Has anyone tried those Thomann RB100 ribbon mics?

WiresDreamDisasters

The T-Bone RB100.
https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_rb100.htm?sid=3b722ffa00b2ba8f267866d60e3b9542

I believe this is a clone of the Royer 121. Has anyone tried it?

@Octatonic @Cirrus @Danny1969 ;;;

EDIT: Okay, I just assumed it was a 121 clone. It's not.

Stuckfast

I haven't heard that it's a clone of the 121 -- it's basically just a cheap generic Chinese ribbon mic vaguely derived from the old RCA designs. The same thing is available with minor variations from numerous other manufacturers. In fact I have it on good authority that the Peluso R10 is a vastly more expensive re-badge of the same generic Chinese mic.

If you look at the specs you'll see that the R121 is much smaller, and is deliberately designed so that the front and back sides sound different -- I don't think that's true of the Thomann mic.

In general the design is so simple that there's no reason these mics can't perform well *but* they are typically fitted with stock ribbons that are too thick and improperly tensioned.

octatonic

I've not used the the TBone but I'm not sure I'd call it a clone.
They certainly looks similar but the inners would have to be fairly different.

A brief google indicates they are the same as the Nady RSM3, which is another budget mic that I've also not used but heard more about. It isn't supposed to be a brilliant electric guitar mic and the Royer definitely is.

At £60 I'd say they are worth a punt, but I'd also keep my expectations that they nail the R121 sound fairly modest.
Once I am back in the UK I'll buy one and do a video with the R121.

WiresDreamDisasters

Ah okay, I stupidly thought it was a clone because of the 'look' of it. My mistake.

Stuckfast said:

In general the design is so simple that there's no reason these mics can't perform well *but* they are typically fitted with stock ribbons that are too thick and improperly tensioned.

Can that be fixed by a bellend like me?

octatonic said:

I've not used the the TBone but I'm not sure I'd call it a clone.
They certainly looks similar but the inners would have to be fairly different.

A brief google indicates they are the same as the Nady RSM3, which is another budget mic that I've also not used but heard more about. It isn't supposed to be a brilliant electric guitar mic and the Royer definitely is.

At £60 I'd say they are worth a punt, but I'd also keep my expectations that they nail the R121 sound fairly modest.
Once I am back in the UK I'll buy one and do a video with the R121.

I definitely fancy something 121-ish. But I certainly don't have the scratch to buy one. We've got two Golden Age ribbons at the studio and an AEA r34 ribbon. I've not tried them on guitar. Do you think they'd survive metal guitar SPL ????

Stuckfast

There's no way those Thomann mics are worth buying if you have the Golden Age ribbons -- quite possibly they are actually the same mic internally.

Use a pop shield and they should be fine with metal guitars.

There *are* Royer clones about such as the Prodipe RSL and Stellar RM3. I've no idea what they are like but Stewart Tavener knows his stuff:

http://xaudiaelektrik.blogspot.com/2011/12/stellar-bm3-upgrades.html

He also makes the Extinct Audio mics which are great and like the Royer are derived from the B&O designs, but those might be more than you want to spend.

Cirrus

https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_rm700.htm

I used this one for a few years. Didn't have the high end extension of a decent ribbon (coles etc), but the low mids were great on guitar to add thickness in conjunction with an SM57. Ribbons are very basic so they're hard to fuck up. I've read of people re-tensioning the ribbon in these cheapo ones for better treble.

octatonic

I don't know the R34 (do you mean 84?) or the Golden Age's.
The 44 or 84 handles guitars just fine, but there is something about the R121 that just works in combination with the SM57- they sort of fill in the gaps which is why people use them.

If you want a recommendation for a ribbon mic that isn't too speedy that works well then try the Beyer M160.
They are around the £300 price point.

WiresDreamDisasters

Shit yeah, sorry I meant the R84.

Heard some clips of the M160. I'd love to get one to try mixing with an SM57.

octatonic

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Shit yeah, sorry I meant the R84.

Heard some clips of the M160. I'd love to get one to try mixing with an SM57.

Funny, I have one of those and I was calling the R33.
It will cope with 140db- but I wouldn't put it right up against the grill- they sound best a few feet back from the cab.
You'll end up with a huge amount of proximity effect otherwise which works great for some things but not usually Diezelly high gainery.

What preamp are you going to be using?
Grace 501 is my favourite- I find they don't work so well with 'coloured' API/Neve style preamps, as you have to give them so much gain you end up with noise.
If you aren't going to use a 'ribbon friendly' preamp then use a Cloudlifter with it.

Have you tried the Audix i5?
I've largely stopped using SM57's now- they i5 does everything the 57 does without the annoying ring you can sometimes get with it.

Stuckfast

You shouldn't need a ton of gain on a cranked metal amp, surely?

I like the M160 on guitar cabs too (but not much on drums where some people seem to love it). The now-discontinued M260 is a nice cab mic also, it has a bit more mid-range bite than the M160.

WiresDreamDisasters

Pre's will either be the ones in the AMEK Angela, or the Apollo x8p running a Neve 1073 pre.

PolarityMan

I think superlux do the clone thing too..they do have a ribbon mic:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_r102.htm

MusicTech say this:

Superlux R102 

Price £105 Contact Wild Distribution 01342 841637

The idea of an active ribbon for around £100 seems incredible. Goang Fann, of Taiwan, makes microphones for ‘name’ clients in its Chinese factory, but Superlux is the company’s own premier brand of recording microphones. The R102 ships in a hard plastic carry case along with a yoke mount and six-metre cable.

Acoustic instruments present no problems and trebles sound true and natural. On electric guitar, the R102 effortlessly captures finer details, and proximity effect doesn’t get too extreme. Vocals sound fat and smooth, with a larger-than-life character and crisp consonants. This mic really is outstanding value for money.

Web  www.superlux.com.tw

So tis a rip-off of something certainly.

octatonic

Just a personal opinion here- I'd generally warn people off cheap ribbons, or at least buy with a return policy and see if they work for you.
If you've never used a ribbon before you might be surprised by the low output, proximity effect and need for careful pairing with a preamp.
Especially if you are using a prosumer audio card with built in preamps.

You will generally get more for your money from a low cost LDC, SDC or dynamic and they can be paired with a less than stellar preamp and still achieve a good result.

Mid priced ones worth considering: Beyer M 130 & 160, Coles 4038, AT4081, Rode NTR, Royer R10.

Not suggesting people don't experiment- some of the cheap ones are genuine bargains, but if you buy it and the ribbon needs re-tensioning then it won't seem so much of a bargain.

WiresDreamDisasters

Yeah, ribbons definitely aren't for everything. I am curious about trying something 121-esque because of IR libraries I've used that use those mics.

octatonic

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Yeah, ribbons definitely aren't for everything. I am curious about trying something 121-esque because of IR libraries I've used that use those mics.

Get a used 121.
If you can't swing that then an R10.
If you can't swing that then a Beyer M160.