the t.bone SCT 2000

Deze zeer betaalbare buizenmicrofoon van Thomann's huismerk t.bone heb ik als B-stock besteld, maar dat was er niet aan te merken! Ik hoor meestal dezelfde reacties als mensen met deze microfoon gaan opnemen: eerst zijn ze (door de naam en de prijs) skeptisch, daarna zien ze er wel iets in en uiteindelijk wordt je microfoon nog vaker gebruikt dan dat je er zelf mee aan de slag kan. Zal je net zien natuurlijk. Enfin.

Het geheel wordt geleverd in een handig koffertje, met daarin in een apart houten doosje de microfoon zelf, een shockmount, de power supply, een eurostekker en een 7-pins XLR. En hoewel de sound wel aardig was na het uitpakken, had ik er al een TAD RT011 7025S Mullard buis (ECC83) bij besteld om de bijgeleverde buis sowieso te vervangen. Dit is een aanrader, want de microfoon gaat er echt door leven! Je zou ook met andere buizen kunnen experimenteren, kijk dan vooral ook nog even in de Duitstalige recensies van de SCT2000 en bepaalde ECC83-buizen.

De bijgeleverde power supply is op zich okay, maar bij mij kwam alles wat los kon aan de supply al snel ook echt los, maar dit kun je zelf gelukkig gemakkelijk verhelpen met wat gereedschap. De bijgeleverde kabels (een eurostekker en een 7-pins XLR-kabel. Die laatste heeft bij de opzetstukjes ook schroefjes die snel loskomen. Af en toe vastdraaien, om te voorkomen dat een deel van de kabel in de power supply of in de microfoon blijft hangen! De bijgeleverde shockmount doet z'n werk, maar is verder niet heel bijzonder.

Die loszittende onderdelen en de onderhoud die dit vereist, valt in het niet als je de prijs van de SCT2000 ziet. 200 euro voor zo'n microfoon, waar je zelf mee uit de voeten kunt om te upgraden, experimenteren, en serieuze opnames maken! Dus doe jezelf een lol, join the club en haal een SCT2000 en een mooi buisje. En dan dicht bij je houden, want voor je het weet, is je SCT2000 een culthit geworden.

So... you decided to purchase a tube mic for your studio and this particular mic has caught your eye? READ THIS!

So upon doing some research, I found that this mic is actually an OEM of the very 1st version of the sE Electronics Z5600. I have never used any of those mics before, but I figured the sound can't be that far off. I was also told to replace the chinese 12AX7 that it came with to ensure lower noise and better sound quality.

Before we even get to the mic, I feel the need to mention everything it comes with and in. The briefcase it came in was just awesome. Sturdy and just plain cool, however I've had major issues to set the lock code, as the instructions were terribly unclear. The power supply and cables were fine, however I have to caution everyone with the shockmount!
It's reaaaaally poorly cut, i cut my fingers 2ce on the sharp edges as I was screwing it onto a mic stand! You are given some spare bands for the shockmount, which is a nice gesture, but I'd rather see the shockmount be well cut and not needing those.

On to the mic itself. It comes in a wooden case that weighs nothing, and would not protect the mic from anything. The mic itself felt like it was going to fall apart when I was pulling it out, as the metal casing is really really shitty. After replacing the tube, I plugged the mic into it's power supply, let it warm up for about 10 minutes, plugged that into into a Warm Audio WA273 into a 1176 clone and went to town.

Looking beyond the shady worksmanship, the sound of the mic was honestly super impressive. The rich bottom end, creamy mids and super crisp clear and sharp top end really let you hear the intimacies of any voice.
I put up the mic next to my Warm Audio WA87 and while the mics are very different, for many voices, I'll be reaching for the SCT2000 quite a bit!

But for real thomann, that shockmount needs work. I'll be needing industrial gloves when I handle that thing.

Sounds great! Great service from Thomann.
Update 06.05.16: I still think the mic sounds good! BUT...........a big problem......... ! One year ago exactly after I?d owned it for a year, I started getting terrible hiss! I ended up using another mic for the recording! I hadn?t thought about it again until I went to use it last week! The same thing happened!! When I changed the patterns it sounded like thunder!?? After I?d pulled the mic plug out and replaced it back in the power box a few times everything worked well again! I will be contacting Thomann about this!
I just want to say that this has nothing to do with the fantastic service from Thomann when ordering!
Update 06.05.16: I called Thomann and they immediately offered to replace it! I will return the defect mic on Monday!
Very friendly and efficient service, I look forward to a good sounding working mic! Thank you Thomann!
Update! Mic back within one week, working and sounding great! Thank you Thomann! Great service!

I've read some people say the tube that comes with the mic sucks. I don't think so. It's pretty high gain - so you need to stage your gain correctly on your audio interface. But the clarity overall is fantastic.

Reports of "floor noise" are kinda funny to me - I prefer high gain mics, and this one has picked up my neighbours two floors up doing the naughty deed. That caught me by surprise when I went back to hear an audio recording for a product review before removing out any background noise and setting a noise gate.

Build quality - people reported the shock mount was "sharp" and they needed leather gloves for it. Definitely not the case.

Some people have said it feels cheaply made. Again, not the case. This is a well made and very durable microphone.

Overall, I love this thing and it will be my primary mic and is replacing my blue.