the t.bone RB 100 4-stars Reviews

Really surprised how useful this is for the price

I've been using this in a guitar iso cab alongside an SM57, and I've found it really useful to blend in. Since it's locked away, being able to balance things out with how dark this mic is in comparison to the 57 has been super useful.

Really pleased.

Fine mic for the price

This mic works well for me. I had few expectations, considering the price, but I wanted to 'get into' ribbons.

Overall, the sound is on the dark/mellow side, but it was an advantage with a guitar combo, that ended up sounding wonderful and grungy. When close-micing a quiet male voice it also performed surprisingly well, sibliance and breath was well under control - and the mic responds very well to EQ. It's figure 8, of course, so placement needs to be be carefully considered, and some form of damping of the rear may be helpful.

This mic requires good pre-amps, because the output is quite low and the gain needs to be raised accordingly.

The RB 100 may not be the most open, crisp mic in the world, but to my mind it - and other ribbons, I suppose - brings a welcome alternative to the super crisp large diaphragm condensers.

Build quality is absolutely ok, the shock mount works well (just too bad that it doesn't fit in the box). I like the retro styling, and that it is not overdone.

Great sound for low cost

This is a great low cost ribbon microphone. If you're looking for a similar style ribbon microphone but don't wan't to spend hundreds or thousands then this is a great place to start. I have this permanently set up on my amp along with the T.Bone 75 and the T.bone SC 140 and it sounds killer.

The only con I have with these affordable mics is the noise floor when the gain is cranked up a bit but apart from that I highly recommend this microphone.

Great Ribbon mic

No messing around just a good ribbon mic for not a lot of $$$, if you want a better one you have to spend 10x more and even then its not a huge difrence.

Sleeper budget royer?

From the specs and size, this is a royer-121 copy and it is beautifully crafted. I love everything, from the wood box to the dark, warm sound. If you do get this microphone but do be careful. You never want to add phantom power to a passive ribbon mic and never drop them.

Ribbons for under ¤100? :s

Since I can't compare this microphone to high-end products from the likes of Royer etc., I'll just take a look at it and judge it on its own merits.

Like most ribbon mics (so I've heard), this one needs a lot of gain, so like others already might have pointed it out, it needs a quiet preamp with lots of gain. I've only tried it with a Behringer XR18, recording a classical guitar, vocals and an amped (clean and distortion) electric guitar. I think the mic did well on all these sources, but the amped electric guitar sounded great right out of the box. I'd rather use a LDC on vocals and classical/acoustic guitar though, although I loved the low frequency response on the classical guitar. It's smooth, takes eq well and sounds natural. The same goes for the high frequencies which are not as prevalent, but can be tweaked with eq without added harshness.

I'm still planning on testing this as a drum overhead and kick mic and might purchase a second one if I'm satisfied with the results.

So in short, at this price, the mic is a good purchase if used on the right source, with the right technique (distance, direction ..)

Very decent mic, GREAT for the money

I've been pairing the RB 100 with an SM57 when recording guitars. It is a bit dark by itself but it compliments the SM57 beautifully, really filling out the low end. The only con is that the included shockmount doesn't allow the microphone to be placed right on the grille, so other mics have to be pulled back to achieve phase coherence.

Surprising results for the price!

I was looking to expand my microphone repertoire and decided to go for a ribbon microphone. I spent a long time trying to settle on one and, due to budget restrictions, ended up buying the RB 100.

It?s not a very versatile mic even for a ribbon one; the highs are quite attenuated and the mid-lows are quite accentuated. This frequency response makes it nicely suitable for recording guitar cabinets, especially those that sound harsh in the higher frequency range, the mic naturally smoothens out the highs but adds a nice warm punch in the lower mids. This also sounds really good if you use it as a drum ambience mic; it gives the drums that extra ?Unf!? without the deafening frequencies of the cymbals in the way, especially when placed near to the ground in front of the set facing between the snare-drum and the kick.

The figure eight polar pattern can be problematic for full band live recording situations, as it will capture anything behind it. On the other hand, if used for overdubbing or isolated instruments it can give them a nice colour and organic feel, unobtrusively capturing the size and sound of the room, but unless you are clear on the sound you?re looking for, I?d only use this mic along with others and use the RB 100 to add colour and room to the mix.

The mic comes presented in a sturdy well-padded wooden box and a very decent shock mount that I?d be tempted to buy separately for other narrow mics.

If you?re looking for a clean versatile ribbon microphone this isn?t the one for you, but if you?re looking for a microphone with a lot of character, warmth and punch to give your mix that little extra push, this is what you want. Good mic at a good price.

Cool little ribbon mics for the money

Mainly bought these for room mics, guitar cabs and they do just that well. Not looking for mega expensive ribbon mics as they are prone to damage more and I tend to use them as secondary mics. Nicely built comes with a cool little wooden box case which I don't really use tbh and pouches for the mics. Shock mounts can be fiddly but nothing extreme as I usually leave them on.

Quite a low output so it needs to be either really hot going in without damaging the ribbon or buy a external preamp

Very useful

These really shine as drum room mics. Ribbons mics in general convey the punch of the drums better than dynamics or condensors in my opinion. I feel for the best drum sound a mix of all three is preferable. These are not "HiFi" mics they will not convey the souce in pristine clarity, they will impart their own sonic footprint onto any recorded material. Whether this is a good or bad thing is entirely dependant on the source and production values sought. They can sound slightly tubby and muddy due to their reduced high end response but clean up well with EQ. I have used them on vocals where they were serviceable but I prefer LDC's here anyway. They are amazingly well built and solid, they come with some serious wooden cases and velvet bags. I love this in the application I use them in.

Inexpensive and great guitar cab mic.

I bought this mic out of curiosity, but found it to perform very, very well on guitar cabs. I've tried it on vocals, too, and if smoky, dirty, dark sound is what you're after, this mic can deliver it. I tried it also on other acoustic sources, but I'd say that the domain of this mic is guitar cabs and drum room. It is built sturdy, but of course one should be careful not to introduce too much shock to the body as ribbons are fragile. The supplied shock mound does the job well. The whole package looks quite elegant I must say.

Good mic for its price

Low price doesn't come without flaws. All would be good, except you can't record quite sources, even like acoustic guitar, cause the noise of the mic is too obvious. It suits something like micking guitar amp or overheads!

Nice value for money ribbon

Have used this in recording sessions and would recommend it for:

Drum room: dark and warm, responds well to EQ

Percussion: Tames transients and adds a nice sheen to tambourine, shakers etc

Brass: Particularly useful where sax/trumpet are played hard as it softens the attck without losing clarity. Watch out for wind blasts.

Banjo/mandolin/baritone guitar: Ribbon mics are particularly well suited to harsh, midrange heavy sound sources. Again, mellows out the sound efficiently.

Electric guitar amps: Ribbons are back in a big way on electric guitar because of their flattering of the mids. Try especially on more cutting toppy sounding amps.

Conclusion: cheap, versatile and suited to a wide range of instruments. Not as fat and warm as the more pricey ribbons but a handy little tool all the same.