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t.bone MB85 Beta Microphone Review – A Steal!

    Hello there! I’m back again with another article for you! This time, we will be looking at one of Thomann‘s most budget-friendly dynamic microphones, the t.bone MB85 Beta.

    I was recently looking for the quickest and easiest way to record ideas into DAWs, as I would often record musical ideas on my phone and then transfer them to my laptop. It was still easily doable, but since there are steps to do just to achieve a simple thing that would end up in my DAW, I thought I should get myself a cheap microphone.

    I’m not a singer or anything, but musical ideas usually come out while I’m humming them, just right after I hear them in my mind, or sometimes you may just want to record some audio directly into your DAW. So, I think there should be a working audio solution for anyone to record them instantly into their favourite DAW.

    For this reason, I started researching possible options at Thomann and discovered their exclusive brand called t.bone!

    About t.bone

    t.bone is actually one of Thomann’s in-house brands and features an excellent array of studio gear at unbeatable price tags for aspiring musicians!

    Thomann’s t.bone brand dominantly features vocals, instruments, large and small diaphragm condensers, wireless, headset, installation microphones, various microphone and studio accessories, acoustic treatment products, headphones and in-ear monitoring systems.


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    Best Tools For Guitars at Stewmac.com

    Mind you, Thomann has many exclusive, in-house brands that can easily dominate the MI market, and I went through them all to come up with an analysis here in my separate article. Please do not forget to check it out below!

    Check out Is It Worth Buying From Thomann in the USA & Canada? analysis here

    They manufacture a lot of clone products at very affordable price tags while offering you the highest value for money! Since I was looking for an affordable and hassle-free solution, I started browsing t.bone’s dynamic microphone models. When I looked at the sales ranks with the user ratings, I immediately made my decision and went for the t.bone MB85 Beta microphone.

    t.bone MB85 Beta

    As many of you may already be able to guess from the model name, MB85 Beta is a clone of Shure SM58 🙂  These microphones are classified as dynamic vocal microphones, and if you look at the respective subcategory, you can see that t.bone is listed as the 6th best seller while Shure SM58 is the number 1, as well as sharing the top 5 with other varieties of it.  


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    Check out the best guitar pickup company, Seymour Duncan here!

    So we can basically say that the Shure SM58 is the most popular dynamic vocal microphone in the universe! Even though the Shure SM58 is fairly priced at Thomann, for the reasons I have mentioned in this article, I went for the clone version, which costs almost 3 times less!

    t.bone MB85 Beta - Main
    t.bone MB85 Beta – Main

    According to Thomann, it offers a clear, round sound with high signal levels. It also features a super-cardioid pattern for minimising feedback. There is also a set of technical specs for the microphone; please see below.


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    t.bone MB85 Beta Dynamic Vocal Microphone Tech Specs

    t.bone MB85 BetaTech Specs
    Transducer TypeDynamic
    PatternSuper-Cardioid
    Frequency response50 - 16000 Hz
    Field Sensitivity2.4 mV/ Pa
    Field Sensitivity-52.4  dB re 1V/ Pa
    Impedance415 Ohm @ 1 kHz
    ConnectionXLR
    Measurements 16.4 x 5.2 cm
    Weight273 gr
    Mount & CaseIncluded
    t.bone MB85 Beta -  In Case
    t.bone MB85 Beta – In Case

    t.bone MB85 Beta Review

    Thomann’s t.bone MB85 comes with a really nice, sturdy case. There is no other box that wraps around the case, but just a nylon wrap.

    t.bone MB85 Beta - Case
    t.bone MB85 Beta – Case

    Also, just wanted to share the labelling and barcode section on the case. As you can see, this is clearly a Thomann brand. I truly appreciate that Thomann features so many in-house brands, and it doesn’t hide the relation, unlike some companies do on the MI market.

    t.bone MB85 Beta - Barcode
    t.bone MB85 Beta – Barcode

    The box content consists of the microphone, the microphone clamp, the instructions and the manual. Very simple, lean, yet extremely high value purchase! For those who are concerned with the microphone clamp, don’t worry!


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    Music Plugin Deals at Pluginboutique.com

    It’s a standard thread clamp, so it will fit any microphone stand you should be adding to your cart on Thomann! 🙂

    t.bone MB85 Beta Box - Content
    t.bone MB85 Beta Box – Content

    I have also added the following 2 images regarding its pattern and frequency response graph below.

    t.bone MB85 Beta Pattern

    t.bone MB85 Beta - Super Cardioid Pattern
    t.bone MB85 Beta – Super Cardioid Pattern

    t.bone MB85 Beta Frequency Response

    t.bone MB85 Beta - Frequency Response
    t.bone MB85 Beta – Frequency Response

    t.bone MB85 Beta Microphone Sound Test

    Unfortunately, I’m not a singer and won’t even try to provide a vocal demo with you! 🙂 There are really good samples recorded by Thomann, simply just visit the product page and listen for yourself.


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    However, I have just used this microphone for recording my Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II speakers in a quick sound test/comparison video. I don’t think anyone else would spend their time making such videos, but hey! These fit my budget, working space and use cases, so why not feature them? 🙂

    In this video, I have used my Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid PT-7, RME Babyface PRO interface, LePou Legion VST amp plugin with nadIR (factory IRs), Mokafix D-plus VST distortion plugin and Chicken Picks Badazz 3.2mm!

    Unfortunately, when I purchased this microphone, I didn’t have much gear to test it. So, the demo is pretty limited. But I can confidently say that this is one of the best purchases I have ever made as it costs barely nothing!


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    IK Multimedia Tonex - Cutting Edge Guitar Tones!

    Where to Buy t.Bone MB85 Beta

    As you can guess, the only place you should be purchasing your t.Bone microphones is Thomann. As t.bone product line is priced so competitively, it doesn’t make much sense to look for one on the used market. However, there are sometimes 2nd listings on Reverb that you may want to check out regularly.

    Check out t.Bone microphones on Reverb here

    For the entire product line that t.Bone offers, please check out Thomann’s brand page!

    Check out t.Bone product line on Thomann here

    Hope you have enjoyed my t.Bone MB85 Beta review! Thanks for visiting my blog and supporting me so far! I will hopefully see you in the next review here!

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