MICROPHONES

"A friend of mine who was using Sontronics mics in his TV work recommended them to me, and I'd read features about them in Sound On Sound and Music Tech magazine. I was impressed straight away with what I read... they just seemed to give a great sound over all these applications so I knew I had to have some for myself, so I bought an STC-1S matched pair and a SIGMA. 

"SIGMA I've been using mostly on acoustic guitar and pianos to give a really vintage ribbon aesthetic but also used it recently for some analogue synth sounds I utilised in the LX Mac remix of Merinla by DJ Jel & Vincent M (both tracks digitally released on the Freemasons 'Freemaison' label). Whenever I've done side-by-side mic shootouts on particular instruments, the SIGMA and the STC-1S always hold their own and sound better than othe mics at many times the price. 

"The STC-1S have been used frequently on the drums and tuned percussion instruments in pieces I've done for The Africa Channel. I also used them for some live work at Love Supreme Jazz Festival. I've found they are great as overheads, ambient or brass section mics and they really capture the nuances and detail in the sound. 

"I've used the STC-1S for live and studio work and they sound fantastic everywhere. Even if I'm not using them as the main mic, I always have them as ambient room mics now as they can work really well in that application as well as when they are focused on the main instrument. Great all-rounders! Oh, and when they first arrive, the packaging is sublime: an engraved wooden box opening out into the nicest microphone case I've ever seen! The design looks very vintage and slick yet they are also built solidly and feel robust. All in all, great mics!"