One of the common themes at this year’s AES was “affordable ribbon mics.” We saw some from Audio-Technica, and now comes some new ones from MXL (which looks very good).

The R144 (pictured) is a figure-8 mic that has an MSRP of $159. It’s said to be good for both instruments and broadcast applications. It’s supposed to be able to handle a high SPLs which means it should be good on guitars, percussion, and horns.

The R144 comes with a shockmount, case, and cleaning cloth.

Next on MXL’s agenda is the R77 which is said to have been modeled after the 1930s-era RCA ribbons.

The R77 is made to be used on vocals, acoustic instruments, strings, horns, and most broadcast applications. It ships with a wooden carrying case, desktop stand, 25ft Mogami XLR cable, manual, application guide, a cleaning cloth, and a three year warranty. That’s a lot of mic for the $599 MRSP.

Not quite as cheap as the R144, but it’s made to be a step up from the R144, so it makes sense.