How to get an amazing vocal sound with a Grampian GR1, GR2 25Ohm ribbon microphone

At yout risk. This is how it was done a few days ago. 1. Mic at 24in from mouth in order not to have proximity effect, let the voice breathe, and micing not just mouth, but nose, head. Mic placed higher than head, perpendicular to floor. Mic was at a similar distance to the upright Pleyel piano with mic dead side looking towards the left side of piano, but it worked fine for the piano too. 2. A Pleiades step up transformer of 1:3 was used to step the 25ohms mic's impedance to about 250 Ohms. This transformer has a low primary inducatnce of 8mH to compensate for bass heaviness due to Fletcher Munson, voice effort curves. So with it the voice sounds very natural, with no bass heaviness, and the great quality, articulation, easiness, smoothness, and capture of emotion one would expect from a good ribbon mic. Actully this microphone had been re-reboned long time ago, see an older post. 3. After the step up transformer a pleiades gentle slope high pass filter of (130 Ohms,20mH) was connected in order to bring out the edge and higher overtones of voice as can be heared in great commercial recordings, for example, A Woman in Love - Barbara Streisand. Signal path: male voice singing kind of softly Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime - The Korgis, on average size living room - Grampian ribbon 24in to 17in from mouth (maybe >12in above head - Pleiades 8mH:78mH XLR to XLR mic transformer - Pleiades (130Ohms,20mH) XLR to XLR gentle slope high pass filter - XLR to 1/4in short cable - Sony TC-D5M (recording with limiter on) - TDK typeII cassette - Sony TC-D5M (playback) - Pleiades 2N3053 one transistor single ended class A power amplifier - Celestion Ditton 150 speaker - Small reverberant bedroom. (actually mic sounded better at about 17in). (Very impressive sound, getting close to a finished good quality product, singer tried to sing sharp so that the result does not sound flat. Thanks to Vicky for her comment on listening to the recording on her Musical Fidelity, Spendor system. She commentred how she liked the quality of the ribbon mic bringing out emmotion, on superb articulation and detail without artifacts.