the t.bone SC 420 USB Desktop-Set

TIP FOR OWNERS:
I read a lot of comments about the headphone jack being to loud. This can be adjusted in the software on your computer!
On both windows and mac the mic registers itself as both an INPUT and OUTPUT device.

On windows the input device allows only the configuration of the mic volume going to the applications. But the output device allows you to set the level of PC sound going to the headphone jack AND the level of the mic going to the headphone jack. They can be set individually and the mic pass-through can even be muted altogether so you won't hear yourself anymore!

On mac you can adjust the mic through the MIDI application. I have not found a setting to adjust the pass-through volume of the mic to the headphone jack, but you can mute the pass-through using a checkbox.

Go try for yourself :P

On to THE REVIEW:

This microphone gives some absolute bang for the buck. The sound quality is good. It will pick up most sounds in the room though, so it won't be suitable in noisy environments. As soon as you move yourself away from the mic the sound will get more 'hollow' and will lose much of it's low end, but that is to be expected.

I have had the mic working on windows, mac and even android using a usb-c to usb-a otg adapter.

The build quality is not outstanding, but for this price I would rate it very good. The mic itself is lighter than I would have expected. The metal casing seems rather thin, but it is sturdy enough. The stand is perfect, it's heavy and has soft padding at the bottom. It can be easily moved but its weight makes sure it won't move by itself.

The mute button is very useful, but it's click when un-muting is picked up by the mic very badly to the point of clipping. They should have used a non-clicky button in my opinion.

I'm using this mic for discord/gaming and work conference calls. I'm not wearing headphones during these and I get no complaints about people hearing themselves, so the echo seems minimal. I would expect others to be able to hear my keyboard, but they haven't complained about it yet. I do often mute the mic using the button when I'm not speaking though.

One last thing to note is that the inside of the metal grating holding the diaphragm is lit up by a bright blue led. I don't really need this and it can be a tad annoying when the room is dark. I simply put the foam cover over it and now it is barely visible.

All things considered I would definitely recommend this microphone if you're on a budget.

I bought this for my daughter to record some pieces for her music work at school.

The mic is fairly solid, and comes in a nice case.

The sound quality is acceptable, but the convenience of USB is mainly why I chose it. My daughter can just plug it in and use it, and there is a headphone connector so she can use the mic as the monitoring point.

I have owned better condenser microphones, but they were more expensive and needed a digital interface with phantom power. The mic is probably aimed at podcasters, but my daughter has used it to record piano, flute and vocals and it worked fine - no drivers to install or any of those hassles.

For approx £50 it was better quality than I had expected so I was pleased with it.