the t.bone RB 100

Hi!

I am a FOH engineer, bought this mic because I wanted a ribbon mic for a guitar amp, but didn`t want to spend fortune. It turned out, I didnt`t have to. This mic is amazing. I understand that a "real" Royer would be much better, but for 66€ that I spent, it does a great job.
I use the mic on a guitar amp, it dilivers a smooth warm sound I was looking for. Used on a fender 5e3 tweed and Orange tiny terror, the crisp mids we wanted to cut out became soft and warm, lots of low end and smooth highs.

Definitely buying another one, to have a set for two guitar amps.

I also tried it on bass amp, great natural overdrive, but you have to be carefull, not to put it to close to the speaker...about 10cm from the grillcloth was ok.

Again, in my oppinion, great mic, especially 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.

a bit on the dark sound, even for ribbons mics. but i did a good recording of a Gretch Jim Dandy with this and it sounded not bad at all. used on the right sources it can be good. I still have to try it out on drums and electric guitars. But for this kind of money it is a fun lithle thing to have in your arsenal. Costs less than a few rounds with beer, and it will probably make you have more fun in the long run.
It needs a good preamp though, since it is very low output. if you dont have a in line gain booster or have a good preamp already that can handle very low output mics, you should probably look elsewhere for a ribbon mic. (the T.bone lollipop ribbons, are easier do use than this one in that regard).

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.

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 ..)