Review: t.bone SC 140 Small Condenser Microphone with Kidney Capsule

[@negativegiraffe2036]

Thankyou Chris. A great review. The in depth analysis location points are very useful. JF

[@ChrisSpiegl]

Thank you, I appreciate that 🌸.

[@RebelTech1990]

This one has a lot of great accessories, but I feel it’s the weakest. That boost in the low end, on the FRC, is very obvious in the audio. I feel it has so much potential if it was tuned just a little more flat in the low end. Great video, I’m looking forward to your take on the Oktava!

[@ChrisSpiegl]

Fair enough! However, it's going to be interesting to compare with the Oktava because I would argue that has a similar boost in the low end. Of course, there we come into the are where we also need to select the right mic for the right person - and they may not be as universal as some more flat mics as you have shown with the Sennheiser shotgun. Also, what did you think about the noise compared to the two cheaper ones?

[@thefullsetup]

Wow some awesome comparison video for indoor mics

[@photo-markus]

Yes, Oktawa 012 is the best but TBone is in my books very close to it. Actually, after listening to your videos 10 times and others(Rebel tech, …Curtis Judd…) , I bought the TBone 140-s and also the lewitt 40-s. Maybe one day I will also buy the Oktawa, but those were my decisions after getting all this valuable information.

[@caiushiticas4619]

Cool, thanks for the review! I would only want to give you some small input for your video. I would say that the light setup you are using in your studio bleeds too much in the background and because of that there's a strange lack of separation between you and the rest of the room. Also, it could be that your shutter speed is too high, therefor your motion seem to be a bit choppy and unnatural. I might be wrong though...

[@ChrisSpiegl]

Thank you for your comment and suggestions. I am constantly working on my setup and have since also changed my light setup a bit. It’s not always easy though. Have to work with what I got. In terms of shutter, I am using 1/50th and 24fps so that’s correct. 🌸

[@skyhr]

@@ChrisSpiegl It looks decent. But yeah, the key light is a bit strong. But looks good overall!

[@ChrisSpiegl]

@@skyhr Thanks Skyhr.

[@-gassswsignal1447]

+1 Yes, t.bone SC 140 is good for this price! But Behringer B-5 is good too, IMHO. Thanks!

[@johnlentokone7318]

Could you test Lewitt LCT 040 MATCH stereo pair which costs 189 euros and has very good reviews on Thomann website?

[@ChrisSpiegl]

At this time I probably will not test the mic you are talking about. I have chosen the Oktava MK-012 and am not looking for a new one. However, if Lewitt would send or lend it to me, I’d sure make a video about it.

[@theartofdestroy249]

Good information

[@ChrisSpiegl]

Thanks

[@SystemParanoia]

Sold!

[@ChrisSpiegl]

Thank you.

[@Keyman941]

What type of mic would you recommend for sound effect recording? Sound effects like footsteps, doors, pouring glass of liquid and more. Would the t bone sc 140 or tbone em800 be a good start? (I'm leaning towards the sc 140)

[@ChrisSpiegl]

First off, I have not tested the EM800, so I don't really know about that. But the SC140 was an incredible mic for some music recording, as well as spoken word. I would guess the EM800 to be similarly low in noise floor but I can't confirm that. A good start would probably be both - t.bone makes great mics and they do the job well. The most difference in recording quality will be felt in the audio recorder you are using as well as the room you setup for the sound effects recording (the more dampened you can get it will result in much cleaner signals. Then you can go from there. Good luck and happy recording 🌸.

[@Keyman941]

@@ChrisSpiegl Thanks for the reply :) Probably gonna go with sc 140 since it as package seems a little bit nicer overall.

[@ChrisSpiegl]

@@Keyman941 Sounds solid. Happy recording.

[@johnlentokone7318]

@@ChrisSpiegl My t.Bone EM800s were really noisy. Equivalent Noise Level in specs is only 14,5 dB but these were super noisy in comparison to SC140. Rode NTG-1 is less sensitive compared EM800 but practically noiseless with equivalent Noise Level 18 dB.

[@ChrisSpiegl]

@@johnlentokone7318 thank you for these I sights. I hope @Mig’n may read this in case this is still a question for them.

[@CWU2006EOY]

As these microphones all seem to use almost identical capsules, could you swap another company's hyper cardioid or Omni capsule?

[@negativegiraffe2036]

Chris , can you recommend a stereo pair shotgun overhead for small string section recording please ( very small string section actually) thankyou Jf

[@ChrisSpiegl]

I would recommend to rent one and go with the Oktava MK-012 - personal preference.

[@yaknostoyok]

I am recording with t.bone SC 140 and I am getting a weird metallic effect when speaking. Not bad, but defnitely not as good as it sounds here. I am powering the microphone using a H4N, does anybody know if that could affect the result and if I should be using something else?

[@ChrisSpiegl]

Interesting. I used the F6 for recording all these sound samples. It might be the recorder.

[@les_sons_de_nath]

Good morning, I tried to use this microphone but I couldn't get any sound. How do I connect the mic to a computer (usb? jack?) to be able to record. Thanks in advance.

[@ChrisSpiegl]

This is a XLR mic and you need an audio interface for it which also supports phantom power. Something like the ones from Focusrite may work well.

[@les_sons_de_nath]

@@ChrisSpiegl ok thank you for the answer and for the video!