l
I love the sound, but the stock transformer was noisy
I mainly use it for acoustic guitar. The strumming parts are very usable, but for picking it's just too noisy. On all the tracks there was a very audible background hiss.
I ordered a Lundahl LL2915 ribbon mic transformer. After a couple hours of soldering and a couple of burnt fingers the noise is gone and it sounds divine. Not sure if it was the tranny or the sloppy soldering. Can't say that my own soldering is top notch either. Pretty sure the warranty is void now :)
BTW the LL2915 was to big to fit inside the original tranny shield. I bet LL2912 would fit though. If a mu metal core is a must I recommend LL2914 or a different shielded tranny.
I ordered a Lundahl LL2915 ribbon mic transformer. After a couple hours of soldering and a couple of burnt fingers the noise is gone and it sounds divine. Not sure if it was the tranny or the sloppy soldering. Can't say that my own soldering is top notch either. Pretty sure the warranty is void now :)
BTW the LL2915 was to big to fit inside the original tranny shield. I bet LL2912 would fit though. If a mu metal core is a must I recommend LL2914 or a different shielded tranny.
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T
Good overall quite dark mic
Used it mainly on drums, as a room, kit & overhead mic.
Quite nice, a bit dark, so an acquired taste, but great value for price.
Quite nice, a bit dark, so an acquired taste, but great value for price.
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l
Good for the price - But do some mods
I use this mic to record voice and acoustic guitar. It's well build with a warm and not defined sound. And you have to put a loooot of gain in your pre-amp to get a decent signal.
I suggest that you open the mic, take off the nylon and metal protection and use. It will become another kind of mic!
With a vintage warm tone, the way you think a ribbon mic.
It worth it... but do the mod (you can find in internet and foruns)
I suggest that you open the mic, take off the nylon and metal protection and use. It will become another kind of mic!
With a vintage warm tone, the way you think a ribbon mic.
It worth it... but do the mod (you can find in internet and foruns)
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d
Warm vintage sound
The tbone RB500 is an excellent introduction to ribbon mics specially considering the price.
I have been using a pair as overhead mics and have also recorded some acoustic and electric guitars. Just plug the mic and the warm vintage sound is right there out of the box.
Downsides: the attached XLR and clamp sometimes make it difficult to tilt the mic at certain angles. Also being a ribbon mic, make sure you have good preamps or else you'll need a crazy amount of gain (and then noise reduction) specially in order to record quieter sources such as acoustic guitars and vocals.
I have been using a pair as overhead mics and have also recorded some acoustic and electric guitars. Just plug the mic and the warm vintage sound is right there out of the box.
Downsides: the attached XLR and clamp sometimes make it difficult to tilt the mic at certain angles. Also being a ribbon mic, make sure you have good preamps or else you'll need a crazy amount of gain (and then noise reduction) specially in order to record quieter sources such as acoustic guitars and vocals.
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F
Great drum overheads
I use a pair of these as drum overheads and I’m very happy with them. The snare and toms sound full and punchy while the cymbals are present but not harsh. Overall a great budget mic
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DR
Sounds way better than I expected
The thing is BIG. That sort of surprised me. The build quality is good, though. Nothing to complain about at all.
I tested it with a Newsonic maxximizer and a Golden Age Pre.
The sound was a little bassy, but nothing that a little EQ couldn't fix.
Same with the (missing) highs. Turn them up a little, and you've got what you want to hear.
I've made a couple of ribbon microphones myself....just for fun....so I sort of knew what to expect. The RB 500 sounds a little better than my best effort....AND it looks good. Buy one. You won't be disappointed.
I tested it with a Newsonic maxximizer and a Golden Age Pre.
The sound was a little bassy, but nothing that a little EQ couldn't fix.
Same with the (missing) highs. Turn them up a little, and you've got what you want to hear.
I've made a couple of ribbon microphones myself....just for fun....so I sort of knew what to expect. The RB 500 sounds a little better than my best effort....AND it looks good. Buy one. You won't be disappointed.
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r
This is a nice ribbon mic
I love the sound, but I hate the package. That plastic thing which comes with the mic inside it's not useful at all. Having the cable attached to it it's also not very useful.
Anyways, I'd buy another microphone to have 2 in my set, I love how it sounds for the price.
Anyways, I'd buy another microphone to have 2 in my set, I love how it sounds for the price.
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A
Sleeper mic, these belong in your locker
Unbelievable how useful this mic is. I have access to two of them. They make great drum overheads or room mics. I've also experimented with them on vocals, and guitar cab with an sm57. They also make a fantastic kick out mic about two feet from the hole. So subby.
The fact that a 100 euro ribbon mic is this usable is insane. You will definitely find uses for these in your studio. For people running a budget studios that have different projects coming and going, selection is so important. Having one expensive mic isn't much good to you if you need to get different sounds. But having a large diaphram condenser, a budget pair of ribbons, sdc's and some dynamic mics will mean that you can actually choose how you mic things and play with the sound in this way. While I don't use these ribbons all the time, when I want them, they are so valuable to have. And SOOO affordable.
The fact that a 100 euro ribbon mic is this usable is insane. You will definitely find uses for these in your studio. For people running a budget studios that have different projects coming and going, selection is so important. Having one expensive mic isn't much good to you if you need to get different sounds. But having a large diaphram condenser, a budget pair of ribbons, sdc's and some dynamic mics will mean that you can actually choose how you mic things and play with the sound in this way. While I don't use these ribbons all the time, when I want them, they are so valuable to have. And SOOO affordable.
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A
well... a ribbon for this price range
if you don't exactly know how a ribbon mic should behave... well get one of these. For this price range you just can't go wrong! it's quite applicable for many things, but dont expect miracles without a bit of EQing
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S
Lovely warm mic
I bought this as I wanted to try a ribbon mic for recording acoustic guitar. I also bough the Fat amp. Running this through my Focusrite Clarett audio interface was easy and I'm pleased with the results. At this price there is nothing to complain about.
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