Relative cheap studio microphones. What do you think?

[Drucer]

Hi, what do you guys think of these studio microphones? I've been thinking about buying either one of them. They both cost about 150 dollars.

1) The t.bone SCT700

Image: http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw2_artikel-163580.html

THE T.BONE SCT-700 studio large diaphragm tube microphone,1,07" gold membrane, warm tube sound, incl. transportcase, wind screen, external power supply, cable between microphone and external power supply, shockmount.

2) The t.bone SC1100

Image: http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw2_artikel-156824.html

THE T.BONE SC1100 studio large diaphragm microphone switchable between omni, figure eight and cardioid with Low Cut switch, alu case and NEW shockmount included, made by SE.

------------

The first one is some sort of "tube" microphone and requires external power (that comes with it). I have never ever heard of tube microphones! Could I get more power to my vocals with this one because this requires external power and all?

The second one seems to be more like a regular microphone and it requires no external power.

I'm doing recordings with Boss BR-864 and I already got Shure Beta 57A but I am not satisfied with the results I get when I use it to record my vocals. I'm lacking some power. I am no expert, but I think Shure is great on stage but not that great for studio vocals.

 

[will keeris]

just bought the sct700!

hi drucer,

i was wondering about these mic's too after i saw one on a s/h-site in holland.
they asked 195 euro for it, but i managed to get it for 125. he hadn't seen the 169-euro-advertisement!
just thought, what the heck, a tube-mic for 125 euro.

did you get one of these mic's? any resuts, otherwise i will know more in a couple of days ...

cheers,
will

 

[SEDstar]

hm...

unless my memory fails me, the nature of tube preamps and microphones, etc, is not so much for amping perse for the sake of volume, but i believe it is supposed to "warm up" the track, ie tubes are mainly to add a touch of analog distortion that people find peasing to the ear, those same people that say digital recordings are "cold" and "harsh". Kinda ironic, ya spend loads of money to have a digital recording and mixing setup, shooting for accurate flat response and capture, you achieve it, then people want you to go out and spend even MORE money on tube stuff to ADD distortion into a system you spent so much money and time and effort keeing distorion out of in the first place? lol. the irony is indelible.

 

[chessrock]

They look like a bunch of cheap junk.

 

[Track Rat]

Garden variety off the shelf Chinese mics. Bottom feeders.

 

[Warhead]

I don't know man, that t bone mic might be a misteak?

War

 

[will keeris]

got it ...

the mic is in the house ...!
actually, it looks, feels and (so far) sounds decent.
i never really intended to get a tube-mic, but this one was quite cheap and should add 'another' nice flavour to the mics i alreay own.
i don't think i would buy this one as only or main mic ... just my couple of eurocents.

for some (inside) pictures, go http://home.kabelfoon.nl/~keeris/extra.htm

 

[SureShotStudio]

Hello Will,

I saw that mic too on Marktplaats.nl . i didn't bid on it coz it's so hard to get any info on those t.bone mics. And that price is just silly for a tube condenser..... when you get to do some serious recording using that mic let us know how it holds up.

vriendelijke groeten,

thomas

 

[paddyponchero]

Hi Will,

Is there any model number / manufacturer name on the circuit board?

Thanks,

Paddy

 

[omtayslick]

OK. Hmmmm. Here we have 2 threads by newbies to the forum, talking up a mic previously unmentioned on this forum. Gee guys. They created a buzz. Let's make t-bone the flavor of the week. (I prefer Delmonicos myself)

 

[paddyponchero]

OK. Hmmmm. Here we have 2 threads by newbies to the forum, talking up a mic previously unmentioned on this forum. Gee guys. They created a buzz. Let's make t-bone the flavor of the week. (I prefer Delmonicos myself)

This sounds a little cynical and hypocritical from a person who once said:
'I come here to find out which selections from "B" companies will perform as well (or reasonably close) as selections from "A" companies. I want to record pleasing sounds. I don't have lots of $$$$.'

Talking up? OK. Hmmmm. Talking about would be more accurate. Since the company doesn't supply any details about their own brand equipment and there is no information available on the net what else are we supposed to do?

This company is probably the biggest in Europe almost every musician I know orders something from them every now and then. Unfortunately we can't all walk into Guitar Center and pick up a pair of Oktavas and MXL603's are thin on the ground and grossly overpriced here so isn't it natural that we should be talking about a mic that IS freely available to all of us in Europe.

