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“It Sounds Like How I’m Hearing It”: Producer, Songwriter, and Engineer Suzy Shinn on Recording with AEA Ribbon Mics
From Kid Sistr to Modest Mouse to Son Lux, Shinn turns to the R88 and R44 for the natural, grounded sound she hears in the room
Los Angeles, California, October 13, 2026 — GRAMMY-nominated producer, songwriter, and engineer Suzy Shinn has made AEA ribbon microphones a fixture in her recording process for more than a decade. Known for her work with artists including Panic! At the Disco, Weezer, and Fall Out Boy, Shinn uses AEA microphones to record drums, vocals, piano, strings, and acoustic guitar. At Treehouse, her home recording studio, the microphones help her capture performances the way they actually sound in the room.
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Shinn was first introduced to AEA microphones while working with producer Jake Sinclair, who kept an R88 stereo ribbon positioned over the drums and an R44 in the center of his studio. She had never encountered a stereo ribbon microphone before, but quickly became drawn to the sound and flexibility of the setup.
“The drums, time and time again, sounded incredible,” Shinn recalls. “The R44 became part of the drum sound, but we also used it to record gang vocals.”
When Shinn established her own studio, the R88 became one of her first major microphone purchases. Her collection has since grown to include an R92, a pair of N8s, an R44, and the TRP3 dual-channel preamp. What continues to draw her to the microphones is their natural sense of space, particularly the way the R88 captures acoustic instruments as she experiences them in the room.
“It just sounds like it’s in the room,” Shinn says. “The R88 isn’t overly hyped, as opposed to a small condenser. It brings some grounding to my recordings.”
The R88 has also become one of Shinn’s go-to microphones for acoustic guitar. “I put it around the 12th fret, maybe a foot and a half away, and it captures that sound so naturally,” she says.
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When she wants an additional perspective, Shinn may combine a close ribbon microphone with a condenser placed farther back in the room. On upright piano, she takes a similar approach, placing a pair of N8s close to the instrument and occasionally supplementing them with distant AKG 414s.
“Sometimes I’ll use the N8s close and 414s farther away,” she says. “I want to capture as much as I can in terms of the darker and brighter perspectives and then experiment with the contradicting colors.”
Because Shinn focuses on capturing the right sound at the source, her AEA recordings generally require little corrective processing. “It’s more about recording the source well and using the right cymbals rather than trying to fix stuff with a bunch of plugins,” she says. “With the AEA stuff, I don’t need to fix a lot.”
That approach can be heard across Shinn’s work with AEA microphones. On recordings with Kid Sistr, she has used the R88 on acoustic guitars and drums. The microphone also captured the exposed vocal at the end of “American Teenage Prophecy,” where the intention was to make it sound, as Shinn puts it, “like someone’s singing in a room.”
The microphones have also remained part of Shinn’s work on other projects. During sessions with Modest Mouse, she used the R44 as a drum room microphone. For a more recent three-day session with Son Lux, she used multiple AEA microphones to capture the drums.
Watch Shinn discuss her recording workflow with AEA microphones in a new video filmed at Treehouse:
For more information, visit www.aearibbonmics.com.
About AEA Ribbon Mics
Founded in 1964, AEA began as a record label and mobile recording studio before expanding into microphone repairs and full-scale manufacturing. In 1998, AEA introduced the R44C — an evolution of the iconic RCA 44BX — and has since developed a full range of microphones and preamps inspired by classic designs and built to modern standards. With a commitment to ultra-low noise circuitry, musical sound, and expert craftsmanship, AEA continues to push ribbon technology forward while honoring its legacy. All AEA products are proudly handcrafted in Pasadena, California.
Learn more at aearibbonmics.com
Hunter Williams
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