the t.bone SC 1100

Finding myself a little more time for music again I felt the need for one more large diaphragm condenser. In the past (pre mortgages and babies) I had a few great £300-£500 mics from the likes of Rode and Se, but as now a hobbyist on a budget couldn?t really justify buying a £300+ mic this time around.

t.bone mics have been on my radar for a while after seeing and hearing people using them. I?d been surprised by recordings made by even the inexpensive SC 400 model. t.bones seem to be a bit of a secret weapon for home studio fans on a tight budget that still want quality. 10 years ago a ?£50? condenser mic would have been a joke. Things seem to have changed. So I decided to get a t.bone but one closer in spec and features to my old multi-pattern Rode NT2 or NT2000 and so the SC1100 seemed to be in that ballpark but much, much less money.

With the SC1100 you get a lot for the modest outlay. The SC1100 comes in a great case and has a very professional-looking, sturdy shock mount included. The mic itself feels nice and solid in the hand and in terms of feel is much like my SE2200A but lacking the more crafted feel of a good Rode. But don?t get me wrong - it looks and feels well built enough.

The mic was purchased for three main purposes: Vocals, spoken word recording, and instruments - primarily acoustic guitar. I no longer own any fancy mic preamps so tested the t.bone through my Focusrite Octopre MKII, which generally gives a very transparent result, which you can then ?warm up? with plugins should you wish.

On both my own deep, gruff ?anti-vocals? and on quality female vocals the SC1100 is pretty remarkable. This is a very good mic with a rich, pretty involving sound with no flat spots or spikes I could discern. It?s fairly sensitive so benefits from a little thought about where you are recording and, if recording in a typical untreated domestic environment, really benefits from a ?Relexion? style mic shield and the old ?duvet behind the vocalist? trick. Take these extra steps and many home recordists will be pretty amazed at how high end a result they can achieve with this inexpensive mic.

On acoustic guitar again it worked as expected with plenty of detail on fingerpicked and strummed parts. I generally use a pair of smaller condensers on guitar but will experiment with the SC1100 here too. Spoken word too presented no surprises, and again warm and clear, so if you podcast no reason why the SC1100 couldn?t do a job for you.

Although I no longer have my Rode NT2 and NT2000 I?m doing to come out and say it: The t.bone results seem as least as good, perhaps better. In fact, while the Rode NT2000 was wonderful in the right conditions it?s oversensitivity to reflection, plosives and sibilance made it less user friendly than the t.bone which seems to handle these things very well with the addition of pop filter.

The fact a SC1100 is so inexpensive, yet I?m preferring it to something three times the price, tells you that what was good mic buying advice a decade ago doesn?t necessarily hold sway today. Cheaper mics have moved on. They?ve moved on a lot. If I need another mic in the future I expect the t.bone range will be my first port call.

I was recommended one of these by a vocalist friend who knows his mics pretty well, I was a little sceptical at first but I was nicely surprised.

It has a flattering mid to top-end and nice warmth to it when used with vocals, and I was also impressed by how it sounded on acoustic guitar.

It doesn't have the really rich, deep low end of the expensive mics but given it's low price it performs very well indeed and is perfectly capable of some nice recordings, it's a case of knowing what it works well with and what it doesn't. I compared it with my SE Z3300a and ended up selling the SE mic, not only was this cheaper but it just had a warmer sound to it.

Additionally, this mic benefits from 3 polar patterns and a low cut, which increases the range of applications of the mic, e.g as part of a mid-side setup

It comes with a nice, if slightly awkwardly shaped (long rectangle) flight case and a very sturdy shock mount, you will need a decent stand to hold it when extended as it's reasonably heavy.

Great value for money, a good choice if on a budget and need a versatile and decent sounding mic.

It's the second best mic I've ever heard, the first being the Royer.
The cardioid mode has an extremely comfortable warm sound, and it rejects noise very well. The omni mode really does pick up my entire room (although it's tiny in the first place). I wasn't that impressed with the figure-8, but only because the cardioid pattern is so much better than any other mic I've ever had access to.
I've already managed to drop it on day 2, but it survived without any problems, so my only worry of construction quality has been tested thoroughly without intention. And you can feel that it's really solid and heavy, so it gives a good impression. It even looks prettier to me live than on the picture.

Flat, clean, very low self noise and take EQ like a champ!

I sold my Rode NT2A after trying this microphone. The rode had an ugly mid freq. and it often sounded harsh. In my humble opinion the t.bone sounds better, and for that price I feel more comfortable using it in different recording situations!

Highly recommended microphone!

Cheers

Well theres not much to say about this microphone!

3 polar patterns lets the user to experiment with different mic techniques, and makes the SC1100 one very versatile bit of kit. For its price range its unbelievable! Comes in a nice metal case with its own shock mount. I used it for a recording project and sounded lovely on everything I tried it on ( acoustic guitar, E.guitar, Vox).

For the quality and the price you just can't go wrong!!

