Who needs a pair of multipattern condensers?

Wednesday 13 June

Win a Sterling Audio ST59 Multipattern LDC!

The above headline is misleading. You'd think we're giving away a microphone. It's not exactly true.

Because we're actually giving away two of them.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that every studio needs a pair of multipattern condensers. It's not a long limb, though. These mics are true problem-solvers.

Put 'em up as drum overheads. Or stereo mics on acoustic guitar. Or stereo room mics for any instrument. Or two figure-8s, one on the voice and the other on the guitar, with great isolation between them.

Need better mono compatibility? No problem; set up a mid-side array. Have a great-sounding space you want to capture? Fine, you've got Blumlein, or spaced Omnis, or ORTF. A pair of multipattern condensers gives your a ton of recording options.

Now to the Sterling ST59: it's nothing less than a premium FET condenser, based on the groundbreaking design work of Aspen Pittman (best known as the founder and head designer for Groove Tubes).

The ST59 uses Sterling's exclusive "disk resonator" capsule design. Its 3-micron membrane is half the thickness and weight of traditional condenser microphone membranes. This thin film provides exceptional sensitivity and transient response. Mounted to the center of the diaphragm is a resonator disk, which increases the mic's sensitivity to high-frequency sounds without causing harsh peaks in the frequency response.

The output circuit uses a transformer, which contributes to the mic's reputation for having a "warm, vintage" sound. If you're looking for a sterile, hyped condenser, this isn't it! (No, of course nobody looks for hyped, sterile-sounding microphones. So how did we all end up with so many of them?)

High-quality parts and high-touch processes are used throughout the ST59: capsules are handbuilt, then pre-aged to ensure long-term stability; bodies are cut from brass stock, then nickel plated; grille assemblies are formed from stainless steel.

If you received this newsletter in the mail, you're already entered for the ST59 giveaway. The winner will be selected by random drawing from among the MIC NEWS subscribers who have opened and read this newsletter. If you can't see the photos in this message, tell your email app "show images" to be sure your entry is registered.

No purchase is necessary for entry; just subscribe here if you haven't already. The giveaway is void where prohibited.

Monster Kick Mic Shootout

In what can fairly be described as an abuse of influence, I asked a pal from Twitter if maybe he'd be interested in checking out "a few" bass-drum microphones. He couldn't see me rubbing my palms together, nor hear the mad cackle. See, I've been wanting to do a kick-mic shootout for ages. Or more precisely, I've been wanting someone else to do one for me. There have been some really interesting new models released over the past year -- the Audio-Technica ATM25/LE, the Avantone Mondo (v2), and the new Miktek PM11 (with an AMI transformer!).

Eric Beam is the victi^H^H^H^H^Hdrummer/engineer who agreed to both play and engineer the session, and write the review, and shoot the photos, and make a video. He did an amazing, incredible, fantastic job with it all, even though I sent him three times as many microphones as he expected.

Check out the monster kick-drum mic shootout here. You can listen blind to 28 different configurations -- 19 mics plus 9 variations of onboard EQ and filtering. The drum and mic placement and mix are constant, so you can really the sonic differences among these microphones.

We've got all the modern standards, like the D112 and Beta 52 and D6, plus the newcomers listed above, the classics (MD421, RE20), and, well, 11 others too. No matter what your go-to kick mic is today, I bet you'll find something new for the GAS list. Eric did. So did I.

Microphone Sale

The microphone sale listing has some really great deals on mics I'd like to own: AKG Perception 420, Shure Beta 52A, Shure SM7B, Blue Stage 2, Bock Audio 195...

The sale listing is automated; it picks the best deals from the sale prices imported from 15 different e-commerce audio gear websites. The deals won't last though. If you're shopping, do it quick. Most of these deals are below the manufacturer's "minimum advertised price." They'll go fast.

Meet the Makers

Audio peoples, put your nerd on. I just published an interview with David Royer about the development of the R-121 ribbon mic. Dave reveals, for the first time, the secret origin of the mic's patented offset-ribbon design. Hint: it's not what you think. Unless you think it was completely an accident!

Royer Labs cofounder John Jennings contributed some fun, never-seen-before photos to the interview, like the one at right. Click through for more, including David's ammo box power supply (complete with bullet holes).

If you're familiar with studio electronics from Little Labs, you'll want to check out Randy Coppinger's review of the Little Labs Life documentary. It's part of the Soundstrips series, in which filmmaker Alain Le Kim spends a week or two living with a notable audio designer for the purpose of telling his or her story.

We've actually reviewed five of these films; if you like the Royer interview, you'll definitely want to see my review of David Bock's "Bocumentary."