the t.bone MB 75

I bought this as a spare mic particularly for acoustic instruments. It's very cheap but a lot of reviews said it was comparable with an SM57.

I don't think it's that good. It's just about usable if you need an extra mic for instruments or vocals but I compared it with my best cheap mic, an SM48. I avoid using it if I can, it's my last choice mic after a cheap Samson condenser mic and a cheap t.bone MB78beta, both of which are much more acceptable for sound and robustly made.

On both voice and acoustic guitar the SM48 gave a richer more natural sound, especially at the bottom end and a stronger signal. The MB75 is very flimsy, especially at the business end, and I don't think I'd trust it on the road for very long. It doesn't sound natural and needs a lot of EQ tweaking.

I'm using a Soundcraft Signature mixer and LD Systems Maui PA or studio monitors which all give reliable flat sound so I'm confident I'm giving this a good test.

So I'm sorry I didn't spend more and get another SM48 which is built like a typical Shure tank and good for any job. If you can't afford the full professional SM 57 or 58 the SM48 is a great microphone with all metal construction.

For a cheap mic it's okay, buit you are much better off saving and buying a SM57 which is only £80.

This mic is no way good enough for studio use, however has a place for a live setting (Micing up amps etc). I bought for use in the studio, so unfortunately it was not good enough.

Recording guitars left a highly compressed sound that needed extensive EQ and reverb addition no matter where I placed it.

Recording vocals led me to again extensive use of EQ and trying to revive a dead sound.

Using live however was really good, as the lack of fidelity allowed it to fit better in the mix with other instruments.