I'm currently studying music technology in college and decided to pick one of these up as my first microphone. After a while of use, I still feel this was a good choice. The mic has three switchable patterns, (cardioid, figure of 8 and omni-directional) which allow for a wide range of miking positions and techniques. I mostly use the mic for vocals and acoustic instruments (guitar, mandolin, percussion) but I find it works well with others in certain situations, e.g miking a guitar amp in a certain room. The frequency response is flat enough to make it work with nearly any instrument and still produce a good sound. The bass roll off in the mic is very useful for close miking and really helps add clarity to the recording. The only thing this mic is missing is a pad, but you'll find them on any good desk/interface. Overall, it is a great mic and perfect for anyone getting into recording, especially with the price.

I've only used the cardiod and figure of 8 settings in a crossed pair set up with my rather dark vocals and melodeon, but I've been pretty pleased with it.

I think it would be really quite difficult to go far wrong with this mic - unless you try to use the figure of 8 setting in a small, echoey room. I tried that and with the SC1100's bright sound it made my head rattle, so damp the room, I say...

I'll try more experiments, but I guess the darker sounding SC450s will still get used, particularly for voices that they suit, and for recording choruses etc.

This is a great bit of kit at a great price.
It has a balanced and clear sound. I Would recommend this mic to beginners and intermediates in the studio and to anyone on a budget!! I use this mic for acoustic guitar, vocals, and saxophone and they all sound great!!!

This was my very first microphone i bought about 2 year ago and i'm still using it often.
Before i bought it, i only compared online by soundfiles, but i don't be sorry about buying it.
It comes in a very stable case where the mic and the shockmount fits perfectly in.
Mounting the Mic to eh Shockomount is very easy it is very stable.
The whole kit seems to have a high quality.
The soundquality is very good in my opinion. To me it seems to be very linear.
The switch to choose omni, figure eight and cardioid is very practible. You can conform it perfectly to your recording situation, dependent to your room and soundsource.
The low cut switch does its job and was for me often useful.
Of course the mic is very sensitive and you have to carry about side noise. It helps a lot to use it in a acoustically tuned room.
In a standard living room maybe it is easier to not use a large diaphgragm mic.

De SC 1100 klinkt zeer goed. Mooi, helder geluid en weinig ruis. De richtkarakteristiekinstellingen zijn zeer handig. De meeste microfoons in deze prijsklasse beschikken niet over deze instellingen. Zo kan deze microfoon aangepast worden aan elke studiosituatie. Zelf gebruik ik hem vooral voor vocals, roommic en om extra diepte te geven aan akoestische en elektrische gitaar en hij doet zijn job geweldig!

Voor deze prijs heeft deze microfoon maar weinig concurrentie.

Having read many reviews of various microphones at different price ranges, i took a chance and opted for the TBone SC-1100, based on value for money and an expectation of a mediocre but usable performance. How wrong i was, this microphone has exceeded all of my expectations and delighted me from the start. The build quality is solid, the sonic attributes first class and sensitive enough to pick up a mouse burp at 300 yards. All in all i am very happy with the purchase, go buy one, you will be pleased you did for the price.

My favourite mic for recording vocals and acoustic guitar, very warm/full recorded sound. very good shock mount and strong aluminium case.
pros: well made, good value studio microphone.
cons: none

Purchased this for my studio, bought on a bundle so saved some money as well

Not the best mic but it does have a nice sound. I use it with my saffire pro 40 and it gives you a warm sound. Have for a long time now and never had an issue with it. I recommend it for someone with a budget. It certainly does the trick.

I?ve been using the t.bone SC 1100 for 2 years now, & it is a great mic.
it comes with a protective carry case & includes a shockmount
it?s well made & solidly built, as well as having a cool design.
this is a versatile, large diaphragm mic that i have used for a variety of studio recordings,
for vocals & various instruments, & has become one of my main mics.
it has given me very warm & clean, balanced results.

The great thing about this mic are the features:

it has a 3-way polar pattern switch, so you can choose between omni, figure of eight and cardioid,
this effectively gives you 3 very different types of microphone in 1
it also has a low cut switch, which means you can cut out low end noise if necessary.

it has a frequency range between 20Hz & 20KHz so is able to pick up everything in the human hearing range
this is a condenser mic so requires 48v phantom power

All that, plus the case & shock mount, for less than £100, you can?t really fault it, but apart from the ?value for money? side of things, i actually really rate this mic in terms of sound quality & build.

bought this as a backup for my home studio. I generally use a Rode NT1 for recording cello but this i have found gives me better results. It seems to give more "air" to the sound and is quite crisp around 800hz. Its quite solid in construction and is definitely value for money. well done Thomann.

I was looking at a Neumann TLM 102, but budget forced me to reconsider- I landed on this beauty, and I couldn't be happier.
I have recorded vocals, melodica, and a drum kit (as a single overhead). Using a Focusrite 2i4 as a preamp, it has given me a very clean, very balanced sound on all these sources. I couldn't be happier.
The different polar patterns will no doubt come in handy, although I have only used cardioid so far.
The supplied shockmount works brilliantly and is completely sturdy, although it takes a minute to tighten it fully- worth it for the peace of mind, it is not going to fall out!
If you can only afford one decent microphone for a home studio setup, this would be a great choice.

This is a fantastic microphone for its price!
it is by no means the best microphone in the world! but for someone on a budget it definitely gets the job done!

Fantastic addition to the studio, i would recommend it to people on a budget! as well as people who just need a spare mic with great quality for an extremely low cost!