Since these mics are just rebadged chinese mics; I would be very surprised if they are as you say 'previously unmentioned' in some shape or form.

 

[will keeris]

good points paddy,

i saw this 'silly cheap' (indeed!) tube-mic listed on the dutch 2nd hand market place.
as i never really been into tube-mic's, i bought this one out of pure curiosity.
for this kind of money (125 euro in my case), i'm willing to take a risk.
my mic locker is nicely filled with other mics, so this isn't my first or main mic (post-counts don't tell everything ...!).

i wouldn't point to this mic for a first mic purchase.

also, as i'm a kind of 'tweakhead', i think it's fun to see if there's any modding to do (tube swap, caps, anything!). with this mic i'll take the risk. i wouldn't do that to my other mic's ...!

and other than 'tcm1050a' and 'tcm1050b' (and another name for the power-supply pcb) there's not really any indication to who manufactured the stuff, at least i can't tell. the caps have chinese names, but other than that ...
i posted the pic's on the net for anyone interested. they won't be there too long, so if someone has any info, i would appreciate it very much.
thanks in advance.
will

 

[DJL]

Humm, there doesn't seem to be much info on the net about the T-bone mics... but, I think I remember reading something about them a while back... but, I can't remember where... sorry. Good luck.

 

[wilkee]

...
i posted the pic's on the net for anyone interested. they won't be there too long, so if someone has any info, i would appreciate it very much.
thanks in advance.
will

The mic certainly looks well made and if it sounds OK you seem to have got a bit of a bargain. As you say it seems ideal for a bit of DIY.

Do not worry too much about some of the comments from the other side of the pond, most of them mean well

Tony

 

[Simmons]

Made by SE Electronics...hhmmm

http://www.computersandmusic.com/xcgi/SoftCart.exe/store1/seelectronics/zseries.html?E+mystore1

http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw2_artikel-156824.html?sn=4341fabb94fe136f141c76d6f623f2cc

They look really similar.

 

[ausrock]

If you look at the bottom of the T-Bone page they have a shockmount that looks awfully like a rip-off of the Sabrasom shockmounts..........and yeppers, the mics definitely look like SE mics.

Anyways, who could take these too seriously with a name like T-Bone?

 

[will keeris]

Anyways, who could take these too seriously with a name like T-Bone?

right!

btw, if you go to the thomas (sp?) site, almost all 'known' mic's are available as t-bone-versions.

 

[paddyponchero]

right!

btw, if you go to the thomas (sp?) site, almost all 'known' mic's are available as t-bone-versions.

Their branding is painful, t.bone I assume comesfrom 'thomann' and 'bone' as slang for microphone. But when you look at the model numbers it gets even worse -- like the SM57 copy is call the mb75 and the sm58 copy is called the mb85. The MB-75 is a joke at €48 - I can get a real 57 for a couple of more dollars on ebay.

 

[ausrock]

Re the Sabra-som shock mounts.............Thomann are supposedly Sabra's distributor in Germany, and while Thomann have Sabra-som listed in the multitude of brands they sell, they don't list any Sabra-som products..........yet they are selling either the genuine article or a clone of it under the Sabra-som model number SSM-1.

Go figure

 

[omtayslick]

This sounds a little cynical and hypocritical from a person who once said:
'I come here to find out which selections from "B" companies will perform as well (or reasonably close) as selections from "A" companies. I want to record pleasing sounds. I don't have lots of $$$$.'

Talking up? OK. Hmmmm. Talking about would be more accurate. Since the company doesn't supply any details about their own brand equipment and there is no information available on the net what else are we supposed to do?

This company is probably the biggest in Europe almost every musician I know orders something from them every now and then. Unfortunately we can't all walk into Guitar Center and pick up a pair of Oktavas and MXL603's are thin on the ground and grossly overpriced here so isn't it natural that we should be talking about a mic that IS freely available to all of us in Europe.

Since these mics are just rebadged chinese mics; I would be very surprised if they are as you say 'previously unmentioned' in some shape or form.

I apologize for the tone of my post. As for the 2nd quote you attribute to me, I think you have me confused with someone else.

In the past, people have come to this forum, and had artificial dialogs about mics they had a financial interest in, in an attempt to create a "buzz". Since it seems I was mistaken about this, I apologize.