OUR STORY
IN THE BEGINNING
Back in 2004, musician and audio enthusiast Trevor Coley decided to pursue his dream of creating a range of microphones that delivered professional-quality results at truly affordable prices.
He began sketching out designs for innovative-looking mics with classic styling and a unique sound too, thanks to our signature smooth high-frequency rolloff that you'll find in all of our mics, from the most affordable dynamic to our top-of-the range models.
The Sontronics brand was launched at the NAMM Show in Los Angeles in January 2005 where we showed our first range of condenser mics. Many of these mics, including Orpheus, STC-1 and STC-2, ended up becoming best-sellers and remain in our range today.
Sontronics has since grown from strength to strength and our products now include studio condensers, mono and stereo ribbons, valve and dynamic microphones, including our world-beating Podcast Pro, as well as must-have accessories such as our ST-POP popshield, XLR-USB cable and Elevate desktop stand.
Our mics can be found in some of the biggest and best studios and sound stages as well as in radio stations, home studios, educational establishments and podcasting set-ups all round the world.
"Sontronics constantly pushes boundaries in designing cutting-edge microphones destined to be classics of the future."
Andrew Dudman, Chief Engineer, Abbey Road Studios
BEST OF BRITISH
All our products are designed and developed here on the south coast of England by our founder Trevor Coley, and all our new prototype models are put through rigorous beta-testing with top British producers including Flood (U2, Editors, The Foals) and Paul Epworth (Adele, Coldplay, U2) as well as several engineers at Abbey Road Studios.
The majority of our microphones are also made here in the UK with all of our top-end mics fitted with circuits made to our proprietary designs and hand-wound transformers manufactured within 2 miles of our door.
We are proud to be spear-heading innovations in electronics engineering and product design right here in Dorset.
Every single mic is individually checked and tested here in our Dorset warehouse before being shipped. You can be sure that every Sontronics microphone has undergone rigorous scrutiny at each stage of the process before it gets to you and your studio.
SONTRONICS TIMELINE
WORDS OF WISDOM
"From the day Sontronics was conceived, my passion has been to design innovative products capable of delivering outstanding results, built to the highest standards yet at a realistic price.
"Over the years, Sontronics has matured into a respected brand, picking up amazing reviews and multiple awards along the way, all of which makes me feel so proud. The ultimate accolade is knowing that world-famous artists, engineers and producers are making hit records, giving stunning on-stage performances and creating record-breaking podcasts using our microphones.
"When you get a Sontronics mic, whoever you are and whatever you're recording, you join this family and you become part of something very special. Thank you for taking that journey with us."
Trevor Coley, Founder & Designer, SONTRONICS
"The fact that the engineers at Abbey Road use Sontronics mics on a daily basis, choosing ours over and above their multi-million-pound collection of vintage mics just blows my mind!"
Trevor Coley, Founder & Designer
MEET THE TEAM
TREVOR COLEY
Managing Director Trevor founded Sontronics back in 2004 and since then has been at the forefront of cutting-edge microphone design and pushing the boundaries of British design and engineering.
When Trevor isn't designing mics or taking care of our ever-growing family of international distributors, he can be found playing and recording guitar, cycling or mixing up some amazing cocktails.
LISA COLEY
Our Operations Director Lisa looks after our artists and users through our Artist Liaison Programme. She also heads up our marketing department, as well as all taking care of the day-to-day running of Sontronics.
A classically trained pianist and flautist, Lisa spent many years working in music and travel magazines and looks out for any chance to combine her (and Trevor's) passions for music, travelling, food & drink.
JOÃO NEVES
Chief Engineer João first joined the Sontronics family as our Portuguese distributor (a job he still does to this day), but soon his genius for electronics meant he became an indispensable member of the design team.
João is also an incredible sound engineer and superb jazz guitarist, but when he isn't gigging or building circuitboards he enjoys spending time with his artist wife Bea and their daughter in northern Portugal.
CHRIS COOK
Product Manager and Education Co-ordinator Chris oversees the manufacture and testing of all our products and personally builds many of our mics. He also takes care of our Education programme, organising our regular workshops and talks.
Chris is a graduate of Brunel University and Abbey Road Institute, and when he's not engineering he can be found cycling, cooking or walking his beloved Westie, Wilfred.
OLIVER HICKEY
Oliver first came to us in 2018 as an intern from Birmingham City University. After his year here, he returned to BCU to complete his degree (and graduated with a First) and he stepped back into his Microphone Technician shoes as full-time staff in August 2020.
Oliver is a talented musician, engineer and has a passion for all genres of music. He brings boundless energy to the team and shares Trevor and Chris's love of cycling and the outdoors.
MILES WARD
Following a week's work experience with us as part of his college course, Miles became a part-time member of the team in July 2020. Upon finishing his BTEC with full distinctions in 2021, Miles joined us full-time as our Assistant Mic Technician.
When Miles isn't building mics, he records and engineers sessions in his impressive home studio. Another keen cyclist, Miles is also an avid collector of synths and outboard gear.
FRAN MORTON
Our Office & Accounts Administrator Fran takes care of the behind-the-scenes work at Sontronics HQ, crunching numbers, organising our schedules and often preparing orders too. If you give us a call, it'll be Fran's voice you hear first.
Fran has an encyclopaedic knowledge of pop music, but when she isn't guessing tracks from their first two notes, she'll be out and about with husband Dave and Lexi the spaniel.
JOÃO RAMOA
A close friend and long-time colleague of our other João, João Ramoa is our R&D expert and works closely with Trevor on the development of the electronic circuits of all our new product prototypes. His links with education in Portugal give us indispensable insight into our mics from a younger perspective.
When João isn't tinkering with components, he can be found indulging his passions for literature and good food.