I prefer ribbons.  There are some spectacular recordings on Vox that 
were done with ribbons.  They can be bright, but the impact and 
transparency are pretty incredible with a ribbon.
Phillip

Don Cox wrote:
>
>> One thing that the couple could be talking about is the marked
>> improvement in background noise levels since the '60s. From the
>> microphones, to the cables, to boards and electronics, everything is
>> much quieter than in the '60s. They might be comparing
>> multi-microphoned Columbia recordings from the '60s to something
>> similar from the '90s. Because everything has a much lower noise
>> floor, they perceive this as an improvement in recording technique,
>> when the improvement has been in equipment and storage. All the
>> microphone techniques used today have been with us for a long time.
>> Because of modern materials, we can hear more detail (detail that an
>> audience member can't hear).
>>
>>     
> One thing that does seem to have changed is that there is more use of
> condenser mics and less of ribbons.
>
>
>