8 microns thick |
| Transformer | Custom CineMag |
| Magnet | Patented rounded design |
| Mount | 180 degree range of motion, internally shock mounted |
| Dimensions | 7.75 x 3 x 1.75 in |
| Weight | 1.02 lb |
| Included | Custom wood case |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Warranty | Two year ribbon, limited lifetime on all other parts |
What Does Passive Mean, and Do I Need a Cloudlifter?
A passive ribbon has no powered electronics, so its output is low and it needs substantial clean gain. Most interface preamps cannot supply that without audible hiss, so a Cloudlifter or a high-gain preamp is normally paired with it. Never send phantom power to a passive ribbon.
What Is the Figure 8 Null Useful For?
A figure-8 pattern is fully sensitive front and back and almost deaf at 90 degrees, 35dB down on this microphone. Aiming that null at an unwanted source, such as a nearby instrument or a monitor wedge, removes it from the recording far more effectively than any EQ.
Who Was Jon R. Sank?
An engineer whose work at RCA produced several of the microphones the ribbon category is built on. The JRS prefix honours him, and the microphone was designed in collaboration with Stephen Sank.
Why Cloud Microphones
Cloud Microphones builds in Tucson, Arizona. The company grew out of Stephen Sank's restoration work on original RCA ribbon microphones and Rodger Cloud's engineering, and it holds the patent on the discrete JFET circuit that every Cloudlifter uses. The Cloudlifter created the mic activator category outright and remains the reference product in it. Ribbon elements are cut, corrugated and installed by hand, and the whole line is manufactured in the United States.